Plans to demolish and redevelop the Topsham library building are due to be discussed by Exeter City Coucnil’s planning committee next week. The proposals submitted by the Estuary League of Friends (ELoF) seek full planning permission to demolish the existing building and replace it with a 2-storey contemporary building to act as a community hub facility. The discussion of the plans come as Devon County Council begin consultation on the future of its library services. This consultation could see over half of its smaller libraries, including Topsham library, closed unless community...
The Sports Park on the University of Exeter campus has today played host to over 1,000 primary school children from across the county taking part in the Devon Winter School Games.
Young people from across Devon will today get the chance to compete in a range of sports including netball, rugby, volleyball and hockey as well as the opportunity for young people with pan-disabilities to take part in boccia & goalball events. The event is part of the national Sainsbury’s School Games programme and for the first time, the event will also give children from primary schools in Devon...
From Tuesday (1 April), Devon County Council will take over the enforcement of on-street parking from local District Councils.
This will create a single countywide service responsible for all on-street parking, with 45 Civil Parking Enforcement officers transferring to the County Council.
The move follows the County Council's review of its Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) over the past year in order to reduce the operating deficit of this service.
After the first year the revised “in-house” service is expected to deliver annual savings of around £400,000 (measured...
New Investigations into allegations of child abuse by Jimmy Savile include an investigation into an Exeter Children’s home that closed in 1986. The historic investigation into Collette Lodge in Exeter comes as new information from the Metropolitan Police opens 21 new investigations into children’s homes and schools across England and Wales. Investigators from Operation Yewtree have handed allegations dating back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s to the Department for Education (DfE).
In a written statement Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "This information was uncovered as part...
Pandora Munoz has won first prize in a design a Doctor Who monster competition run by St Thomas Library.
The library, situated in Church road, Exeter, hosted an award event presenting Pandora with an upgraded version of the design she created.
The monster was redrawn and coloured by Simon Brett a local artist who works for the longest running scifi magazine in the world, Starburst. He presented Pandora with a framed original of her creature: ‘The Soul Stealer’.
Simon was impressed, saying: "Its inventive design and fascinating back story with special powers would...
Devon is to receive nearly £7 million in Government funding to repair roads damaged by the winter storms, the Transport Secretary has confirmed today. The funding comes after Devon County Council reported last month that at least 11,500 potholes had been reported on Devon’s roads in January and February alone. The number of potholes reported on Devon’s 8,000 Mile road network is unprecedented and significantly higher than a normal winter which typically only sees around 2,000 potholes across a whole season. Confirming the funding earlier today, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said...
Devon County Council partnership-working has been given an extra boost with the appointment of local Partnerships Superintendent Chris Eastwood. Supt. Eastwood will be largely based at County Hall for the next two years. In this new position for Devon and Cornwall Police, he will be responsible for identifying and developing opportunities to work with the County Council and other partner agencies to support closer collaborative working and deliver better outcomes for communities. “With the challenges facing the public sector, we all need to look at ways to work more creatively and...
Primary school pupils across Devon have been bravely examining the rubbish produced by their packed lunches over the past few weeks in readiness of the County-wide “Waste Free Lunch” week campaign from 10th – 14th March.
Donning gloves, and with strong stomachs, children have been weighing waste, sorting snacks and picking out packaging from the mountain of rubbish generated every day after lunch time.
The aim of the campaign is to reduce the amount of waste produced by packed lunches in schools, and to share innovative ideas for packing “waste free” lunches with pupils,...
Nearly half of the South West’s businesses plan to take on apprentices in the next five years according to a survey of employers across England. The study of 601 businesses, released to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week, also shows how Apprenticeships are growing in popularity, with half of all employers in the South West (50%) reporting that they are now more likely to offer an Apprenticeship than they were two years ago. A quarter of employers also reported that they would be taking on apprentices within the next 12 months indicating that more companies are seeing the advantages...
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.
