Local News

Two local solicitor firms, Veitch Penny and The Family Law Company, are teaming up to provide a free, informal ‘drop-in’ legal surgery in Sowton Industrial Estate, Exeter.

Solicitors from both firms will be available at Fresha Café on Bittern Road for one day per month to provide free legal advice to anyone who wishes to drop in.

No appointment is necessary and the surgery is open to all, without obligation.

Charles Dowell, Managing Partner of Veitch Penny, said: “We recognise that it can be extremely difficult for anyone working in Sowton to access legal advice...

Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg has appointed Andrew White as the new OPCC Chief Executive, subject to a confirmation hearing from his scrutiny body, the Police and Crime Panel. Mr White has been interim CEO at Mr Hogg's Exeter base since the departure of Sue Howl last year. He will take up the role with immediate effect. A full, open and transparent recruitment process was organised by Mr Hogg's advisor Jan Stanhope. “I was delighted that there was so much interest in this role.” said Mr Hogg.

“We had a high quality field with applications from all over...

Plans to transfer Devon’s heritage services to a newly formed charitable trust have been approved by the County Council’s cabinet today. The move will see the responsibility for storage, preservation and display of the county’s irreplaceable historical collections passed on to new heritage trust shared with Somerset County Council. The council says the move will protect the service from further rounds of budget cuts in the next two to three years which would otherwise see “public access and future development of the service severely affected”. Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council's...

Thousands of renters in the South West are too scared of being evicted to ask their private landlord to fix a problem in their home, according to research from the charity Shelter released today. A YouGov poll of more than 4,500 private renters across the country found that 1 in 12 renters (8%) in the South West avoided asking their landlord to repair a problem or improve conditions in the last year because they feared eviction. According to the poll, 1 in 33 (3%) of private renters said they had actually been evicted or served with an eviction notice because they complained to their...