Exeter

Third Post Office strike Today

Post Office staff in the country's network of 373 Crown Post Offices, including Exeter and Exmouth, will take a third round of strike action on Monday April 29 in a dispute over closures, franchising, jobs and pay. The CWU says that the management continues to refuse to negotiate, despite their financial arguments being proved wrong.

Strike action will start at 1pm on Monday April 29 and will affect up to 4,000 staff working in 373 Crown (main) post offices. Post Office staff voted by nine to one (88%) in favour of strike action and have already taken strike action on Easter...

Art for Life charity auction to raise funds for Children's Hospice South West

An Art for Life charity auction is due to take place on Saturday 11 May 2013 at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Cathedral Yard, Exeter.

The event (taking place from 10.30am to 12.30pm) will display a vast amount of artwork by South West academicians and other established British artists including works by Ken Howard RA OBE, Rose Hilton ARCA, Peter Brown NEAC and many more.

The paintings have been donated to the auction, which will be conducted by Robin Barlow, in order to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West. This fantastic charity cares for children with a limited...

Notes from an Idealist

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. There is some debate as to whether Henry Ford, to whom this line is often attributed, ever actually said this. Irrespective, it does raise some interesting questions, mainly about asking the right questions.

Any business, in establishing a client’s needs and requirements must ask the right questions. In my profession, for example, it is vital to establish need and objectives before recommending a suitable investment strategy. However, this is rarely as simple as asking a client what they want to achieve....

Blog from PCC Tony Hogg: "I am impressed generally by the effectiveness and commitment of officers and staff"

Wherever I go, people ask me whether I am enjoying being the Police and Crime Commissioner. I always tell them that enjoying is probably the wrong word. Relishing? Yes! Challenged? Definitely! Enjoying? I suspect that will only come when the impact of decisions I make is really felt, and Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is even safer than it already is.

I’m lucky to be PCC for this region. Yes, it’s one of the largest policing patches in the country. It faces considerable resourcing challenges to cover urban, rural and coastal issues, but I am impressed generally by the...

Neil Parish MP meets survivors of genocide at launch of theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2014

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 04/26/2013 - 11:32am

Neil Parish MP met Holocaust survivor Agnes Grunwald-Spier at the launch event for Holocaust Memorial Day 2014. Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is commemorated each year on 27 January – the liberation of the Auschwitz death and concentration camp. HMD provides an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides (in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur) and apply them to the present day to create a safer, better future. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust promotes and supports HMD activities in the UK. Each year HMDT selects a theme around...

Multi-million pound ambulance hub proposed for Exeter Skypark

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 04/26/2013 - 11:13am

Plans have been submitted for a "multi-million pound" ambulance hub at Exeter's Skypark, from which crews will be able to swiftly respond to both local and national emergencies.

Developer St Modwen along with Devon Country Council has submitted a planning application for what will become the first commercially occupied building at Exeter's £210 million Skypark business zone.

The 24,165 sq ft purpose-built facility will be built on behalf of the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, which will acquire the freehold when complete.

The facility will...

The arts are central to our economic and general well being, says Ben Bradshaw MP

The Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, said this week she would fight hard in the forthcoming spending review for Arts and Culture. That’s an improvement on her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, who seemed to take pride in the size of the cuts he offered up to the Treasury and was the first Minister to settle in the last spending round.

Investment in arts and culture is tiny - less than 1% of overall Government spending. Yet it goes a long way in terms of jobs and economic growth. Sometimes wrongly seen as a fluffy luxury, arts spending is central to Britain’s economic future. Independent...

Fitness trainers of the future battle it out in regional competition

Young people from across the region took part in a series of tests on Thursday as Exeter College hosted the inaugural South West CYQ Fitness Trainer Competition. Students from Exeter College’s Exercise and Fitness and Personal Trainer and Sports Massage courses were joined by competitors from Petroc to decide who would be the South West winners and go through to the National final.

The 12 competitors battled it out in two competitions, which ran throughout the day. Judged by experts from Cornwall and London, the competition involved giving a fitness consultation and designing and...

Specialist IT company set to speak at national accountancy exhibition

One of the South West’s most up-and-coming ‘Cloud’ solution specialists, Hosted Desktop UK, has again been asked to speak at the UK’s premier accountancy exhibition, Accountex, on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 June.

Attracting over 3,000 accountants and financial directors plus over 100 exhibitors, the event will see Jonathan Oldknow, Sales Manager for the Exeter-based company, take to the stage at London’s ExCel to deliver a presentation about how hosted desktop is revolutionising the professional office.

Jonathan Oldknow has worked within the IT industry for 23 years...

Opening Day for the new TABS Training centre

Approximately 30 people attended the Opening Day of the new TABS Training Centre in Exeter, including the Lord Mayor Councillor Rob Newby who officially opened the centre. There was also representation from local businesses and charities supporting the Opening Day.

TABS Director Mark Mitchell gave a presentation on the courses that are offered at the centre and the Lord Mayor followed with a speech on his personal experience after being made redundant from the Fire Service and lacking the required skills to help him get back into work. He pointed out that having organisations such...

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