Devon

Rain, ice and flying cats

Forecasters are warnng of possible icy patches again tomorrow morning as temperatures dip.

And if you thought you'd seen the last of the rain, think again.

Yesterday bookmakers William Hill cut the odds of 2014 being the wettest year on record from 8/1 to 6/1.

Yesterday the Environment Agency said 148 flood alerts and 11 more serious flood warnings were in place. Somerset council declared a ‘major incident’ for flooded areas. The authority has provided a boat service for the communities of Muchelney and Thorney, whose access roads have been cut off since January 2...

Heavy rain forces festival cancellation

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Fri, 01/24/2014 - 1:34pm

Moretonhampstead Festival of food and drink has been rained off despite not due to take place for another six weeks.

The Organising Committee of the festival took the decision to cancel the Festival due to the exceptional level of recent rain making the fields used for parking unsafe for users.

Bob Small the festival’s lead organiser explained the decision of the committee: “Even if we had six weeks of no rain from today the fields would still be far too wet.

“The ground on the fields would be unsuitable, unsafe, possibly even dangerous to use.”

Festival...

Call For Artists and Makers for Devon Open Studios 2014

Registration for the 2014 Devon Open Studios event has now opened; artists and craftspeople in the county are invited to get involved.

Devon Open Studios, sponsored by Helpful Holidays, is the largest annual art event in the county attracting more than 20,000 visits to artists’ studios each year. During Devon Open Studios 2013, over 16 days in September, 250 artists opened their studios in 140 locations across Devon. The event was a tremendous success with total sales and commissions last year reaching over £135,000.

This year’s event will take place on 6 – 21 September and...

Councils consider volunteer run parks

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Thu, 01/23/2014 - 3:43pm

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...

Devon School tops national tables for second year running

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Thu, 01/23/2014 - 12:15pm

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...

Rise in Devon jobseeker numbers goes against national trend

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 seek brick attack witnesses

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 01/22/2014 - 2:00pm

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...

Over £21m of services cut from Devon's people budget

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Tue, 01/21/2014 - 10:27pm

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.

The proposed budget...

Heavy rain warning in Devon

Authored by Huw Oxburgh
Posted: Tue, 01/21/2014 - 12:15pm

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...

Go green in the great outdoors!

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...

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