Call to take part in Hospital beds consultation

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 12/15/2014 - 12:28pm

Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, has urged Axminster residents to take part in a public consultation launched by the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, to keep beds open at Axminster Community Hospital following concerns expressed by many in the community, including Neil.

The Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust has halted its decision to temporarily move inpatient services at Axminster to Seaton and has today launched a four-week public consultation over whether the transfer should take place. In October 2014 the Trust announced a plan to temporarily merge the beds at...

Solar firm lights up Exmouth town centre

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 12/15/2014 - 11:54am

Exmouth’s Christmas spirit has been given an extra festive boost with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the heart of the town.

Exmouth town’s Christmas display on the Strand has been lit up with new fairy lights and festive decorations, thanks to local businessman Marcus Di-Vincenzo, from solar energy firm, MIG Renewable Technologies.

The tree which is placed in the town centre each year is usually dressed with a simple set of fairy lights, but is always left looking a little bit bare, according to the renewable energy enthusiast.

Marcus has also surprised...

Jo Pavey third in BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Exeter athlete Jo Pavey was today celebrating after coming third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

She was pipped to the post by golfer Rory Mcllroy in second and Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton who won the vote.

At the age of 40 and 325 days Jo became the oldest ever European champion. The distance runner returned to the track just eight months after giving birth to her second child.

Upon his win, Lewis said: "I could not have done this without my amazing team, my family, my dad who once had four jobs to help me, my brother. I've been incredibly...

Uni in mental health anti-stigma pledge

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 12/15/2014 - 10:50am

The University of Exeter is joining a growing number of companies committing to end the stigma and discrimination against people with experience of mental health problems by signing a pledge with Time to Change, a programme run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. University Provost, Professor Janice Kay signed the Pledge, as part of the official ceremony on Wednesday 10 December.

Professor Janice Kay said: “The Time to Change Organisational Pledge demonstrates a serious commitment to challenging stigma and discrimination against mental illness across the University....

£15m roofs scheme for listed church buildings

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 12/15/2014 - 10:38am

The Church of England has welcomed a dedicated £15 million fund, announced by the Government on Wednesday 3rd December, for the repair of roofs and rainwater goods on listed church buildings.

The Chancellor announced the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund in his Autumn Statement. Grants between £10,000 and £100,000 will be available to listed places of worship of all faiths and denominations across the UK, where roof and rainwater goods repairs are deemed to be urgent and necessary.

The deadline for applications is 30 January 2015, with awards to be allocated by the...

Planning changes = less cash for communities

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 12/15/2014 - 10:34am

Changes in government guidance on what councils can ask small developers to pay for community benefits are set to hit the provision of open spaces, sports and play areas and even education upgrades in East Devon.

Until recently, anyone who wanted to build an estate of new homes was required to offset the impact the new households would have on existing amenities by making a ‘Section 106’ financial contribution towards improvements.

But changes announced by the Government at the beginning of December mean that East Devon District Council and other affected planning...

More to the Met Office than the weather

Authored by KirkHills
Posted: Mon, 12/15/2014 - 9:27am

At the recent Southernhay Breakfast Club, local business people enjoyed an interesting talk by Sandra Pearson, the Met Office’s Legal Manager for Contracts. Over 50 people attended the event held on 5th December 2014 at the Southgate Hotel.

Sandra explained that as well as the obvious role that the Met Office plays in predicting the weather, there are many other interesting projects that cross her desk – from helping construction companies plan their logistics, having mobile forecasters working alongside the armed forces at bases around the world to the recent launch of a Space...

County considers ways to reduce energy costs

Devon County Council’s Cabinet have endorsed a report by the Place Scrutiny Committee on energy consumption and renewable energy.

It recommends closely looking at the way the Council manages its energy consumption and that it should consider investing in renewable energy to generate income.

The Energy Policy Task Group recognised that the County Council has a current energy spend of about £18m per year.

Evidence suggests that these figures could be greatly reduced by making some simple changes for example, switching off unnecessary lighting and making sure the...

Jenny gives up Christmas to help needy kids

Exeter resident, Jenny Fox, 25, is giving up her family Christmas to support disadvantaged children in need of a magical Christmas experience.

Jenny will be travelling to the CHICKS charity retreat in Brentor, Devon, where she will be joined by five other volunteers, three charity staff and over a dozen disadvantaged children for a residential Christmas break.

CHICKS is a national charity that provides free respite breaks for disadvantaged children from right across the UK. In addition to its regular respite breaks, the charity holds special Christmas breaks from December...

You can hear the coral reefs dying

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sun, 12/14/2014 - 10:14pm

You can hear the sound of former bustling coral reefs dying due to the impact of human activity, according to new research from the Universities of Exeter and Essex .

Coral reefs are amongst the noisiest environments on our planet and healthy reefs can be heard using underwater microphones from kilometres away.

However, scientists have found that coral reefs impacted by human activity, such as overfishing, are much quieter than protected reefs, and this can have a big impact on the fish and invertebrates which rely on the reefs for survival.

Led by Dr Julius Piercy...

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