Local News

Public Consultation Opens on Proposed Merger Between Exeter College and Petroc

Exeter College and Petroc have today launched a public consultation on a proposed merger that would see two Devon colleges come together to form a new College Group.

If approved, the new organisation, the Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group (ENDC), would serve more than 16,000 learners across Devon, employ nearly 2,000 staff and have a combined turnover exceeding £100 million.

The proposal is a voluntary merger, with neither college in any form of intervention. By combining their resources and expertise, the Colleges aim to create a stronger, more resilient group with...

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Anger at Council decision to close Children's Homes

Opposition councillors have responded angrily to the decision made by Cabinet Member Will Mumford to close Devon County Council’s children’s homes at Birchen Lane (Tiverton) as well as Rifford Road and Blossom Corner (both Exeter). They have ‘called in’ the decision, which means that it must be considered by the People’s Scrutiny Committee, a special meeting of which is to take place on 11th March. There was anger too about the move to bring this meeting forward from its calendared date of 3rd April without consulting all committee members.

Labour group leader Cllr Richard Westlake...

Devon school leaders call for fairer funding

School leaders in Devon have renewed their campaign for fair funding for education today in a letter to Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove. The letter from Devon County Council’s Cabinet member for schools, Will Mumford, and the chairman of the Devon Association of Primary Heads, Martyn Boxall calls on Mr Gove to speed up the introduction of a fairer national funding system. Currently Devon schools are sixth from bottom of 152 education authorities for Government funding means every pupil in the county is worth nearly £500 less than the average child nationally. “We’re finding...

Farmland prices hit record high

Farmland prices in the South West hit yet another record high during the final six months of 2013, having jumped around seven percent in the space of a year, says the latest RICS/RAU Rural Land Market Survey H2 2013.

During the second half of last year, the average cost of farmland in the region rose to £7,763 per acre, hitting a record high for the eighth consecutive period. The cost of land is now seven percent higher than during the same period in 2012 when an acre cost, on average, just under £7,250.

Growth in prices has been driven by the on-going surge in demand from...

New Workshop - Auditions Announced For The Day We Played Brazil

Three extra workshop-auditions have been announced for the upcoming community project, The Day We Played Brazil.

The new auditions will take place on at 7pm on Thursday 6 March at the Exeter Northcott Theatre and two sessions on Sunday 9th March at 10am and 2pm at Kay House on the University of Exeter Campus.

Don’t miss out on your chance to be part of this once in a lifetime experience. People of all ages are needed to take part in the production to play footballers, their wives and sweethearts, Exeter City fans and the people of Exeter over the last century.

For...

Reed Revival on the Exe

The first water reed to be harvested in Devon in 25 years has been cut by scythe on reed beds opposite Topsham on the Exe estuary. Scythe practitioner, Chris Riley spent a labour intensive week harvesting just over an acre of water reed, which can reach up to 10ft high. “Water reed is an untapped resource, because of its inaccessibility and the manual labour involved in cutting it.”

Chris encourages the resurgence of scythe use: “It’s so important to keep rural skills alive and there aren’t many people with the skill and energy to harvest large areas of reed with a scythe.” For...

Devon County Council win tourism award

Devon County Council has received a sustainable tourism award from the Dartmoor National Park Authority.

As part of the launch of the authority’s revised National Park Management plan, a number of presentations were made to mark contributions to the previous plan.

Devon County Council was recognised for its support and promotion of sustainable tourism including the Haytor Hoppa, The Tour of Britain and cycling links in and around the National Park.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, received a certificate on...

Making the CAP fit

Nearly 150 members of the South West farming community gathered at three separate events for Stephens Scown’s Autumn Agricultural Updates, in conjunction with AMC and Old Mill.

The events, which took place in Lifton, Ashburton and Cullompton, highlighted topics such as an update on tax on profits, capital taxes in agriculture, a brief update on dairy farm economics, and the current position and future outlook for agricultural finance. Nigel Edge, from the rural team at Stephens Scown, provided an update regarding the story so far with CAP reform, with his colleague, Mike Rowe,...

Around 100 people join Exeter park meeting

Around 100 people from community groups from attended a meeting in Exeter last night to discuss the future of the city’s parks and open spaces in the face of further government cuts to council funding. The meeting held at the Corn Exchange was called by Exeter City Council in response to a 13.6% cut in government funding for 2014/15, which is expected to be followed by further cuts to total £5m in the next three years. The cuts mean that Exeter City Council may not have the funding to run the city’s parks and open spaces in the future so is looking for volunteers and buyers to step forward...

Young people encouraged to build SW businesses

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust is urging more unemployed young people in the South West to embrace their inner entrepreneur and explore the option of self-employment thanks to financial backing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme, which helps jobless young people to start up in business, has already created more than £3.1 million in social value for the South West alone, according to research published by the charity last year .

Supported with investment from ERDF, from now until June 2015, over 1,300 more young...

Police warning after family allegedly cycle on Dawlish line

A photo which allegedly shows a family cycling on the rail line between Exeter and Dawlish has led to warnings against using the line from British Transport Police and Network Rail. The photograph appeared on social media apparently showing a family of cyclists using the tracks in the Powderham area while work continues by Network Rail to repair damage caused by severe weather earlier this month. The photo is alleged to have been taken in mid-February when the nearby Dawlish Warren road was flooded but there remains some uncertainty around the photos authenticity. Despite the uncertainty,...

Local News

Public Consultation Opens on Proposed Merger Between Exeter College and Petroc

Anger at Council decision to close Children's Homes

Devon school leaders call for fairer funding

Farmland prices hit record high

New Workshop - Auditions Announced For The Day We Played Brazil

Reed Revival on the Exe

Devon County Council win tourism award

Making the CAP fit

Around 100 people join Exeter park meeting

Young people encouraged to build SW businesses

Police warning after family allegedly cycle on Dawlish line

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