Local News

People are being asked to avoid certain areas of the Exe Estuary which have been marked as wildlife refuges where wildlife can rest and feed ahead of a long winter.

The Mayor of Exmouth has said he is ‘proud’ of the kindness and generosity shown by the community over the past week and has thanked everybody who has donated to help the Afghan refugees who are temporarily staying in the town.

Graffiti is on the rise in Exeter, with a councillor slamming the “idiots” responsible.

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.

The team have launched Project STORM which aims to provide boat owners and anyone frequenting marinas or coastal environments with advice on how to protect against crime and what to look out for.

Cliffs in a popular Devon seaside town have crumbled again in the latest of a series of falls this year. People in Sidmouth witnessed the incident which happened by the town’s beach and near the Esplanade at around 5pm on Saturday 18th September. The moment was captured on camera by Chris Heywood who was walking along the seafront at the time.

The bins – located at Bromhams Farm Car Park, close to the Exeter Ship Canal - are solar-powered and notify staff at the City Council when they need emptying. It is hoped that the technology will help make collections of waste more efficient. The bins also say ‘thank you’ when litter is deposited inside them and lock down when they are full, preventing them from overflowing.

Temporary measures were introduced earlier this year to widen footways in order to provide more space for pedestrians, helping to support social distancing on this busy city centre street. The scheme was part of Devon’s Active Travel Fund initiatives in response to the pandemic. The temporary changes made the section of Queen Street eastbound only for vehicles between Paul Street and Northernhay Street. To mitigate the impact of the measures on the St Davids Hill community, Iron Bridge was made one-way westbound from Paul Street to South of Dinham Road. Two-way access on Queen Street for pede

The world-renowned exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, will open at Exeter City Council’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum on 25 September 2021. Wildlife Photographer of the Year features exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breath taking diversity of the natural world.

The team designed, developed and tested a national at home finger prick blood collection and testing service. This allows specialist doctors caring for patients with rare diseases, across the country to use the Trust’s bespoke digital portal to request blood collecting kits to be sent directly to the patient’s home.

Police investigating a road traffic collision involving three vehicles at Wilmington, near Honiton, on the A35 on Monday 13th September are appealing for any witnesses to come forward. Officers were called to reports of a road traffic collision involving a Honda motorbike, a silver Nissan car and a DAF articulated lorry, at around 1.15pm. Emergency services attended the scene and the motorbike rider, a man in his 50s from Hampshire, sustained serious injuries and was airlifted by Devon Air Ambulance to Southampton General Hospital.

Around 500 care home staff in Devon have not yet had a covid jab, a new report estimates. The number is around five per cent of total care home staff in the county who will need to be fully vaccinated by Thursday 11 November if they want to continue working in care homes, unless they are exempt.

Only two Exeter properties are so far being made available to Afghan refugees, after a response to the city council’s appeal for homes turned up few that were suitable. District authorities across Devon are working with the county council to house families who fled the Taliban this summer. Up to 20,000 refugees will eventually be resettled in the UK, but it could take years and it is unknown how many will move to the county.

All residents are urged to check their gas appliances and encourage others to do so during Gas Safety Week this week. A gazebo will be set up in Princesshay throughout the day on Thursday 16 September. Liberty - the Council’s gas contractors - and members of the Council’s Housing Compliance team will be on hand to give information and answer any questions. Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances.

Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Crash Box & Classic Car Club of Devon will be hosting the Sidmouth Classic Car Show 2021 on Saturday 18 September at Sidmouth Cricket Club. The Cricket Pavilion is a lovely place for a cream tea or a local ale and will be open all day. There will be 300 cars on display and entertainment this year from 12 noon to 4pm is by City Steam Jazz and The Liberty Sisters (Vintage Vocal Harmony Singers).

A new fund designed to help local firms prosper has been launched today (14th September) by East Devon District Council (EDDC), following approval from Cabinet on 8 September 2021.  The Innovation and Resilience Fund (formerly known as Adaptation, Innovation and Resilience (AIR) Fund) has more than £2m available and is made up of £1.08m government funding and £1m match-funded by EDDC from its business rates retention scheme pilot.

Covid cases continue to fall across much of Devon but have risen in Torbay and Torridge. Government figures for the week to Thursday 9 September show infections dropped by 14 per cent in the Devon County Council area and 10 per cent Plymouth, but that Torbay’s rate is up six per cent.

Botanical artwork made by 150 children and adults and displayed at Exmouth's Manor Gardens have been vandalised. The artwork was put up on Tuesday, 7 September in the bandstand at Manor Gardens. Officers were disappointed to find the ruined display in a mess, after only one day of it being up. Anyone with any information is asked to call the police on 101.

The construction phase has begun and is expected to be completed by the end of October, after 21 weeks work. The park will accommodate people of all ages and abilities. It allows newcomers to learn and develop as well as having extremely technical sections that will engage and test competent riders. There really is something for everyone!

Drivers parking in East Devon car parks won't be able to use cash to buy 'pay and display' tickets in the coming days.  East Devon District Council has apologised for the inconvenience this has caused and thanked residents and visitors alike for their understanding and patience. The issues have arisen following an unexpected announcement today (Friday, 10 September) regarding EDDC's long standing cash collection contractor which has ceased trading. 

Whoever has BORROWED the defibrillator from outside the Beach Pub on Exmouth seafront please can you replace it, or at least drop it back to the pub! The cabinet has been forced open and the defibrillator is now missing. The money for the unit was raised via charity events and supported by residents, the unit costs £1,500 and it is available for all to use.

Devon & Cornwall Police are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information in connection with a report of theft of a tractor guidance system from a tractor which was in the area of Woodbury, Exeter. This took place at approximately 1.10am on Thursday 9 September 2021. They have received several reports of this type of theft recently. Please can those with guidance systems review their security, remove similar items if possible and please consider marking property and keeping a note of serial numbers.

A convoy of emergency service vehicles travelled along a major route in Devon today Monday, September 13th to demonstrate the resources required to attend a serious road traffic collision. Devon and Cornwall Police vehicles, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service engines, ambulances, National Highways vehicles and emergency service motorbikes travelled together along the A38 from Plymouth to the Devon Air Ambulance base at Exeter Airport. The convoy then formally launched the national road safety road trip organised by the charity Project EDWARD (Every Day Without A Road Death).

Covid cases have continued to fall across Devon, with several council areas at last having infection rates lower than the national average. Every authority in Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay, saw rates fall in the seven days to Sunday 5 September, the latest complete data set. Teignbridge had the biggest decline, with the number of people catching the virus falling by a quarter to 415. The case rate in the district is now 307 per 100,000 of the population, taking it well below the national average of 392. 

Extra staff are being recruited by East Devon District Council (EDDC) to help deal with rising homelessness caused by the end of the government’s eviction ban. The council’s cabinet has agreed to hiring two extra housing officers for the next year to address a ‘second wave’ of homelessness which they say has been caused by the pandemic and is being exacerbated by the government allowing evictions to begin again.

A councillor says university students are one of the main reasons why Exeter has so much food in its general waste. Food makes up almost half (47 per cent) of the contents of residual black bag waste in the city, according to 2017 research included in a new waste management strategy for Devon and Torbay.

East Devon District Council ‘s night-time service  to help elderly and vulnerable people with health emergencies will be partially outsourced to a private company for the next four months because of staff shortages – and could save £4,000. The service, known as Home Safeguard, provides users with a pendant with  a button for them to press in an emergency. An operator then provides over-the-phone help and, if necessary, calls emergency services. 

Historic almshouses in Exeter that provide affordable homes for over-55s are to be knocked down and replaced with bigger and modern versions after councillors gave the go-ahead. Hurst Almshouses in Fairpark Road, St Leonards consist of three 2-storey blocks and 12 apartments. Built in 1928, they are owned by Exeter Homes Trust, a charity.

Devon leaders have hailed this year’s Tour of Britain stage a great success. Monday’s event saw over a hundred riders race from Sherford near Plymouth to a packed Queen Street in Exeter, via a circuitious route including Dartmouth and Dartmmor.

Exmouth RNLI volunteers were tasked yesterday evening following a report of persons heard calling for help on the eastern side of Straight Point Range.