Exeter's famous Custom House is set to become the centre of attention once again as a visitor and interpretation centre celebrating the history of the Quay and Canal.
The landmark building, which for centuries was used to collect taxes on goods entering the city, has in recent times been not been used to its full potential or underoccupied. Exeter City Council, the owner of the building, has for some years been exploring various options for its long-term sustainable use.
Now the City Council can reveal its plans.
The Quay House Visitor Centre is to relocate from its...
Lugets of Exeter, the city’s oldest gentlemen’s outfitters and tailors, has decided to close its doors for the final time next month. The store, located on Cathedral Yard, has confirmed that its last day of business will be Saturday 21st March 2015. Whilst the news of the shop closing will be disappointing to many, the proprietor, Mark Simpson, has confirmed that they are thinking of ways to carry on the Lugets name which has amassed an exceptional reputation over its 200 years of trading, for providing its customers with a combination of fine craftsmanship and excellent service. Mark...
Everyone is welcome to attend a public drop-in session in Ottery St Mary to hear what the next steps will be for the town’s local wild beavers.
The drop-in event is being held on Friday 6 February between 3pm and 7.30pm, at The Institute in Ottery St Mary.
A small population of beavers is living on the River Otter close to the East Devon town of Ottery St Mary.
The animals recently made national news headlines when Natural England decided to grant Devon Wildlife Trust with a licence which would allow the animals to live on the river while the charity monitored their...
With less than eight months to go to the Rugby World Cup, the final preparations to showcase Exeter Rugby Club’s facilities on the world stage are well underway, backed by a suite of funding packages from Barclays.
Exeter, alongside Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium, are the only two rugby club venues in the country that have been selected to host matches as part of the Rugby World Cup 2015 which, according to a study undertaken by EY on behalf of the Organising Committee, has estimated £39m of economic activity up for grabs for Exeter, in welcoming players, fans and visitors to the...
Silverton’s drama troupe, the Silverton Luvvies, is gearing up for its next production, a murder mystery play set over six decades – “The Secret of Willoughby Hall”.
This follows the group’s sell-out production in 2014, which honoured the lives of Silverton’s WW1 soldiers, “Trenches and Wenches”. The play, as with all of the Silverton Luvvie’s productions, is an original work written by director Portia Smith and Iain Gonoude (in cahoots with the Luvvies themselves).
The three-act play, set in the fictional Willoughby Hall, starts in the 1950s and takes the audiences on a...
East Devon District Council has now completed work on the coastal defence beach recycling project at Sidmouth’s main beach, with the exception of clearing some drains that had filled with pebbles as the beach levels rose, and the reinstatement of a boulder into a rock groyne.
The work, which began on 5 January, was finished well within the original estimated time frame of six weeks and has restored the beach’s profile back to a healthy level with a protective blanket of shingle.
However, this is not about making the beach look pretty. For over 20 years the shingle has...
Exeter’s Purity Boutique Spa has expanded its offering to include hair services, courtesy of experienced stylist Sarah Bainborough.
Sarah, who originally trained in Exeter over 12 years ago, has recently moved back to the area, after previously owning her own salon in Brighton.
Purity’s owner Mariam Badavi said: “It’s wonderful to have Sarah on board at Purity. We can now offer our clients a one-stop shop for hair and beauty making it ultra-convenient.”
Sarah, who has moved into one of the vintage-inspired rooms at the Cathedral Green based spa adds “I’ve had an...
The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England is asking local people for their help to draw up a new pattern of council wards for Exeter City Council.
The consultation is the first part of an electoral review which will re-draw ward boundaries across the city.
The Commission has also announced that it is minded to recommend that the council should have 39 councillors in the future: one fewer than the current arrangements.
The Commission now needs information from people and groups across Exeter to help it to produce a new pattern of wards to...
Voting has opened for the Exeter Business Improvement District (BID).
640 businesses from across Exeter City Centre are eligible to vote on the scheme, which if voted in will raise £2.4 million over the next five years.
As the vote opens, three businesses within the BID area have their say:
Graham Austin, Corporate Director for Devon & Cornwall at Barclays
I think voting on the BID is vital if Exeter is to reach its potential. There is plenty of competition out there with other cities and towns raising their game and other competition coming in from...
Defending champions Exeter Chiefs booked their place in the last four of this season’s LV= Cup with this hard-fought victory away to Newport-Gwent Dragons.
Rob Baxter’s side ran in five tries on their way to victory in Wales through Adam Hughes, Fetu’u Vainikolo, Tom James, Sam Skinner and a Penalty Try, but they were made to fight all the way by the Welsh region who themselves ran in four touchdowns of their own during a points-filled second half.
It was no more than the Chiefs – whose other points came courtesy of former...
