Local News

‘Green’ offices with plants make staff happier and more productive than ‘lean’ designs stripped of greenery, new research by academics in Exeter, Cardiff, Holland and Australia have revealed.

In the first field study of its kind, published today, researchers found enriching a ‘lean’ office with plants could increase productivity by 15%.

The team examined the impact of ‘lean’ and ‘green’ offices on staff’s perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK...

Driving Instructors across Devon are using social media to help with a police appeal for information following the death of a 12-year-old in an accident with a lorry.

Exeter Advanced Driving Instructors reported the incident on their Facebook page and asked for witnesses to come forward.

One of them, Martyn Morris, who runs Trident Driver Training, said: "We are trying to find out if anyone was in the area or if anyone saw anything. We realise in situations like this any snippets of information can help."

Mr Morris (above) said there had been a massive amount of...

Local charity Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau today publishes its latest advice trend statistics which shows that at the end of July 2014 it helped 2090 people directly with advice and information in the first four months of the financial year.

The amount of advice that the charity has been able to provide has increased in the following areas compared to the same period last year:

Welfare benefit enquires • 59.4% increase about local support for council tax • 34.7% increase about tax credits • 30.7% increase about attendance allowance • 27.2% increase about housing benefit...

Chris Down, Managing Director of Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park and his PA, Sam Curtis, got a soaking when they took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon which is sweeping the nation in aid of The ALS Association.

Chris Down was nominated by Devon tourist attraction The Big Sheep Family Attraction based in Bideford. Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park’s Managing Director in turn nominated the World of Country Life based in Exmouth.

Chris and Sam were cheered on by guests to the Park and members of the team, as well as Buddy and Blossom, Devon’s Crealy’s mascots...