Exeter

Stagecoach ticket zone extensions

Stagecoach South West has announced extensions to their Exeter ticket zones.

The changes will take effect from Monday 27th October and will result in significant reductions in daily and season ticket travel costs for, amongst others, residents of Cranbrook and Cullompton.

The Exeter Megarider zone is being extended to include the new town of Cranbrook, with the cost of a daily ticket falling from £5.50 to £3.60 and the cost of a weekly ticket reducing from £20 to £14, savings of 35% and 30% respectively.

The Exeter Megarider Plus zone is being extended to include...

Pumpkin carving competition to aid Children’s Hospice

Pumpkin kits are on their way to local businesses as part of a competition to help raise funds for Children’s Hospice South West.

For the second year running, the Mercure Southgate Exeter is holding a pumpkin carving competition, inviting Exeter residents, businesses, hotel guests, spa and leisure club members to get creative for charity.

Hotel manager Fiona Darde said: “We’re looking for people to get creative and help raise money for Children’s Hospice South West. Last year we had a fantastic response, ranging from quirky and fun to truly inspiring and scary.

“...

Sportshall indoor athletics is back in Exeter

Sportshall, the popular and successful program of indoor athletics which teaches and improves children core sporting skills is back in Exeter.

Running at Clifton Hill Sports Centre on selected Sunday afternoons between October 2014 and March 2015, children and their families can enjoy throwing nerf howlers and light up glitter shot balls, trying their hand at long jump and triple jump, or joining in the fun of relays and hurdles.

Award winning Exeter based South West Athletics Academy will be running sessions on Sunday 2 November 2.30 – 4pm, Sunday 7 December 2.30 – 4pm,...

The (un)forgotten 307 Squadron: An exhibition about the RAF Polish night fighters of Exeter

Event Date: 
13/11/2014 - 10:00am to 15/11/2014 - 4:00pm
Venue: 
Exeter Guildhall, High Street, Exeter

This year an exhibition by ‘307 Squadron Project’ will take place at the Exeter Guildhall from 13-15 November to coincide with the flag raising.

The Polish flag will be flying over Guildhall on 15 November, which since 2012 has become known as ‘307 Squadron Day’ in the city.

307 Polish Squadron, part of the RAF, were night-fighters who protected Exeter and South-West England during the Second World War. The Polish fought the German Luftwaffe over the dark skies of Devon and prevented Exeter from being totally destroyed during the blitz on the city in 1942. More than 70...

Hearing loss: don't suffer in silence

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 10/21/2014 - 2:18pm

A survey by an Exeter hearing centre revealed 40 per cent of people feel embarrassed or anxious about hearing loss.

Specsavers Hearing Centre Exeter conducted research at the Exeter 50+ Show, polling visitors at the annual gathering about their perceptions of hearing loss, which affects one in six people in the UK.

Results also revealed 78 per cent of people feel unable to join in conversations in some social situations due to background noise, while 29 per cent of people have pretended to know what someone was saying despite not being able to hear them.

Donna...

Make a wish in Princesshay for Dream-A-Way

A wishing well has been hand crafted and donated by local contractor, Build Care Plus Limited to Princesshay’s charity of the year Dream-A-Way.

The wishing well is located in the centre of the main thoroughfare in Princesshay and has proved a big hit with shoppers of all ages.

Jeff Merrett MBE, Chairman of Dream-A-Way said: “We’re extremely grateful to Build Care Plus for creating and donating the wishing well.

"We hope visitors to Princesshay will enjoy the new feature and we’d like to thank those who have already donated. Those looking to exchange their pennies...

Exeter CAB opens new premises

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Tue, 10/21/2014 - 12:43pm

Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau held a celebration to mark the opening of its new city centre offices.

Guest-of-honour, MP Ben Bradshaw officially opened the charity’s new premises which are now based in Dix’s Field.

And there was a special honour bestowed on one of Exeter CAB’s most dedicated volunteers.

Anna Warne, who has worked as a volunteer and later as a member of the trustee board for more than 32 years, was made the organisation’s first ‘life friend’. The office’s new meeting and training room was also named in her honour.

Steve Barriball, chief...

Network Rail announce Exeter flood prevention plans

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Tue, 10/21/2014 - 10:33am

Network Rail has announced plans for tackling the problem of continual flooding at Cowley and Stafford bridges in Exeter.

This solution involves the removal of three weirs close to the bridges to lower the water level in this part of the River Exe.

Flooding at these bridges is a long-standing problem that has had a devastating impact on the nearby railway line and on the local community. In total, it has resulted in four weeks of disruption over the last two years, meaning numerous delays and closures on this part of the Great Western Main Line; loss of profit for...

Who gets the most in benefits?

Authored by andyhannan
Posted: Tue, 10/21/2014 - 9:36am

Who really benefits most from welfare spending? A lot of people think that it’s the unemployed. So then, what percentage of welfare spending do you think goes to the unemployed, through Jobseekers Allowance - 50%, 25% or 10%?

The answer, according to the Department for Work and Pensions Annual Report for 2013-14, is just 2.34%. Of an overall annual expenditure of £163 billion, Jobseekers Allowance gets £3.81 billion. However, over half (50.93%) of DWP benefit money goes to those who receive the State Pension - £83.14 billion.

The top fifteen most expensive benefits (£...

Concern over prison officer numbers

The number of officers at public-sector prisons in the South West region has been cut by 37 per cent in less than four years, figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal today (Monday 20 October).

Research published by the charity shows that, across England and Wales, there were only 14,170 officer grade staff working in prisons run by the state at the end of June 2014. There were more than 24,000 at the end of August 2010.

This includes 1,375 officer posts that were lost when 15 public-sector prisons were closed during the period.

In the South...

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