Richard Hammond said it’s the most fun he’s ever had and Jeremy Clarkson said he loved it. No, they are not reminiscing about Top Gear, but instead about test driving a Wildcat from one of the few remaining truly British car brands in the UK. And in an extraordinary step, for the very first time the public are being offered the chance to own a part of the business.

Wildcat, the Plymouth based automotive group that is owned and run by 35-year old Oliver Mitchell - has turned down numerous offers from foreign investors and in-stead, is turning to the public in order to develop two...

Children in the South West waiting to be adopted are to be found stable, loving homes more quickly, thanks to brand new online maps which will help would-be-adopters find the child to complete their forever family.

So far in 2014-15, 280 children in the South West have been placed in the permanent home they desperately needed, as a direct result of the government’s reforms to speed up the adoption system.

However, the latest figures show that 340 children are still waiting to be matched with new parents, with many having spent months in care despite adopters being readily...

The search is on to find the most dog-friendly places in the South West as the Kennel Club launches its Be Dog Friendly Awards 2015.

The competition, now in its ninth year, is part of the Be Dog Friendly campaign which aims to break down barriers for man’s best friend by encouraging more businesses and public spaces to welcome dogs through their doors.

With over 9 million dogs in the UK, and around one in four households owning a dog, the great British public are always on the lookout for places where their four-legged family members are also welcome, and the Be Dog...

The Devon Tourism Partnership*, which promotes Devon under the 'Visit Devon' brand, is currently determining the future direction of the county’s promotion, domestically and internationally, and looking for businesses to tell them where they’d like their efforts concentrated. Local businesses have until Friday 17th July to complete the survey.

Activity is funded from partners’ own budgets, with no additional income available from central government, so spend has to be carefully considered.

Victoria Hatfield, Chair of Visit Devon, said: “Visit Devon is a strong and valuable...

Teignbridge District Council is working on a 10-year strategy for the district, and is asking residents and businesses to help decide the priority issues.

A six-week consultation period gets underway from Tuesday 7 July 2015 and will run until Tuesday 18 August 2015.

The Council Strategy will set the tone for how Teignbridge works over the next decade, its vision, goals and how these will be achieved. It’s important because it helps target resources and services more effectively to meet local needs and shows how Teignbridge’s work benefits local people, businesses and...

Today Bradley Simmons, Ofsted’s Director for the South West, confirmed some of the biggest changes to education inspection since the inception of the inspectorate more than two decades ago.

Speaking to more than 200 headteachers, college principals and early years professionals at the City Centre Marriott, Bradley praised education leaders in transforming education standards and set out how changes to Ofsted inspection will support further improvement in the system.

The event is one of eight conferences around England designed to share the details of the new inspection...

The programme for The Music Makers’ next concert, on Tuesday 21st July (the 9th of the series) could be the most impressive yet in terms of both musical works and musicianship. A great work of historic chamber music, Johannes Brahms’ Piano Quintet (for piano and string quartet, composed in 1864) is the main feature of a programme including a Haydn string quartet and a set of songs by Gustav Mahler. The Music Makers’ concerts offer an opportunity to hear a wide range of music, usually involving the modern grand piano at Crediton Congregational Church – and ranging from historic classical to...

Exeter School was delighted to welcome back alumnus Kevin Brooks on Friday 26 June to speak to pupils from both his former school and four local secondary schools. Carnegie Award winner Kevin Brooks was born in Exeter in 1959 and received a scholarship to attend Exeter School from 1970-1977, before studying Psychology and Philosophy in Birmingham and Cultural Studies in London. Author Kevin spoke to a music hall of around 200 excited pupils from Exeter School, St Peter’s Church of England Aided School, St Luke’s Science and Sports College, St James School and the Isca Academy.

He...

Mole Valley Farmers’ ( www.molevalleyfarmers.com ) Head of Retail Marketing Andy Skarzynski has successfully taken (and survived!) the Live Below The Line’s five day challenge, subsisting on no more than 50p’s worth of food and drink a day.

The £250 raised by Andy will go to the Save A Cow ( www.sendacow.org ) charity which Mole Valley Farmers have supported from its inception, 27 years ago.

Live Below the Line usually involves a budget of £1 per day, but Andy explains: “As my colleague was unable to share the challenge due to illness, I maxed the spending cap and did it on...