Devon

Long-serving councillor Kevin Mitchell will become Exeter’s new lord mayor later in the year.

The Liberal Democrat member for Duryard & St James will take over the politically neutral, ceremonial role in May, after being officially nominated at an executive meeting on Wednesday [28 February].

Cllr Mitchell, who has been on the council for almost 20 years and served as deputy in 2008/09 and 2011/12, says it will be a “great honour.”

He told the meeting: “As everyone knows, I was born in this city, so it’s my home. I’m very proud of the city of Exeter, so it...

The number of people in Exeter forced to sleep on the streets or in vulnerable circumstances is set to soar, should major funding cuts proposed by Devon County Council go ahead.

Local charity, St Petrock’s, is warning of a homelessness crisis in the city on a scale not seen before.

Rough sleeping in Exeter doubled between 2021 and 2022, due to a range of factors, including service cuts, cost-of-living pressures and interest rate rises.

There are now typically around 30 people sleeping rough in and around the city, in addition to a very large number of people...

As we welcome the clocks going forward this month and the sunnier days of Spring and Summer, the Venus Company announces the re-opening of the East Portlemouth beach café on Sunday 12th March trading for the new season daily from 10 am to 5 pm. This delightful Venus Café, just a short, picturesque ferry ride from Salcombe, is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, boasting stunning sun-soaked beaches.

East Portlemouth is just one of three fabulous beach cafes within the Venus portfolio which includes Bigbury-on-Sea with beautiful sea views, and Broadsands in...

Artisan businesses ranging from jewellery makers to a carbon neutral carpenter are getting a showcase in Topsham at the end of March.

The first Love Topsham Artisan Business Fair takes place in Matthews Hall on March 26 - the first day of spring - from 10am until 3pm.

There will be well over 20 stalls, almost all showcasing businesses based in and around Topsham but lacking their own permanent shop windows.

“We’ve got a host of entrepreneurs and creatives with extraordinary businesses, often working under the radar in offices, homes, lofts and old warehouses....

More than 9,000 trees are being planted at County Farms owned by Devon County Council this winter as part of the ongoing Emergency Tree Fund planting.

One of the biggest planting sites is at Bulleigh Elms Farm, near Newton Abbot, where volunteers are currently helping to plant 3,250 trees, co-ordinated by local not-for-profit social enterprise ParkLife South West .

They are among a total of 16,500 native broadleaved trees being planted in Devon this winter through the Emergency Tree Fund granted by The Woodland Trust . The initiative is enabling private landowners and...

March 1st marks National Offer Day, when many children in England and Wales will find out which secondary schools they will go to.

School transitions can be incredibly challenging. Children in schools continually experience transitions – between different schools, classes, and year groups. A key part of an educator’s role is to make sure these periods of change run as smoothly as possible.

In a children’s emotional health study backed by The Prince’s Trust, young people highlighted the transition to secondary school as being particularly hard on their self-esteem, due to...

Channel 4 is challenging secondary school students across the UK to conjure up ideas for a new TV show as part of a nationwide competition.

Students are being invited to create a new show which explores how we are Altogether Different . The only other stipulation is that the show can be set at any point in time, except in 2023.

They will need to come up with the idea for the show – which could be a drama, documentary, comedy, reality show or any other genre – create a pitch to a TV commissioning team and produce a 30-second trailer for their programme or series to...

Exeter University is providing a free online teaching resource on climate change and sustainability for Key Stage 2 pupils across the county, recorded by the university’s neurodivergent geographers, aiming to raise awareness of neurodiversity.

Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, and recognises that we all think, move, process information and communicate differently. It is estimated that around 1 in 10 people across the UK are neurodivergent , however, all humans vary in terms of our neurocognitive ability. Neurodivergent can be used as a term to...

Berry Recruitment has appointed award-winning Katy Thomas as its new regional manager across the south-west.

With seven years’ experience at the company Katy will oversee the Cornwall, Devon and South Wales’ operations.

She plans to grow the established branches in Truro, Exeter and Newport in terms of turnover and head-count.

The south-west area, which also includes Bristol, covers temporary and permanent employment in multiple sectors.

Katy said: “We have three great branches in the south-west with our Wales branch moving recently from Cardiff to...

Devon-based Supacat has today confirmed receipt from UK MOD of an order on behalf of the British Army for 70 High Mobility Transporters (HMT 400 series), to be manufactured in collaboration with major defence engineering contractor Babcock International Group plc through its facility in Devonport.

The contract award for an undisclosed sum could lead to as many as 240 of the light armoured vehicles, should operational requirements demand. The project is to be delivered between Supacat’s manufacturing facilities at Dunkeswell near Honiton and Babcock’s Devonport site in Plymouth...