East Devon Radio

Exmouth lifeboat volunteers went to the aid of three people on board a broken down speedboat that was taking on water on Sunday, September 26.

Dozens of beaches across the Southwest concluded their RNLI lifeguard service at the weekend. As of Sunday (September 26), 39 beaches in Devon, Cornwall and West Dorset finished patrols for the 2021 season.

Please don’t Panic Buy fuel Communities in Devon and Cornwall are being reminded that there is no fuel shortage in either county - and there is no need to panic buy.

A new East Devon councillor has been elected in the Exe Valley following a by-election held on Thursday 23 September

The £35million Sandy Park Hotel has now become a permanent feature on the city's skyline, particularly for motorists on the M5. Its eight storeys have risen over the past 18 months and the building commands lofty views towards south and east Devon.

Officers attended The Volunteer public house, on High Street, Honiton, about racist graffiti and believe it was sprayed at around 5.30am on Wednesday 22 September. The police are particularly keen to hear from a man and a woman with a bicycle, who they believe may have seen the suspect, or any drivers who went past at the time. The suspect is described as a white man, aged between 25 and 30, of stocky build and was carrying what looked like a dark coloured holdall/bag. He was wearing dark clothing including a long sleeve top.

The council’s chair, Councillor Colin Parker, made the announcement at a full council meeting this week. He said it was in recognition of “the hours and the efforts” staff had put in to help communities across the district. “From the beginning of the pandemic, the staff have stepped up to their roles, [and] worked long hours. Initially, many were doing it from their dining tables or bedrooms, to make sure people received vital support, grants, housing benefits, business loans, or helping people to come off the streets into safe housing.”

Exeter College wants the temporary one-way layout on Queen Street – the main thoroughfare between its main buildings and the city centre – to become permanent. A public consultation now underway into the scheme that was introduced to help social distancing. At the start of the year the road became one-way eastbound between Paul Street and Northernhay Street with a single lane for traffic, wider footways for pedestrians – although two-way access for buses, taxis and cycles has been maintained. To mitigate the impact, the Iron Bridge also became one-way westbound from Paul Street to south of D

People are being invited to help shape Exeter’s future by getting involved in a consultation exercise for a new Local Plan. Exeter City Council has launched the first round of public consultation. Two public exhibitions have also been organised for the end of September. The Local Plan sets out to provide a vision for the city’s future up to 2040.  In doing so, the Local Plan will need to address a raft of important planning issues including how the city responds to the climate emergency, where new homes are built and how new jobs are provided.

Voters in Exe Valley, a ward in East Devon, will go to the polls on Thursday to elect a new representative for East Devon District Council (EDDC). It follows the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Fabian King in July, who said he was stepping down to focus on his business which had been affected by covid. The vote will be a three-horse race between Mike Daniel (Labour), Kevin Wraight (Conservatives) and Jamie Kemp (Liberal Democrats).

Teignbridge councillors have defended their response to the coronavirus pandemic after hearing from a group of covid sceptics at a meeting, one of which accused the authority of “genocide”. Several people appeared at the authority’s full council meeting, held at Newton Abbot Racecourse on Monday, questioning elements of the district’s response, including lockdowns.

A Teignbridge District Council meeting had to be temporarily halted after two councillors were involved in a physical altercation where one appeared to try and pull the other away. The full council meeting, held at Newton Abbot racecourse to accommodate social distancing, was adjourned following the incident which began when Councillor Liam Mullone (College ward), leader of the Newton Says No group, grew incensed when talking about a question he raised on planning procedures.

Stagecoach bus staff are reportedly to go on strike next month. The strike could last for one day and industrial action is said to have been called as a request for more pay.

Covid figures continue to fall throughout most of Devon and remain well below the national average. In the week up to Sunday 19 September, the average rate of infection across all of Devon’s councils was 265 per 100,000 people, down from 295 the week before.

The current policy on dealing with covid in schools is “rather confusing” according to Devon’s public health director, who has asked for a review amid rising cases.

The end of the temporary £20 a week uplift in universal credit payments is expected to affect 30,000 households in Devon.

Devon’s director of public health says there is unlikely to be an extension to the current covid enhanced response area for Devon and Cornwall which ends next week.

Proposals to regenerate a brownfield site in Newton Abbot have been approved by councillors. The land at Bradley Lane, near the centre of the town, was identified and bought up by Teignbridge District Council in 2010 as a site where regeneration could take place, reportedly including up to 170 homes.

Proposals for a huge solar farm in Mid Devon have again been rejected by councillors. After previously voting in July that they were ‘minded to refuse’ the scheme at Langford near Cullompton, members of the district council’s planning committee rubber-stamped their decision by seven votes to four at this week’s meeting. However, the committee was warned that the applicant may lodge an appeal against the decision.

Covid cases continue to fall across much of Devon, with Torridge’s case rate now the only one above the national average. Government figures for the week to Thursday 16 September show infections dropped by over a quarter in each of the Devon County Council, Torbay and Plymouth areas. Devon’s number of cases per 100,000 people now stands at 217, while the numbers in Torquay and Plymouth are 291 and 264. In comparison, the UK average is now 297.

Addressing the Devon and Cornwall police and crime panel in Plymouth on Friday, Alison Hernandez responded to suggestions that tackling gender-based violence isn’t given high enough priority in her draft plan.    Unveiling her strategy for 2021-25, Commissioner Hernandez said key community priorities are breaking the cycle of violence, reducing drugs harm, tackling antisocial behaviour and improving road safety. 

Devon County Council has produced three animations using the real voices of young people who now live in foster care. It’s the first time real voices of fostered teens have been used to help promote their fostering service. The council hopes it will prompt people who have thought about becoming foster parents to come forward to help fill a shortfall, and encourage others to consider it. The digital campaign features three incredible young people – Bobby, Rosie and Phill.

Pregnant women are being reassured by the NHS in Devon that having the COVID-19 vaccination is the best and safest way to protect them and their baby from the serious complications that can be caused by the virus. Pregnant women with COVID-19 have a higher risk of intensive care admission than women of the same age who are not pregnant.

Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay want to hear about your recent experiences of using NHS 111 to make sure that you are getting the care and support you need. NHS 111 is there to support you and direct you to the best medical care when it’s not an emergency. It’s vital that the service meets your needs and delivers high standards of care.

To help raise awareness of the importance of post-crash care, Devon Air Ambulance are proud to be supporting an emergency services motorcade as it passes through Devon.  On Monday 13 September, we will be lending full support to the Project EDWARD ‘Fit for the Road’ campaign.  Throughout the week, we will help to showcase the importance of post-crash care, while other agencies, organisations and emergency services will promote discussion around vehicle safety, safe road use, safe speed, and safe roads and roadsides.  

Exmouth Town suffered their first home defeat of the season last night when they were again undone by a late late goal.