For the second year running Stagecoach is sponsoring Exeter’s Christmas lights switch-on event, taking place on 16 November.

A significant contribution has been made by the bus operator to support the family event, organised by Exeter Business Improvement District (BID).

Last year, over 11,000 people attended the lights switch on. This year, numbers are expected to exceed this as the Cathedral Christmas Market opens on the same night.

The switch-on officially kicks off late night shopping Thursdays and the start of the holiday season, backed by Stagecoach’s...

The all-elusive fountain of youth has been the subject of myth, films and artworks since we can recall, but thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Exeter, the secret of reversing ageing could be more than a pipe dream.

According to news sources, their work (The Centre for Research in Ageing and Cognitive Health) has revealed that it is possible to rejuvenate old cells in a laboratory setting, bestowing these cells with a younger appearance and making them behave youthfully as well. The findings could mean as much for patients battling chronic diseases as for Exeter...

Extra bed spaces have been made available for rough sleepers in Exeter over the winter period, the City Council has announced. The 15 extra emergency beds will be provided at Gabriel House in the city centre as part the City Council’s response to providing emergency accommodation and bringing rough sleepers inside during the harshest winter weather. Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA), who run Gabriel House, will be running the service from 1 December through to the end of March. This year the initiative has been extended by an extra month. Cllr Emma Morse, Lead Councillor for...

Following last year’s ‘Issues and Options’ consultation, residents of Cranbrook and neighbouring parishes are being encouraged by East Devon District Council to comment on the ‘Preferred Approach’ to how Devon’s newest town will grow and develop, as part of an 8 week community consultation.

Anyone living or working in and around Cranbrook can have their say on ‘The Cranbrook Plan: Preferred Approach’ from Friday 10 November 2017 – Monday 8 January 2018.

East Devon District Council sifted through all the comments and suggestions from the previous round of consultation to...

Your essential guide to What’s On in around Exeter this weekend (17-19 November):

THEATRE

The Unknown Soldier Friday, 7.30pm, Crediton Arts Centre A thought provoking, moving, and even humorous solo piece that looks at the First World War from a new perspective, through the eyes of a man who has survived the carnage but remains, like many, to help build the great cemeteries. It is a story of the deep friendship that can only be found between those who fight together, of the betrayal felt by them at the end of the war, and of a world that has changed so much it has become...

Award winners from this year’s Devon Cycle Challenge have celebrated their achievements at a special presentation at County Hall.

It is the third year that Devon County Council has run the Cycle Challenge as part of Cycle September, and in that time more than 900 new riders have been encouraged to take up cycling by signing up to the scheme. In total, over 2.3 million miles have been clocked up in the past three years. The Cycle Challenge is a friendly competition among workplaces and individuals in an effort to get as many people cycling in Devon as possible. Almost 130...

On Friday 3rd November the UK’s biggest club brand came to Exeter when Sandy Park hosted its first Ministry of Sound club night with over 900 revellers in attendance.

Ministry of Sound brought two of their house DJs, Matt May and Andy Purnell, and their state-of-the-art sound and light systems for a ‘Club Classics’ night with the biggest dancefloor fillers – from 70s disco to 90s dance through to today’s chart hits.

The event was one of the biggest ever held at Sandy Park, with the venue’s Exeter Suite transformed into a nightclub for the night with a separate VIP area in...

The first of a programme of planned repair schemes is due to start on the A380 next week.

Following survey and inspection work carried out on the route earlier this year, Devon County Council has announced that day time lane closures, from 9:30am to 3:30pm, will be introduced on the northbound section of the A380 between Gappah Lane and Wapperwell Cottages from Monday 20 November for a maximum of a week. This is to enable drainage cleaning and investigation and to prepare for reconstruction work in December. Due to the depth of reconstruction needed, from Monday 4 December, this...

I am writing to thank all of the brilliant fundraisers in Exeter for joining us and taking part in wear it pink on Friday 20 October. Wear it pink, Breast Cancer Now’s flagship fundraiser, takes place every year during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to raise money for vital breast cancer research. We were so thrilled that 123 fundraisers across Exeter ditched their everyday colours and pulled on some pink to help Breast Cancer Now achieve its aim that by 2050 nobody will die from breast cancer.

Breast Cancer is a devastating disease. Around 105 women in Exeter are...

A fundraising evening organised by Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes has raised £6,500 for The Exeter Foundation charity, with money raised going towards helping a range of charities and groups across the region.

Staff from the five star housebuilder together with suppliers and sub-contractors enjoyed a black tie evening at Sandy Park, the home of the Exeter Chiefs which included a presentation by Exeter Foundation chairman Tony Rowe and included a raffle, auction and fundraising casino.

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes managing director Paul Moran said the...