Paul Diviani sends New Year message to East Devon residents:
In the darkest, nay, dampest, days of winter, I always feel driven to think positively of the future. It seems so long since 2008 when the financial world changed and with it the world of local Government.
Over the years, we have always been a cautious Council and that has largely paid off when the going got rough. We have protected our frontline services and cut and trimmed our back office requirements. Our satisfaction ratings are the highest they have ever been with the exception of planning – but the latter is...
The Chairman of East Devon District Council has congratulated Feniton-born athlete Jo Pavey on her third place in the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year (SPOTY) competition.
Councillor Graham Godbeer made his comments at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday evening (17 December), when he announced that he has written to her with an invitation to a civic function in February 2015.
The Chairman said: “The Council wishes to congratulate Feniton-born athlete Jo Pavey on her third place in Sunday’s BBC Sports Personality Of The Year competition.
Full council has backed plans to pursue East Devon District Council’s office relocation to two council-owned sites in Honiton and Exmouth.
Now, detailed plans will be drawn up by council officers before any recommendations are presented to cabinet and full council in 2015. The council will now also enter into further negotiations with preferred bidders for the sale of Knowle before selecting a developer.
Again, a decision to sell Knowle will be brought to a future cabinet meeting.
Council leader, Councillor Paul Diviani, said: “Relocation remains a priority and a...
Although Christmas is a time of celebration, it can also be one of the toughest times of year with bills piling up and rent payments falling into arrears.
East Devon District Council can help ease the burden by offering not only free debt advice, but also practical assistance, such as discretionary housing payments, to tenants having difficulty paying their rent.
Councillor Jill Elson, cabinet member for sustainable homes and communities, said: “It is vital that tenants don’t ignore their financial problems and try not to panic. They should come and talk to us as soon as...
Now that firm bids have been secured for the council’s Knowle site, detailed plans will be drawn up to move East Devon District Council’s offices to two council-owned sites in Honiton and Exmouth, but not to Skypark.
Tonight, (3 December) cabinet was updated on significant changes to the preferred location of new council offices - due to changing market conditions - which mean that SkyPark is no longer a financially viable option.
Now, the option of retaining the council-owned site in Honiton and maintaining the existing East Devon Business Centre alongside a new...
Forty pupils from local primary schools ‘took over’ East Devon District Council for a day and had their say on how it should be run.
On Friday 21 November pupils visited the council’s HQ at Knowle in Sidmouth to learn more about its services and meet staff and Councillors.
The youngsters were from Marpool Primary School, Exmouth, Broadclyst Community Primary School, Honiton Primary School and Whimple Primary School.
The 10 and 11 year olds were taking part in national Takeover Day, which aims to get children and young people involved with how decisions are made. It...
Significant changes to the preferred location of new council offices in East Devon will be discussed at cabinet next week (Wednesday, 3 December).
Cabinet will hear the latest developments since it was last reported in February and how changing market conditions mean that SkyPark is no longer the preferred option.
Whilst SkyPark has been the leading contender as the relocation site, the council was very clear that no decision was going to be made on the final location until all the facts and figures were known with other key pieces in what is a complex jigsaw slotting in to...
East Devon District Council’s Cabinet has approved a grant to Exmouth Sea Cadets of £150,000 towards the cost of their new headquarters.
This is a key project that will help to kick-start the revitalisation of the Camperdown Creek area.
Cabinet also heard about the successes and progress on a number of other regeneration projects across the district, primarily in Exmouth and Seaton, and agreed to the plans going forward.
Since the Masterplan, or Exmouth vision, was agreed by all three councils (Devon County, East Devon District and Exmouth Town) in 2011 significant...
As East Devon’s new town of Cranbrook takes shape and expansion looks set to continue for several years to come, the district council needs to ensure that it has enough staff with the right skills to deal with the many challenges that the blossoming community will pose.
But any new staff recruitment will take place against a background of shrinking resources within local government. There are hopes of up to £285,000 from the Department for Communities and Local Government, but this funding has not been confirmed, so other sources of funding will need to be found – including...
Last week's announcement that the Met Office plans to install a supercomputer in a new building complex at Exeter Science Park has been welcomed enthusiastically by leading members of East Devon District Council.
Part of the supercomputer will be sited at the IT Halls at the Met Office HQ in Exeter and part is expected to be sited at a purpose-designed building at the nearby Exeter Science Park, subject to planning permission.
Councillor Ian Thomas, East Devon’s cabinet member for economy, said: “Confirmation of the purpose-designed supercomputer facility is great news for...
