By Jon Roberts, regional lead partner for Grant Thornton’s public sector team in the South West
It has now become clear that the Government is very serious about devolution and wants to see more powers handed to the regions over the course of the current Parliament.
And, according to research by Grant Thornton, business leaders across the country are very much in favour of George Osborne’s so-called “devolution revolution”, with 95 per cent believing that devolving powers from Whitehall would bring real economic gains to places such as the South West.
Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival returns to Powderham Castle with some of the country’s best plant specialists, gardening stars and plenty of delicious local food, craft, live music and fun.
Gardens come in all sizes and whether you have an acre or a window box, a bare square of earth or a shady spot, you can grow a beautiful garden. Let your creativity take root at Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival at Powderham Castle and soak up inspiration from amazing and colourful nurseries, demonstrations and gardening experts. Nowhere else in the South West can you find such diversity of...
A national homebuilder is continuing to lay foundations for success in the South West with continued growth, and commitment to a long-term apprenticeship scheme. With regional offices already in the Midlands and the South East, Bovis Homes opened its Exeter office in 2013 with just six members of staff. Now, with more than 100 staff based in Exeter and its surrounding developments in locations like Cranbrook, Ottery St Mary, Dawlish and Teignmouth, the national homebuilder is expanding its apprenticeship scheme, firmly concreting its position in the South West with the promise of...
Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer will be saddling up alongside police officers and staff from Devon and Cornwall and Dorset for a unique cross-border challenge in aid of local charities.
A team of 18 senior officers and staff members from the two police forces is aiming to cycle from Christchurch in Dorset to Land’s End in Cornwall in three days.
The 225-mile ride, which starts on Friday 13 May, will see the team pedal through a county each day before reaching their destination on the Sunday evening.
The route is especially tough due to the hilly nature of the route and...
International businesses are postponing investment in Britain in the wake of EU uncertainty a new paper by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed.
The RICS EU Referendum Paper which examines the pros and cons of the UK remaining and exiting Europe includes new survey data showing that there has been a steady easing in international demand for UK office, industrial and retail property since the referendum was confirmed in Q2 2015. However, the demand indicator among international investors for South West commercial property shows 17 per cent more members...
The trend for wedding cakes made of cheese is being reflected in a new class at this year’s Devon County Show held on May 19-21 at Westpoint, Exeter.
Cheesemakers are being challenged to create and decorate a three or five tier cake.
Award-winning Devon cheesemaker Mary Quicke MBE, who is managing director of Quickes Traditional and Devon County Agricultural Association Chairman of Council, is very supportive of this new class.
“We want to add a new dimension to our dairy produce competitions and reflect changing tastes,” she said.
Six Devon residents have won cash prizes by taking their unwanted small electrical items to a recycling centre, instead of throwing them away with their domestic waste.
The prizes, which amount to £325, were won following the first of five prize draws held between April and May which hope to inspire more people to recycle Waste Electronic & Electrical Equipment (WEEE).
At the last count just 30 per cent of all ‘small’ electrical items in the UK are recycled.
The top £200 prize was won by Lindsay Coren, of Tedburn St. Mary, after he recycled a microwave at the...
Leading local advice charity, Citizens Advice Exeter, has released further results from its second economic well-being survey.
The results show that women and people aged 16-30 years of age have the lowest level of economic well-being.
The initial results of the survey, run in partnership with the Express and Echo, Radio Exe, Exeter City Council and Exeter Chamber of Commerce, are available from the charity’s website – www.citizensadviceexeter.org.uk
Citizens Advice Exeter Chief Executive Steve Barriball said: “We have now completed some further analysis and found...
BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Huw Stephens last night announced the line-up for the BBC Introducing stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Exeter, revealing that acts including The Hunna, Emmi, Black Foxxes and Declan McKenna, will perform alongside returning acts Rosie Lowe, Blossoms, Spring King and Izzy Bizu at Europe’s biggest free ticketed event at Powderham Castle on 28 and 29 May. The BBC Introducing stage at Big Weekend will showcase performances from the best emerging talent from across the UK, and will include appearances from a number of artists with links to Devon including Tiny Folds...
A man has died after his car left the road and overturned in a field at Honiton this morning [27 April].
Emergency services were called at 8am after his vehicle was found in a field off the old A30 near to the showground at Fenny Bridges.
The driver, thought to be aged 50 and from Torquay, sustained serious injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene. His next of kin has been informed and police await formal identification.
The old A30 [B3177] was closed along with one lane of the main A30 while officers from the Serious Collisions Investigation Unit carried...
