A scheme offering ‘books on prescription' to people with mental health problems has been hailed as a major success.
Last year Devon County Council teamed up with leading independent charity The Reading Agency and the Society of Chief Librarians to help launch the national ‘Reading Well Books on Prescription’ scheme, which aims to use reading as a tool to help those who suffer from conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress, phobias and some eating disorders.
Since then loans of self-help books in the ground breaking scheme have more than doubled, reaching around 275,000...
Work to reinstate the depleted shingle beaches in front of the town and below the cliffs at East Beach in Sidmouth could start within a month - if East Devon District Council can obtain approval for the job and funding to pay for it.
This is an opportunity to access Government funding to reinstate the Main Beach and East Beach to the levels they were at before last winter’s storms.
Councillor Andrew Moulding, the council’s deputy leader and chairman of a group looking at longer term coastal defence issues for Sidmouth, said: “This is a window of opportunity to provide the...
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter says he wants to see a response from his players following last weekend’s Aviva Premiership loss at Newcastle Falcons.
Having gone into the game at Kingston Park buoyed by notable wins over Gloucester (away) and Harlequins (home), Devon’s finest hit a speed bump in the North East as the Falcons claimed their first league win in 20 games with a 29-24 success.
It was a disappointing outcome for the Chiefs, who with 20 minutes remaining in the contest were in front 24-17. However, late tries from Tom Catterick and Noah Cato proved decisive...
An innovative community art installation goes on show next week to bring alive the impacts of Exeter’s new ‘Energy from Waste’ incineration facility.
Members of the community have been knitting larger than life versions of the particles that will be emitted from the new facility.
The exhibition which will be on display at the Real Food Café in Paris Street, is designed to tell people about the incinerator, encourage Devon County Council to ensure it is operated properly over its 25 years contract and think harder about their future waste management strategy.
DECC has published new guidance on how wind energy schemes should work with local communities. Written by local renewable energy experts Regen SW, the guidance calls for partnerships between communities and developers of wind energy. The guidance focuses on how community benefit funds can be used effectively, following the commitment by the wind industry earlier this year to provide benefit packages of £5000 per MW per year to communities near wind energy schemes over 5MW in size. It gives examples of different ways in which funds and other investments by developers have been used by local...
Virtual worlds similar to those experienced by game-players of the global phenomena Minecraft and SimCity could be used to help test potential new water infrastructure development in the UK.
Experts from the University of Exeter are pioneering a new computer platform in which water engineers can simulate how existing and prospective new water systems will cope with issues, threats and risk such as land management and flooding.
They believe that the innovative new approach to water infrastructure and security could help alleviate serious environmental impacts, such as the...
The search is on for Britain’s National Bird – it’s a chance for people in Devon to vote for their favourite bird.
David Lindo, also known as The Urban Birder, is a TV presenter, broadcaster, writer and naturalist. David recently launched the search for the nation’s favourite bird.
The last time the country chose its national bird was back in the 1960s when the robin won the vote. But now it’s a chance for some of our other wonderful birds, from the Mute Swan to the Mallard, from the Gannet to the Golden Eagle, from the Waxwing to the Wren to fight it out for the title of...
Neil Parish, Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton and his seven year old Labrador, Wilberforce, will compete with other politicians and their pooches to win the coveted title of ‘Westminster Dog of the Year 2014’.
Dogs of all shapes and sizes will be whipping their MP and Peer owners into shape as they head to Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster, London to see who will be crowned top ‘pawlitical’ dog for 2014.
Organised jointly by Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club, the competition offers the unique chance for Neil Parish MP, who is also Chairman of the Associate...
Recently redeveloped Exeter venue Sandy Park has added another new event to their calendar, Darts at the Park.
This will be an evening of darts not to be missed with legends of the game Eric Bristow and Keith Deller, hosted by ‘The Voice’ Russ Bray, on Thursday, 27th November.
Sandy Park, home of Aviva Premiership rugby team the Exeter Chiefs, has undergone a £10 million overhaul in 2014 and as a result, is able to host a wider variety of events and conferences.
The evening will commence at 7.30, with hot food available to purchase and a bar open, and the...
