rural

Business helps those seeking rural dream

A husband and wife team are using their extensive knowledge of agriculture to provide those looking for their own slice of the West Country dream a unique opportunity to see exactly what they’ll be getting.

West Country Dream, set up by Helen and Murray Garrett, brings together a unique combination of a farm, self-catering cottage and a number of agricultural courses for those considering moving to the region in the hunt for the good life.

Helen explained, “Around 10 years ago we took the decision to relocate to the South West from our farm in the Home Counties. This...

MP secures debate on broadband rollout

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 03/02/2015 - 4:28pm

Neil Parish, Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Honiton, has secured a debate in Westminster Hall on the management and delivery of broadband for Wednesday 4th March. Supporting Neil is this debate will be Tessa Munt MP and Richard Bacon MP.

The debate will focus on the Government’s £1.7 billion nationwide rollout to extend superfast broadband to 95 per cent of UK homes and businesses by 2017 and the work of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), which is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and is responsible for delivering superfast broadband and better mobile...

Milked by Simon Longman

Event Date: 
10/03/2015 - 7:30pm to 14/03/2015 - 7:30pm
Venue: 
The Bike Shed, Exeter

Pentabus Theatre Company presents

Milked By Simon Longman

Paul can’t find a job. Snowy can’t find himself. A tender, pertinent portrayal of rural life, unemployment, friendship and a cow called Sandy. A riotous black comedy from one of the UK’s most exciting new playwrights.

For ages 15+ Tickets: £5 Tuesdays, £10/£8 Wednesday - Saturday

http://www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk/whats-on/

@pentabustheatre #MilkedPlay

Plans underway for second stage of superfast broadband roll out

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 01/16/2015 - 11:25am

Connecting Devon & Somerset (CDS) has announced that it will be publishing the tender for the second stage of the superfast broadband programme across the region by early February.

The announcement comes as the current programme gathers significant momentum with over 400 cabinets and nearly 100,000 homes and businesses connected to fibre. In addition, some 2,500 individuals and businesses have attended events as part of the Get up to Speed programme, which is designed to help them get the most out of faster broadband.

Connecting Devon and Somerset will be using the...

Rise in rural jobs predicted over next decade

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sat, 12/27/2014 - 10:37pm

Productivity could grow faster in the countryside than urban areas over the next decade, with a rise in rural jobs, thanks to a high-tech boost from speedier broadband and better transport links, a new analysis has shown.

Increased connectivity, spread of innovation, growth in knowledge-based industries and changes in working patterns are expected to help rural areas catch up with urban areas over the next decade, contributing to the government’s long-term economic plan.

This is expected to deliver higher wages and output of rural areas could potentially increase by around...

Digital highway is a road to nowhere for many rural retirees

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sun, 11/09/2014 - 12:15pm

Following a recent report by The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), predicting that half a million elderly UK residents could spend Christmas Day alone, NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer, is concerned that the problem of isolation is much greater for elderly people living in rural areas due to a lack of access to reliable broadband.

While the Government is keen to encourage elderly people to use social media and video-calling to contact distant relatives, such systems are reliant on access to reliable and affordable internet access, something which can be a postcode lottery in...

Survey paints portrait of village hall life

England’s 10,000 village halls rely on more than 12 million hours of volunteering each year to deliver their vital role at the heart of rural communities, a new survey* has revealed.

The survey, by leading rural specialists ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), showed volunteers who run classes and events put in 2.5 million hours annually. That’s on top of the estimated 9.6 million hours clocked up by management committees.

But more than half of the halls who responded said they were struggling to find new recruits to help manage the buildings – with people...

2014 Rural Futures Conference

Event Date: 
25/09/2014 - 9:00am to 4:00pm
Venue: 
Exeter Racecourse

You are invited to join us at our annual conference:

Rural Renaissance - shrinking state and blooming communities

On the Soap Box A range of vibrant speakers discuss issues that are important to rural communities

The Village Find out about services, advice and support that the Community Council of Devon can offer you

The Market Place Visit a range of businesses and organisations demonstrating and trading their goods and services

NEW for 2014 - The Chamber An open forum where you can ask questions of our panel of rural and community specialists....

First World War memorial website launches

An online memorial to the fallen men of the Clinton Devon Estates communities has been launched.

The website, www.devonremembers.co.uk was created from information gathered by volunteers from across the Estate's towns and villages.

The event was attended by key people from the Estate, local media and the volunteers and historians that tirelessly researched and compiled the stories of those who fell during the war.

People are invited to add their own stories and photographs on the site, or by emailing mail@devonremembers.co.uk .

£38m for superfast broadband improvements

Connecting Devon and Somerset has confirmed that an additional £38 million will be invested in improving superfast broadband coverage across the region. This funding will be spent on increasing coverage to 95% of homes and businesses by 2017.

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Cabinet Member for Economy and Growth for Devon County Council, said: “We are delighted to announce that Connecting Devon and Somerset and its partners have raised over £19 million towards better superfast broadband coverage in Devon and Somerset. This means that together with the matched funding from Government...

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