Devon

Tribute to victim of King Harry Ferry incident

The following is a tribute to Mrs Ann Pewter from her family when a car in which she was a passenger went into the water from the slipway: Following the tragic death of Mrs Ann Pewter at the King Harry Ferry on Wednesday 20 March 2013, the family are still coming to terms with her loss. Ann and her husband had retired to this beautiful part of the country and had lived in Tavistock for a number of years. Ann was a keen photographer. She was passionately interested in wildlife, animal welfare, gardens and the great outdoors generally. She had holidayed in Cornwall frequently and loved...

Mumm Hails Chiefs' Spirit

Australian international Dean Mumm believes the strong "spirit and belief" that exists within the Exeter Chiefs squad will be a key factor as the Devon club look to seal their place in the top six of this season's Aviva Premiership.

Having secured their spot in the Heineken Cup with victory at Worcester Warriors last season, the 29-year-old forward is hoping his side's latest 24-18 success at Sixways can prove crucial in their quest to feature amongst Europe's elite again next term.

With just two minutes remaining on Saturday, Mumm picked the perfect moment to claim his...

New Devon Clinical Commissioning Group officially launches today

NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) officially launched today (1 April 2013).

From today local GPs and clinicians will be responsible for buying services for people in the northern, eastern and western areas of Devon from healthcare providers such as local hospitals, the community and mental health services.

Rebecca Harriott, chief officer at Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG said she was pleased to launch the new organisation.

“The hard work starts now, realising our vision of healthy people, living healthy lives, in...

Exeter Together hailed a success as more than 600 energy switches made

Over 300 households in Exeter switched energy suppliers as part of the recent Exeter Together initiative, making a collective saving of £35,325 across the city.

A total of 327 households took advantage of the scheme, making 621 switches (some taking advantage of better tariffs for both gas and electricity), with an average saving of £108.

The Exeter Together website and call centre registered 2,188 households considering the Exeter Together scheme. Not everyone, however, was able to make a big enough saving, with many 'smart savers' already enjoying good energy deals....

All square between Exeter Civil and Alphas

EXETER CIVIL SERVICE 1-1 ALPHINGTON

The all-Exeter derby ended in a draw as Exeter Civil Service and Alphington finished 1-1 at Foxhayes in the SouthWest Peninsula Div 1 East.

This was probably the last time Exeter Civil Service in their current guise will host the neighbours before a summer name change. A strong crowd as well as a decent pitch and weather set the basis for a fiery contest which didn't disappoint.

Both of the city's suburban sides started lively with several early chances. The opener, though, came from an unlikely source - when Paul Gibbins made a...

Some progress in the South West despite disappointing Budget

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association ( CECA ) has called on government to elevate the status of key infrastructure projects in the South West to boost economic development.

Alan Taylor, Executive Director of CECA for the south west, says that while the £3bn extra capital investment announced in the Budget was to be welcomed, the delay until 2015 was a missed opportunity to help boost the regional economy.

“A ‘jam tomorrow’ approach does little to address the urgent need to harness the power of infrastructure investment to deliver real and sustainable economic...

Welfare benefit enquiries up by 12% says Exeter CAB

Local charity Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau today publishes its latest advice trend statistics, which show that it helped 3,300 people directly with advice on 14,040 problems, an increase of 1.3%, so far this financial year.

This year, the charity is helping clients with a debt burden of £5.5m, up by 28.3% or £1.2m from last year.

There was a 12% increase in enquiries about welfare benefits and tax credits; such as employment and support allowance, disability living allowance and problems with housing benefit and council tax benefit. On average, each client receiving...

Stay-at-home mothers are being unfairly penalised, says the Bishop of Exeter

In the latest of a series of articles in The Telegraph newspaper looking into the Coalition Government's taxation policies affecting families, the Rt Rev Michael Langrish has said that "Mothers who choose to stay at home to care for their children are being unfairly penalised by a Government that has failed to reward their role at the heart of society."

The Bishop has also said that his views represent those of a number of bishops who are concerned by the Government’s apparent lack of support for family life.

Picking up on a speech made by the Bishop of Exeter in the House...

Flood funding will help local communities

Devon is to benefit from a share of £5 million of funding unveiled by the Government this week.

A partnership of Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council and the Environment Agency will receive just over £488,000 from the Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder scheme, launched by Defra in December 2012.

The funding, announced by Environment Minister Richard Benyon, will go towards a near £730,000 package to improve local community resilience so that individuals and businesses are better prepared against the risk of flooding. A total of 24 communities will...

Richard Skinner to give poetry reading at St Stephen's Church

Exeter poet Richard Skinner will read his new Easter poem, "Utterly Staggering", on Thursday 28 March (Maundy Thursday) and Saturday 30 March (Holy Saturday) in St Stephen's Church, Exeter High Street at 12.00noon. The reading will last approximately 30 minutes, and there is free admission.

As a poet and performer Richard has published seven books, the most recent being Invocations. He also gives regular readings of his work, appearing at the Exeter Festival since 1989, and has twice been on tours sponsored by South West Arts.

A former member of Cambridge University '...

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