The first of five, free training events for community energy groups was staged on 2 December, as part of RegenSW’s Community Energy Accelerator Project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Devon County Council.
Representatives from 14 community energy groups in Devon interested in developing wind, solar, hydro or biomass renewable energy projects gathered in Exeter to receive expert legal advice on group structures and landowner agreements from Stephens Scown Solicitors, who provided sponsorship for the event.
The day enabled the groups to ask specific questions...
For the first time, basic bank accounts will be truly fee-free, helping people to manage their money without fear of running up an overdraft.
Accounts will be available to anyone who doesn’t already have a bank account or who can’t use their existing account due to financial difficulty.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrea Leadsom today (15 December 2014) hailed a major agreement between the government and the banking industry to establish new basic bank accounts that will end bank charges if a direct debit or standing order fails.
Pace of price growth in the South West accelerated slightly over the last three months and new reform in the Autumn Statement is expected to boost sales
House price growth in the past three months accelerated slightly in the South West and new Stamp Duty reforms see surveyors forecasting a sales boost of between 2-5%, according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey.
Despite a net balance of 17% more surveyors reporting a decline in new buyer enquiries in the South West, supply in the region has improved in November and surveyors are expecting more house sales in...
One in ten (nine per cent) young people in the South West say they have borrowed money from companies, according to a shocking new report released today by Action for Children.
The charity’s report, Paying the Price, has uncovered a worrying level of borrowing amongst young people.
Out of the 1,052 12 to 18-year-olds surveyed, in the South West a third (38 per cent) of those that said they have borrowed have done so with pay day loan providers. High street lenders including store cards are also becoming a port of call, with 13 per cent of young people) saying they use them...
Weather experts were today tracking the route of a 'Weather Bomb' which is headed for Britain.
The South West was placed on a Yellow Alert for Friday as gusts of up to 70 mph were predicted.
The Met Office said an area of low pressure has the potential to develop in the mid-Atlantic and then run quickly east northeast across the northern half of the UK during the first half of Friday.
To the south of this low pressure centre, gales, or severe gales are likely to develop, with gusts in excess of 50 mph quite widely in the warning area.
Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has announced ambitious targets to offer free microchipping for all dogs thanks to its biggest award to date raised thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
In advance of microchipping becoming compulsory for dogs across England in April 2016, Dogs Trust is offering free microchipping at its 20 rehoming centres for all dogs and through special chipping events taking place across the UK.
Since 1999, Dogs Trust has chipped over 700,000 dogs. Recent research shows that approximately 110,000 dogs in the South West remain...
More than six months after the National Review of Asthma Deaths highlighted the complacency about asthma care, research from Asthma UK published today shows that almost 8 out of 10 people in the South West are still not receiving care that meets the most basic clinical standards (79%).1 This is despite the fact that good basic asthma care prevents life-threatening asthma attacks and needless hospital admissions.
The research highlighted a shocking variation in care across the UK. Londoners fared worse than any other region, with only 14% of people in the capital receiving care that...
Beekeepers across the South West of England have reported an average yield of 30lbs of honey per colony this year according to the findings of the British Beekeepers Association¹s annual Honey Survey, released today (26 November, 2014).
The survey revealed a substantial 36 per cent increase on the 22lbs per colony reported by South West of England beekeepers in 2013, and is a far cry from the 7lbs per colony nadir of 2012.
The reported yield across the country is 32lbs per colony, a 28 per cent increase on the 25lbs per colony reported in 2013.
Drivers are warned to take extra care as the Met Office issue a yellow warning for fog across the region tonight.
Patches of fog, locally dense, will develop through Wednesday evening across Cornwall and west Devon, whilst cloud will lower to give fog over hills further east, leading to locally poor driving conditions.
Later in the night, increasing cloud and breeze will lift the fog into low cloud with only the highest routes affected by poorer visibility.
A chief forecaster said: “A frontal system will continue to move slowly eastwards across southwest England...
House prices continued to rise in the South West, but at a slower pace, according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey.
In line with slowing momentum, surveyors are now anticipating a much flatter price outlook in the run up to Christmas, but over the course of the next 12 months they remain quite positive.
The level of sales activity was more or less unchanged on the previous month, but surveyors are still expecting transactions to hold up in the near term.
As the market stabilises in the region 17% more chartered surveyors saw a fall in new buyer enquiries...
