South West

Stagecoach celebrates SW Falcon carrying 150,000th passenger

Stagecoach has announced that the South West Falcon carried its 150,000th passenger - less than a year since the launch of the 24/7 coach service.

Bob Dennison, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, commented: “Reaching this milestone so soon after launch is absolutely fantastic and goes to show how successful Falcon has become in a short space of time. I’d like to thank all of our staff who keep our coaches running 24/7, and all of our customers who choose to travel with us both now and in the future.”

Launched on 14 February 2016 at a cost of £2.5m, the South West...

Osteo and Physio group goes from strength to strength

A private health clinic - which began with a single practitioner - has become the largest of its kind in the south west in just seven years, delivering more than 1,000 hours of patient treatments every month.

The Osteo and Physio group continues to grow by about 20 - 25% a year, and has now opened branches in Exeter and Tiverton, alongside its Cullompton clinic.

The company, which was established in 2009 by Osteopath Jonathan Boxall, helps people relieve back, joint and muscle pain and other conditions through a range of manual therapies. It now has 15 practitioners working...

Business confidence surges in SW

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 01/03/2017 - 6:05am

Business confidence has increased in the South West but economic uncertainty remains the biggest threat to firms, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank. The report’s confidence index - an average of respondents’ expected sales, orders and profits over the next six months – increased to 17 per cent, up from four per cent, the survey’s score in September 2016. The South West’s confidence boost is the largest increase in the country, followed by London and the South East. David Beaumont, regional director for SME banking in the South West, Lloyds Banking Group...

SW economic growth slows until 2019

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 12/05/2016 - 7:19am

None of the UK’s regions or cities will be immune to slower economic growth over the next three years, with the South West expected to slow down to 1.3% in the period 2017-2019, according to EY’s UK Region and City economic forecast.

However, Bristol’s growth is set to outperform the region as the city’s GVA grows from 0.3% in 2016 to 1.6% annually over the next three years – just ahead of the UK average growth until 2019 of 1.5%. Employment across the South West has grown 0.9% in 2016, with the fastest employment growth coming from public administration (0.6%), transport &...

Alert issued as more rain forecast

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 11/21/2016 - 8:23am

Residents were today (MONDAY) warned to be on alert after further heavy, persistent rain was expected to move across southwest England. Although the more persistent rain should clear from Devon by early afternoon, heavy and possibly thundery showers are likely to follow.

Please be prepared for disruption to transport due to localised flooding, whilst flooding of homes and businesses is also possible.

Some 20-30 mm of rain is expected fall in a 3-6 hour period in places, and a low risk of this falling in 1-2 hours. There could be as much as 40-60 mm possible locally through...

SW Stop Smoking Services under threat

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 11/16/2016 - 10:19am

People across the South West are being urged to back a hard-hitting initiative to save Stop Smoking Services from closure, as new figures released today (Wednesday) reveal dangerous funding cuts. A new joint report by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and Cancer Research UK found that 57 per cent of local authorities in the South West were forced to reduce their smoking cessation budgets in the last year, putting these vital services – and thousands of lives - at risk. With repeated Government cuts to councils’ public health budgets, over the last three years, findings from the report...

Stagecoach SW sponsors Exeter’s lights switch on event

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 11/14/2016 - 10:41pm

Stagecoach South West has confirmed it is the headline sponsor of this year’s Exeter Christmas lights switch-on, due to be held in the city centre on 17 November.

The annual event attracts people from across the region and this year marks the first to be organised by Exeter’s Business Improvement District (BID).

Hosted by Radio Exe favourites Ashley Jeary, Ben Clark and Chris Dinnis, there will be a fun and festive programme of entertainment throughout the city centre from 4pm onwards. The event also marks the unveiling of a new lighting scheme that, due to popular demand,...

Become a motorbiking Santa!

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 11/10/2016 - 10:52am

A festive motorbike cavalcade with a special difference will take place just a couple of weeks before Christmas this year – and YOU could be part of it. The riders will be delivering Christmas toys to youngsters with life-limiting illnesses at the South West Children’s Hospice. So why not arm yourself with a Santa suit, decorate your motorbike with some tinsel or antlers and join the Exeter Based Motorbike Rides group for a ride to remember? This amazing festive ride will take place on Sunday 4 December, meeting at Exeter Junction 30 Moto Services from 10.30am, leaving there at 11am. The...

SW SMEs owed an average of £99,000 in outstanding invoices

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 10/24/2016 - 8:08am

SMEs in South West are owed an average of £99,000 in outstanding invoices, according to the latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

This is an increase of 32 per cent since the last Business in Britain report in January 2016, with 21 per cent of firms citing late payments as the biggest cause of cashflow problems. The report also found that a fifth (21 per cent) of firms in the South West are currently owed more than £200,000 in outstanding invoices, up from 18 per cent in January. The issue of late payments is also likely to persist into 2017, with a...

SW construction market slowing post EU vote

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 10/20/2016 - 6:54am

The majority of UK construction sectors are experiencing a slowdown in growth, as Brexit uncertainty continues to cause concern, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Construction Market Survey.

While 26% more chartered surveyors reported that construction workloads in the UK had risen, rather than fallen this quarter, this is a significant slowdown on the trend growth over the previous three years.

The Midlands remains the engine of growth in UK construction, with 30% more respondents reporting a rise in activity rather than a fall while...

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