You don’t need to pay to have your council tax valuation band reviewed, Exeter City Council has pointed out. The local authority said that anyone could apply to the Valuation Office Agency if they felt the property they were living in was in the wrong council tax band. However, appeals to the government department may also see the banding go up rather than down! The advice from the City Council comes after an elderly resident was contacted by a company offering to appeal against their council tax banding in return for an £80 fee. Cllr Emma Morse, Lead Councillor for People, said: “Whilst...
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is urging people only to call 999 in a genuine emergency this Christmas. Demand for the service is likely to peak between Saturday 22 December and Boxing Day when staff are expecting to deal with more than 3,100 incidents a day. Managers warn that unnecessary calls over the busy festive period could delay emergency help for people in real need of an ambulance. SWASFT has released a montage of clips from 10 inappropriate calls it received from the public recently, as examples of people calling 999 for the wrong reasons. The 10...
More than 200 of the South West’s leading employers – as well as keynote speakers of national importance – have attended a flagship Apprenticeship conference, hosted by Exeter College at Sandy Park.
The landmark Bringing Clarity to the Future of Apprenticeships 2018 Conference provided the latest updates in employer, education and government thinking around Apprenticeships, to organisations from across the South West.
High profile national speakers at the conference included Christine Ourmières-Widener, CEO of Flybe, Rob Nitsch, Chief Operating Officer Institute for...
A spell has been cast over Killerton this Christmas as volunteers and staff at Killerton, near Exeter, have worked together to create magical photos to reflect the story of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen. Each year, to sprinkle a little extra Christmas magic and celebrate the start of the festive season, Killerton staff and volunteers team up with photographer Steve Haywood to create magical images of the story to celebrate the start of Christmas. This year the stars of the photos were Freckle, a 12-year old Irish draught horse from Tiverton and Gabi a 6-year-old snowy owl. Both...
Last Thursday, the School Council from Exeter Deaf Academy presented at Devon County Hall Council Chambers. The deaf students aged between 15-16 years old stood up and delivered a confident presentation to the Chamber in British Sign Language (BSL), articulating the need for regional TV news programmes to be accessible for all, and explained their goal was for the Southwest’s regional TV broadcasters to lead the way for the rest of the UK.
Currently in the UK, live regional TV news programmes do not have live British Sign Language interpretation. Subtitles and closed captioning don...
Rob Baxter says his Exeter Chiefs side must use the disappointment of their European campaign so far to make them a better side moving forward.
Hopes were high at the start of the season that the Devonians would really attack their rivals in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup. However, that has not proved the case and after three rounds the Chiefs are still without a win and sat bottom of Pool Two.
An opening round draw with Munster at Sandy Park has since been followed with defeats to Castres and Gloucester, the latter coming just last Saturday when the Cherry &...
Stagecoach South West have released the special Christmas and New Year bus schedule detailing services over the holiday season.
Services will run up to Christmas Eve to accommodate as many people as possible during the busy festive period. Services are set to finish slightly earlier on Christmas and New Years Eve, in preparation for the annual holiday, but routes will continue to operate through to around 7-9pm, to ensure people can travel after work and shopping.
Two specific service changes just for both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve affect the H bus service in Exeter,...
A sponsored swim from a former patient at the RD&E has raised over £1500 for the department which saved her life.
Sue Bryant, from Tiverton, Devon, was admitted to the intensive care unit in 2013 after developing Miller Fisher Syndrome. The condition, which is a form of Guillain-Barré syndrome and affects the nervous system, left Sue with profound muscle weakness. After spending 10 days on the unit, she was eventually well enough to be discharged to a medical ward where her intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation continued.
Those looking for new ways to get active this January can do so at their local library. During the month [of January], 54 libraries across Devon will be hosting events and activities designed to get people of all ages exercising their mind, body and soul.
Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs Devon and Torbay libraries will launch its sixth annual Active Life Active Mind programme on January 3rd 2019. The month long programme sees over 250 events taking place across the county, including Star Wars Yoga and Saber Combat Jedi School.
The West Exe U12s team has received a brand-new free strip courtesy of local McDonald’s franchisee David Shawyer and his Marsh Barton restaurant.
Franchisee David Shawyer says: “West Exe is a fantastic example of a grassroots club with a real community spirit. It’s important that we support local teams to help them create the best possible experience for young aspiring players. I’m proud to have a history of supporting grassroots football in Exeter.”
West Exe is a Charter Standard football club committed to offering young players the chance to get involved in the club....