Small businesses in Exeter are set to receive tax breaks of up to £1,000 on their future bills.
The discount which comes from business rates payments is only available to business with a rateable value of £50,000 or below and will be automatically discounted by the Council.
Moreover the discount is only available to certain types of business with pay day lenders, betting shops among those businesses prohibited from the discount.
Aside from those businesses specifically excluded from the discount the City Council will be able to decide which businesses are eligible...
Sir Eric Dancer, the Lord Lieutenant of Devon, has been appointed President of the Devon County Agricultural Association, organisers of the Devon County Show (May 22-24). He succeeds the Hon. George Lopes DL.
Sir Eric was appointed Lord Lieutenant by Her Majesty the Queen in 1998. He is her official representative in the county of Devon and has organised many royal visits to the Devon County Show.
Speaking at the DCAA’s Annual Meeting at Westpoint, Exeter, on Friday, January 24, Sir Eric said that he was delighted and honoured to be taking on his new role, and was looking...
The Chief Executive of the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust will leave the NHS next April.
Jac Kelly, leaves after 8 years as chief executive of the Trust coming into the position as a turnaround director in 2006 to combat the trust’s financial issues.
Under Kelly the Trust has returned a financial surplus for the last four years, despite making £12million a year in efficiency savings.
The Trust will begin seeking a new Chief Executive but in the interim, Andy Robinson, Director of Finance and Deputy Chief Executive, will cover the role.
A soldier has been honoured with the British Army's first promotion in the field since 1953.
Rifleman Gigar Das, from 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES), was honoured a promotion in the field for his service to Mali while serving as part of the EU Training Team.
The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, accompanied the head of the French Army, General Bertrand Ract-Madoux, to witness soldiers from 1 RIFLES delivering infantry training to their Malian counterparts.
Both generals were hugely impressed with Rifleman Das as they observed him conducting a...
Police have seized suspected cannabis plants, with an estimated street value of £250,000, following a warrant at a warehouse in Marsh Barton, Exeter.
Officers were alerted to the premises at 8.15pm on Saturday 25 January after a police dog handler was walking in the area as part of a training exercise and noticed an overwhelming smell of what she believed to be cannabis.
The dog led the officers to a non-descript warehouse on the estate, where neighbourhood officers were called to assist.
A Misuse of Drugs Act warrant was obtained direct from a magistrate, allowing...
Exeter City Council's Customer Service Centre looks set to change its opening hours.
The decision which will go before the City Council's Executive on Tuesday 4 February, could see the centre open for an extra day each week.
Currently the Customer Service Centre is open four days a week but stays open into the late evening on Thursday. Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Housing and Customer Access, said the Council had been trialling the late night opening on Thursdays since March last year but it hadn't been very popular.
The UK economy has had its fastest growth since 2007,with UK GDP growing by 1.9% of in 2013 according to a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). GDP used as the primary measure of a country’s economic growth, grew by 0.7% in the last quarter of 2013, down slightly on the 0.8% growth seen in the third quarter. While growth is at the highest it has been for several years it is still below pre-recession levels. Most of the main industrial areas of the UK also saw increased output in the last quarter with only the construction industry, which accounts for less 8% of GDP,...
An explosion in a cow shed in the German town of Rasdorf yesterday afternoon (Monday 27 Jan) was caused by a build-up of flatulent gas, German police have said. The blast caused damage to the shed’s roof and left one of the cows with injuries. Police believe that the shed became filled flammable methane gas released by the flatulence and belches from the 90 cows.
It is then though that a small static electrical spark then caused the gas to ignite and explode.
Emergency services attended the farm and took gas readings to test for the risk of further blasts, said local media...
Forecasters are warning that further heavy rain is due to hit Devon until late on Tuesday (28 January).
The Met Office warns that frequent showers, some heavy, will bring a further 10-15 mm of rainwater into the region with the risk of up to 40 mm of rain on some areas of high ground.
The rain brings the risk of even further flooding and travel disruption especially in areas where the ground is already saturated.
The Met Office’s chief forecaster said: “A very unsettled start to this week is expected as an area of low pressure moves slowly southwards across Britain...
An Exeter housebuilder has revealed plans to launch a new local site within the next 12 months. David Wilson Homes claim that the site for 40 houses will provide around 80 new jobs in building and sales, mostly for local tradesmen and sub-contractors.
"The Prime Minister has said again and again that one of the best ways to boost economic growth and get people working is through building more homes," said Louise Ware, sales director for David Wilson Homes.
"The plans we have announced show exactly how that theory works in practice. We expect to launch a number of new sites...
