Councillor Ian Gordon has been elected as Vice-Chairman of the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority.
Cllr Gordon, former Lord Mayor of Plymouth, is a labour councillor for Ham ward on Plymouth City Council.
He said: “I am absolutely delighted and honoured not just to serve on the Authority but to represent the views and interests of the whole of the two counties, including my beloved Plymouth.”
He has served on the former Devon Fire and Rescue Authority and latterly Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority for 12 years. Cllr Gordon was Chairman...
Two Devon schools have today been named by the Deputy Prime Minister as the regional winners (South West) of the 2013 Pupil Premium Awards. Dawlish Community College, Dawlish, was named best secondary school and Widey Court Primary School, Plymouth, was named best primary school in the region. The Deputy Prime Minister sent letters to both schools congratulating them on their success, saying to them both, "This is a wonderful testimony to the excellent work that you and your staff have been doing to boost the attainment of disadvantaged pupils through your use of the Pupil Premium."...
A South West networking organisation celebrated its 20th anniversary at an organised lunch held in Exeter. Nearly 100 members of the Business Network (SW) joined current owner Sean Humby together with special guests, founder members Jim and Jackie Enright. Magician and original Business Network (SW) member Mark Leveridge acted as MC for the event held at Sandy Park.
Sean Humby took over the business in 2007 and today has 149 members across the South West region with membership retention of 89%. The turnover of £85,000 is up by 13% on last year’s figures.
More than 70 volunteers from seven different churches and six other faith and belief traditions have now been trained to be able to respond in the event of a major emergency in Devon, Plymouth or Torbay. The Devon Faiths Response Team (DFRT) recently held a further training workshop at County Hall, Exeter at which participants heard from South Devon Coroner Ian Arrow and trauma specialist Liz Deane. Other speakers provided contributions from the Hindu, Jewish, Pagan, Muslim and Christian perspectives. If a serious accident, natural disaster or attack were to happen in Devon, the members of...
A 38-year-old woman from Ernesettle in Plymouth is due to appear before Plymouth Magistrates this morning (Tuesday 30 April 2013) charged with murder.
Angela Douglas was arrested during the evening of Sunday 28 April 2013 and detained at Crownhill Police Station.
The arrest was made after a 73-year-old Plymouth woman had been admitted to hospital. She died the following morning.
The suspect was detained and interviewed by detectives before being charged with the offence and detained at the police station pending her court appearance.
Devon Waste Management, the county’s leading independent waste management business, has secured a £5.5million finance package from the Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking team in Plymouth to support its continued expansion.
Steve Hadley who was previously Commercial Director, has also taken over ownership and management of the business from Collin Hickling, who has left to pursue other interests. Steve will continue to be supported at board level by Devon Waste Management’s Chairman, Allan Vodden, and Non-Executive Director, Stuart Crebo.
Wherever I go, people ask me whether I am enjoying being the Police and Crime Commissioner. I always tell them that enjoying is probably the wrong word. Relishing? Yes! Challenged? Definitely! Enjoying? I suspect that will only come when the impact of decisions I make is really felt, and Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is even safer than it already is.
I’m lucky to be PCC for this region. Yes, it’s one of the largest policing patches in the country. It faces considerable resourcing challenges to cover urban, rural and coastal issues, but I am impressed generally by the...
Police are treating a large fire in the Millbay area of Plymouth as a major incident because some of the smoke from the fire is thought to be toxic.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service are attending a serious fire in a vehicle spray workshop in Miller Court in the Millbay area of Plymouth.
Pumping appliances from Greenbank (two), Camels Head, Crownhill and Plymstock are at the scene together with support appliances and reports suggest that huge plumes of smoke were witnessed and explosions heard in the industrial estate. For the time being, fire crews have the...
A trainee solicitor at Stephens Scown LLP has been awarded the esteemed Sir George Fowler Prize in 2012 by the Devon and Somerset Law Society at their recent AGM in Exeter.
Beth Johnson was awarded the prize after gaining the highest grade on the Legal Practice Course within Devon and Somerset. She successfully completed this course at the University of Plymouth.
Beth joined Stephens Scown as a paralegal in June 2012, and commenced as a trainee solicitor in April 2013. She is currently seated within the family law team in Exeter and will experience another two specialisms,...
A week after the first reports of birds covered in a sticky glue-like substance being washed up on South West beaches, wildlife charities have today confirmed that the number of dead has passed 1,000. This is in addition to the 200-plus birds in the care of the RSPCA and South Devon Seabird Trust.
The substance has been identified as polyisobutene (PIB) by researchers at Plymouth University. It is the second time in just three months that PIB has killed hundreds of seabirds in the South West.
In this latest incident birds have been found in a wide area from Dodman Point to...
