Plans to transfer Devon’s heritage services to a newly formed charitable trust have been approved by the County Council’s cabinet today. The move will see the responsibility for storage, preservation and display of the county’s irreplaceable historical collections passed on to new heritage trust shared with Somerset County Council. The council says the move will protect the service from further rounds of budget cuts in the next two to three years which would otherwise see “public access and future development of the service severely affected”. Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council's...
Fire services in the south west have joined together to identify the seven fatal factors that link most home fire deaths in the region. The report has been compiled using research data from a total of 88 deaths from 2008 to 2013.
The results show that there are seven common factors in most house fires resulting in death
The seven most common linking factors include: living alone, poor mental health and limited mobility as well as smoking, alcohol, poor housekeeping and use of both prescription or illegal drugs. Station Manager Andy Justice, Fire Investigation Manager for...
The Government has pledged an extra £31.45m to bring superfast broadband to the South West today.
The Government hopes the extra money announced by Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, earlier today will help promote business start-ups and job creation in some of the hardest to reach rural areas in the South West.
Local projects in the South West will now receive additional funding from a £250m pot, with coming in addition to the £1.2bn already invested by central and local Government.
Chris Garcia, Chief Executive of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise...
Blue Chip Holidays, the South West’s largest provider of four and five star self catering holiday homes, has today announced the appointment of Mark Williams as Portfolio Development Manager with responsibility for property acquisition in East Devon.
Mark, who lives in Sidmouth, has over 20 years’ experience as a country homes agent in Devon and specialises in advising owners on property investment to help maximise returns.
Mark’s appointment is part of Blue Chip Holidays’ plans to increase its property portfolio in East Devon over the coming twelve months.
Devon and Somerset Trading Standards Service has been shortlisted for two separate awards by the Local Government Chronicle (LGC), recognising its ongoing work to protect residents and businesses against doorstep crime gangs and rogue traders.
The joint service, commissioned by Devon and Somerset County Councils, has been recognised from over 660 entries to this year’s awards, for its innovative partnership work in tackling rogue traders. Together with the Police, BBC local radio, businesses, Age UK and other agencies, the project team is helping to increase public awareness to...
Two brothers are now seeing a lot more of each other following individual purchase of new homes at the award-winning development built by Dorchester-based C G Fry & Son Limited at Balidon Place in Yeovil.
David and Angela Randall bought their deluxe two-bed apartment in the re-constructed Balidon House, formerly Yeovil Maternity Hospital located in the desirable West Coker Road 12 months ago having lived locally in a bungalow for nearly 40 years. Following numerous visits from close family and friends, David’s brother Roger and his wife Margaret were so impressed with the...
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service are supporting the British Red Cross plea for more volunteers. So far this year Red Cross volunteers have responded to 122 calls across Devon and Somerset and were on standby during the recent storm which lashed large parts of the South.
The fire and emergency support (FES) service is a rapid response service working in partnership with the fire service. The Red Cross is always there to help people to cope after a fire or other emergency, providing practical and emotional support. Volunteers use a specially-adapted vehicle equipped...
Devon will be getting its first specialised pollution protection vehicle next week (22 October). The vehicle, known as an Environmental Protection Unit (EPU), is specially equipped to handle a number of environmental emergencies such as fuel and chemical spills. It is the first of four Mercedes Sprinter vehicles to be unveiled by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service and The Environment Agency. The vehicles are part of a national project to supply fire and rescue services with the equipment necessary to protect the UK from large-scale pollution incidents. The Environmental Agency’s...
The South West collaboration website http://www.growmycharity.com have been delivering free workshops for over four years and they want to see how South West charities have benefited from the positive use of social media.
With kind sponsorship from Charles Stanley stockbrokers, any South West Charity can enter the 2013 South West Social Media Awards. GrowMyCharity are looking for South West based charities who can demonstrate how Social Media has become an integral tool in their marketing strategy and how successful this had been. The prize for the winning charity is a cheque for £...
An independent recruitment agency is toasting its on-going success after celebrating its landmark 25th anniversary.
Cathedral Appointments, based in Exeter’s Southernhay, opened in 1988 and specialise in providing permanent, temporary and interim staff across the region. Areas of expertise include Sales, Marketing, HR, IT, Engineering, Office, Manufacturing, Logistics, Accountancy, Financial Services, Legal and Executive Appointments.
The company began in a small office in Gandy Street in August 1988 after the Founder Directors, who had previously worked for a high street...
