School leaders in Devon have renewed their campaign for fair funding for education today in a letter to Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove. The letter from Devon County Council’s Cabinet member for schools, Will Mumford, and the chairman of the Devon Association of Primary Heads, Martyn Boxall calls on Mr Gove to speed up the introduction of a fairer national funding system. Currently Devon schools are sixth from bottom of 152 education authorities for Government funding means every pupil in the county is worth nearly £500 less than the average child nationally. “We’re finding...
Farmland prices in the South West hit yet another record high during the final six months of 2013, having jumped around seven percent in the space of a year, says the latest RICS/RAU Rural Land Market Survey H2 2013.
During the second half of last year, the average cost of farmland in the region rose to £7,763 per acre, hitting a record high for the eighth consecutive period. The cost of land is now seven percent higher than during the same period in 2012 when an acre cost, on average, just under £7,250.
Growth in prices has been driven by the on-going surge in demand from...
The first water reed to be harvested in Devon in 25 years has been cut by scythe on reed beds opposite Topsham on the Exe estuary. Scythe practitioner, Chris Riley spent a labour intensive week harvesting just over an acre of water reed, which can reach up to 10ft high. “Water reed is an untapped resource, because of its inaccessibility and the manual labour involved in cutting it.”
Chris encourages the resurgence of scythe use: “It’s so important to keep rural skills alive and there aren’t many people with the skill and energy to harvest large areas of reed with a scythe.” For...
Around 100 people from community groups from attended a meeting in Exeter last night to discuss the future of the city’s parks and open spaces in the face of further government cuts to council funding. The meeting held at the Corn Exchange was called by Exeter City Council in response to a 13.6% cut in government funding for 2014/15, which is expected to be followed by further cuts to total £5m in the next three years. The cuts mean that Exeter City Council may not have the funding to run the city’s parks and open spaces in the future so is looking for volunteers and buyers to step forward...
The South West Coast Path is inviting businesses to partner with the charity during 2014 to deliver some vital path improvements and protect this great tourism asset.
Recent research has showed that during 2012 the Coast Path had 8.6 million users across the South West which have generated around £436m to the area, an increase of almost 15% in the past three years - helping support 9,771 full-time equivalent jobs.
Recognised as one of the UK’s favourite walks with a reputation as being among the greatest long distance hikes in the world.
Two men, Neil Mendoza of Exeter and Michael Girvin of Exmouth, have received suspended imprisonment sentences and community service, for their part in a scam to mislead time share owners.
Sentenced this week, Mendoza received nine months imprisonment suspended for two years, with 200 hours community service, and Girvin received 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years with 200 hours community service. Girvin also received disqualification as a company director.
The two managers of an Exeter-based company were convicted in December of misleading consumers in a case...
Network Rail has said they will consider five alternative routes as a long term response to the destroyed line at Dawlish.
Options include creating a new passenger route using the existing freight train lines at Alphington and Heathfield near Newton Abbot. Another option is to reinstate the closed Okehampton line which is expected to cost up to £700m. Three new routes travelling to Newton Abbot propose new tunnels being built and would maintain a high number of trains travelling through Dawlish. Network rail also suggest work to make the current coastal line more resilient as...
The Government has pledged an extra £31.45m to bring superfast broadband to the South West today.
The Government hopes the extra money announced by Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, earlier today will help promote business start-ups and job creation in some of the hardest to reach rural areas in the South West.
Local projects in the South West will now receive additional funding from a £250m pot, with coming in addition to the £1.2bn already invested by central and local Government.
Chris Garcia, Chief Executive of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise...
Andrew Kearney, member of St Johns Chambers construction and engineering team will be delivering The South West and Wales Adjudication Society’s Annual Adjudication Law Update on Tuesday, 8th April 2014 at Ashfords, Exeter Stephen Homer of Ashfords will chair this 1-hour seminar, with Andrew bringing delegates up to date with all the latest developments in the law as it relates to Adjudication.
To book your place, contact events@ashfords.co.uk or call 01392 333616 by Friday, 4th April 2014 to reserve a place.
Details Download programme: The Annual Adjudication Law Update...
Blue Chip Holidays, the South West’s largest provider of four and five star self catering holiday homes, has today announced the appointment of Mark Williams as Portfolio Development Manager with responsibility for property acquisition in East Devon.
Mark, who lives in Sidmouth, has over 20 years’ experience as a country homes agent in Devon and specialises in advising owners on property investment to help maximise returns.
Mark’s appointment is part of Blue Chip Holidays’ plans to increase its property portfolio in East Devon over the coming twelve months.
