Parks and open spaces in Exeter could increasingly be managed by community groups as local authorities receive less and less funding, the City Council has announced.
Exeter City Council has invited groups and individuals across the city to discuss opportunities for local management or ownership of key areas of public open space in Exeter in the near future.
The council hopes the initiative will see local groups wanting to be more 'hands-on' and have more control of parks and green spaces in their communities.
The meeting comes after the City Council announced that...
Colyton Grammer School in East Devon has received the best GCSE results in the country for the second year running according to the latest school league tables.
The news is perhaps no surprise as the school, which only takes in pupils in the top 25% of the abiltity range, has been named as the Sunday Time’s ‘Co—Educational School of the Year’ on no fewer four occasions.
Headteacher Paul Evans said of the school’s success: “Its a magic formula at Colyton; a group of students who are committed and clearly very able, a very hardworking and talented staff that constantly amaze...
The number of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants in Devon has increased slightly for the second month in a row.
During December 2013, the number of people claiming JSA increased by 88 claimants (1.3%) and now stands at 6,667.
Although this contrasts with the national trend, which has seen a decrease, the JSA claimant rate in Devon stands at 1.5% of the working age population, which is around half the national rate of 2.9%.
Likewise, over the last 12 months, the number of people claiming JSA has actually fallen by 2,606 claimants (a reduction of 28.1%), which is a...
Police in Newton Abbot are appealing for witnesses after a man was allegedly assaulted in the town on Tuesday 21 January. The assault happened on Powderham Road early in the afternoon, between around 1pm and 3pm. A man approached the 27-year-old victim and assaulted him with a brick. The victim suffered leg injuries as a result of the incident. The suspect is described as white, short and of stocky build. He was wearing an Adidas baseball cap, dark blue tracksuit bottoms, a light grey hoody and a short black jacket. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call police on 101 quoting...
Councillors at a budget scrutiny meeting of Devon county council have recommended a real terms spending cut of £21.4 million from the authority’s people services.
The authority’s people services which cover areas such as the youth service, child protection services, adult social care and schools and education will see some services reduce their abilities.
However due to ongoing spending pressures including those from the review of the council’s child protection services the people budget will only make savings of £4 million on last year’s budget.
Outbreaks of heavy rain spreading slowly eastwards across South West England are likely to hit Devon from 3pm this
later in the day before clearing away east in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Met Office has warned that with the ground remaining saturated, people should be aware of the risk of further localised flooding within the warning area.
The rain is also expected to lead to minor disruption to transport.
The Met Office's Chief Forecaster said: "A frontal system will move east across South West England later on Tuesday clearing east in the early...
A new events leaflet from Teignbridge Council is encouraging people to get out and about in the great outdoors over the next three months.
Teignbridge has launched a new-look compact Green Spaces Events Guide for January – March.
With 17 events scheduled at 7 of the council’s managed wildlife sites the new ‘Green Spaces Events Guide’ is packed with fun forays into nature that are suitable for all ages. It tells you everything you need to know about each individual event, the vast majority of which are free.
They range from archery at the Green Flag award-winning...
An Exeter based interpreting agency for Deaf and hard of hearing people is supporting a move by the British Deaf Association (BDA) calling for all public bodies and agencies to be required by law to provide a Deaf person with a registered communication professional. As the South West’s leading interpreting agency, Deafinite Interpreters is supporting the vital campaign to ensure full access for everyone. Talking about the campaign Helen Caldwell, a founding director of Deafinite Interpreters, said: “It is vital that Deaf and hard of hearing people are supported by qualified, registered BSL...
Christmas retail sales have seen the highest rise in nine years according to a new report by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The report showed that retail sales for December were up by 5.3% on the same period in 2012, a significantly higher rise than in previous years.
The report has surprised many financial forecasters as several big name brands revealing that they had performed under expectations in the Christmas period.
Supermarkets Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s and department stores Debenhams and Marks and Spencer all performed under expectations...
The number of house sales in the South West has reached its highest point since 2007 according to a survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The survey showed that sales in December were more than double that f the lowest point of the downturn.
Prices are also rising with a net balance of 56 percent more chartered surveyors reported growing prices in the South West.
Significantly, every area of the UK saw prices increase with London and the South East experiencing the biggest jumps.
RICS claim that the figure calculated by sales per...
