Repair and clear-up work after damage from the latest storms is expected to take at least six weeks according to East Devon District Council.
Collapsing beach huts, damaged seafronts and a washed away ice cream parlour have all been handled by Council staff in the recent work to clear the damage left by weeks of severe weather conditions.
However, with more strong gales and heavy rain expected to hit the county late tonight and throughout the day tomorrow bringing the risk of further damage, the clear-up work may take even longer than expected.
Most people earning average wages in the South West would need to more than double their annual salary just to keep up with out of control house prices, new research by homelessness charity Shelter shows. In the study, released today, the charity looked at wage and house price inflation since 1997 in every area of the region. This was then used to calculate what average annual earnings would be if they had risen at the same rate as house prices. The charity argues that as the disparity between house prices and wages is keeping a generation of people out of the market. “When you’d need to...
An Exeter-based company has been shortlisted in a national awards ceremony in recognition of the difference their pioneering assistive smartphone technology is making to the lives of people with autism across the UK.
Brain in Hand, at the University of Exeter Innovation Centre, has been nominated in the Best New Technological Innovation sponsored category in The National Autistic Society's (NAS) Autism Professionals Awards 2014. The annual ceremony, which first took place in 2013, recognises and rewards services and professionals that lead the way in innovative autism practice and...
Prime Minister, David Cameron, has today visited the destroyed track near Dawlish as part of his tour of the storm damage in the South West. Mr Cameron met with the repair force from Network Rail and thanked railway staff for their work to retain service via replacement bus and alternative travel schemes. At meeting with Rail operators First Great Western Mr Cameron tweeted “Hearing how @FGW are keeping the SW #openforbusiness. We will look at possible alternatives to the Dawlish rail route.” The Prime Minister later met with local volunteers accompanied by Anne Marie Morris MP for Newton...
Gale force winds are forecast for the rest of this week as the relentless storms continue to batter the South West.
The Met Office’s chief forecaster said: “With ongoing flooding in some places, any further rain will only add to the problems. Very gusty winds may be an added hazard in places.”
The Met Office forecast for the next five days is as follows:
Today:
A wet and windy start with some heavy downpours. The rain will clear eastwards during the morning, leaving the rest of the day bright and breezy, with a few showers, some of which will be heavy,...
The rising number of assaults against frontline staff has seen the Ambulance service re-commit to a zero tolerance approach to abuse. The South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) reports that there were 104 reports of physical abuse against frontline staff in the last 12 months. 73 of the reported assaults were referred to the police with 22 incidents leading to the abusive patients to be arrested. There are a number of more serious cases awaiting a court date as a result of these reports. Anne Payne, Health, Safety and Security Manager with SWASFT, said: “All reports of...
The Dream-A-Way team were delighted when some of the HMS Defender crew joined in with the bucket collection at St James Park at the Exeter City v Portsmouth match on Saturday.
While it was a great result on the pitch with City scoring a 94th minute equaliser (1–1) it was also a great result with a very good collection off the pitch too with Lez Miller’s top 20 collectors overcoming the rainy weather and collecting a massive total of £638.15.
Chairman Jeff Merrett said “ Despite the weather it was a great atmosphere at St James Park and Dream-A-Way were delighted to have...
South West Water plans to invest almost £160million in improving its services in 2014-15, and freeze standard tariffs and standing charges for all its household and business customers until April 2015.
A total of £430,000 per day will be spent on improving the region's vital water and sewerage infrastructure in 2014-15.
The year's investment is part of a £700million programme between 2010 and 2015 which supports 4,000 jobs in the wider regional economy.
Exeter is one particular area that will benefit from South West Water’s new improvements. £4.4million is being...
A new National Rural Crime Network, endorsed by eighteen (18) of the UK’s Police and Crime Commissioners, including Devon and Cornwall’s Tony Hogg, has been set-up to help tackle rural crime more effectively in England and Wales. A further 8 Commissioners are considering joining the group which could bring the total to around two thirds of PCCs across the two countries. Once established the Network will provide an online resource for police, community safety practitioners and others to interact, to share information, training development, access to case studies and link up with other...
Government Inspector Anthony Thickett starts his 19-day hearing sessions of the public examination of the Draft Local Plan 2006-26 submitted by East Devon District Council on Tuesday, 11 February.
Full details of the programme, showing the dates and subject matter of each session, are available on the programme officer’s website at http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/progofficer
Proceedings will last for just under one month and in that time the Inspector will hear evidence from the council, community organisations, protest groups and landowners and developers in the district....
