Exeter

As East Devon’s new town of Cranbrook takes shape and expansion looks set to continue for several years to come, the district council needs to ensure that it has enough staff with the right skills to deal with the many challenges that the blossoming community will pose.

But any new staff recruitment will take place against a background of shrinking resources within local government. There are hopes of up to £285,000 from the Department for Communities and Local Government, but this funding has not been confirmed, so other sources of funding will need to be found – including...

People are being asked what they think about the taxi provision in Exeter.

Exeter City Council is considering some significant changes in the way that the taxi trade is licensed across the city. The number of hackney carriage licences (the cabs which people hail from a rank) could be increased from the current limit of 66. Other measures could include:

• introducing a distinctive colour scheme for Exeter’s cabs
• making in-cab CCTV compulsory
• setting stricter limits on emissions
• Encouraging the use of electric vehicles

Cllr...

The Green Party in Exeter has written to Council leader, Cllr Pete Edwards, demanding an urgent response to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Greens point to the ‘critical role of local councils’ in tackling climate change, identified in the IPCC report.

The Green Party is calling for an immediate review of current strategies, policies, investments and partnerships and for the Council to consider immediately how mitigation and adaptation measures to tackle climate change can be introduced. Measures being proposed by the Greens...

Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau is looking for volunteers and will be holding a recruitment fair at their office on Wednesday 3 December.

They will be recruiting for a range of roles including:

• Advisor – Give generalist advice to clients. • Gateway assessor – Identify issues, next steps and handle emergencies • Reception and information guide – meet people as they arrive and help them access self help resources.

You will receive training for all roles. The advisor and gateway assessor roles come with a specific and thorough training course which may take between 1-2...

Devon County Council is delighted to announce that one of it's most popular visitor destinations, Stover Country Park, is a finalist in this years Devon Tourism Awards.

The park and nature reserve is up for either a bronze, silver or gold in the Access & Inclusivity Award category.

To qualify, entrants had to demonstrate exceptional customer service to all and offer an outstanding experience for visitors, particularly those with impairments and other access needs such as mobility, auditory or sensory.

The winner will be announced at a glittering ceremony at the...

Fire crews were called to a barn fire at Welland Down Farm in Sandford near Crediton last night.

Fire control received a call from the above address at around 7pm reporting a barn containing hay on fire.

Two appliances from Crediton, one from Witheridge and the water bowser from Exeter were mobilised.

On arrival crews confirmed that there was a barn containing approximately 200 large bales of hay well alight.

Initial reports stated there were animals also in the barn, however, fire crews confirmed that no animals were injured and had been moved to safety...

Members of Devon Hotels & Restaurants Association are looking forward to another year at the Devon Tourism Awards with seven hotels nominated this year. The recent announcement of this year’s nominees include members Highbullen Hotel Golf and Country Club, The Magdalen Chapter, The Horn of Plenty, Northcote Manor Country House Hotel and the Deer Park Country House Hotel.

The hotels have been nominated across categories that include B&B and guest accommodation of the year, dog friendly accommodation of the year, large hotel of the year, small hotel of the year, taste of...

Over 100 business leaders attended the launch of the new Park & Change initiative at the October Chamber lunch which was held at the Mercure Southgate Hotel.

The new initiative, targeted at cutting congestion in the city, was launched at the Exeter Chamber’s monthly lunch. The aim is to enable the Chamber, along with Devon County Council and the Chamber subgroup, ESBN (Exeter Sustainable Business Network), to work with local organisations, building greater awareness for the scheme from environmentally conscious companies. Companies on the fringes of the city are asked to allow...

There are many contributing factors to the patient experience when receiving care at NHS hospitals and WiFi is one such provision that has an increasingly important part to play.

From helping patients to remain connected to the outside world during extended periods of care to providing hospitals with a unique, scalable and customisable platform from which to communicate, WiFi services are making a vital, and highly valued, contribution to hospital wards across the country.

With hundreds of NHS locations serviced nationwide, Exeter based WiFi SPARK is a specialist provider...