Exeter & East Devon News

The 40 properties at Blakeslee Drive will all be built with Exeter’s well-publicised need for affordable housing in mind. Twenty-two will be offered at low-cost social rents while the others will be sold with shared ownership.

The representation of donkeys in cinema is the focus of a new and unique course that has been launched in partnership between a leading university and an international animal welfare charity.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency has extended its Bluetongue control zone to parts of Sidmouth and Honiton after cases of the viral disease were identified in cattle in neighbouring Dorset.

Devon and Cornwall Police are looking for Volunteers to help support the Volunteer Police Cadet groups who volunteer within their local communities, attending various events throughout the year and helping with the smooth running of weekly sessions.

A plan to build a new community hub in an underprivileged area of Exeter have been given unanimous backing by city councillors.

East Devon District Council invites public feedback on the revised Neighbourhood Plan for Clyst St Mary and Sowton, now open for consultation until 17 March 2025.

Labrador named Narla's incredible rescue mission from the Devon cliffs following being missing for 72 hours.

Officers from Exmouth’s Neighbourhood Police Team seized £17,000 of cash and over £60,000 worth of alleged illegal tobacco and cigarettes from a car in Exmouth this week.

A new children’s emergency department has opened at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

The final overnight closures for the installation of a new pedestrian and cycle crossing on Bad Homburg Way in Exeter are due to get underway later this month (February).

A six-week consultation on East Devon’s new Local Plan is underway before review by a Government inspector. The plan outlines development priorities for the next two decades, shaping the district's growth and development through to 2042.

Building new Council homes and improving existing properties is essential for tenants in Exeter and helps the city to cut its carbon footprint. That’s the message from Cllr Marina Asvachin, Exeter’s Lead Councillor for Housing.

Five illegal e-bikes were seized in Exeter city centre after being found in breach of the Road Traffic Act. The bikes, classed as motor vehicles, failed to meet the legal requirements for Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles

Honiton and Sidmouth MP Richard Foord has asked the government whether a £1.1 million funding cut for cadet forces across the country will be replaced.

East Devon District Council’s Recycling App has become the most used local authority app in the country, with over 60,000 residents using it to stay informed about waste collections and recycling guidance

The Countryside team do not need to close the site, but are asking visitors to follow Defra’s guidelines on avian flu outbreaks.

East Devon District Council Countryside team’s Wild East Devon events programme has achieved an outstanding 100% customer satisfaction rating, as revealed by a recent customer feedback survey.

Please take this opportunity to raise any concerns you may have and to find out what we are doing to tackle the issues that matter to you. 

The council, which has lodged the application itself, says the plans have been developed after lengthy consultations with local people. If approved, they will transform the existing facilities into a ‘light and inclusive space’ connected to Ludwell Valley Park.

Police are appealing for information following a series of thefts from vehicles in Newtown, St Leonards, Heavitree, and Whipton, Exeter.

Police are responding to reports of anti-social behaviour, aggressive begging, drug use, and criminal damage in the Woodwater Lane and Whitchurch Avenue area.

People in Exeter are being reminded that there will be no City Council elections in 2025 but there will be elections for Devon County Council. Anyone who wants to vote on Thursday 1st May is being urged to make sure that they are on the electoral register.

Suspected illegal vapes and counterfeit cigarettes have been seized by police in Exmouth town centre. Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team seized the items at a store in The Parade, Exmouth on Wednesday 5 February.

A council-supported project has helped 50 local people develop essential cooking skills and gain confidence in the kitchen, promoting healthier lifestyles and greater self-reliance.

The importance of Exeter’s historic Quay and Canal for both leisure and commercial use has been highlighted by the city’s Lead Councillor for City Management.

ECOE Advice, a non-profit promoting energy-efficient homes, launches a pilot project with Exmouth Town Council to encourage discussions and action on retrofitting homes for improved sustainability.

In Exeter, The Queen saw how wash bags are made available to service users in a post examination room, and spoke to representatives from Boots and In Kind Direct about their partnership with SARCs.

A Devon man has been sentenced to a community order and ordered to pay more than £2,000 in compensation after pleading guilty to fraud.

Wales & West Utilities is thanking the Topsham community for their patience after work has finished on a month-long project which saw engineers upgrade gas pipes in the High Street area of the town.

A group of adults, with additional needs, took part in important conservation work at an Axminster nature reserve as part of a special skill-building project.

A pioneering programme that helps people with medical conditions recover their fitness and wellbeing through exercise has been praised by the city’s Lead Councillor for Leisure.

The students from Exeter College have been given an opportunity to observe engineers working on a project to rebuild a collapsed wall in Countess Wear Road.

Exmouth residents have spoken out plans for land where up to 700 homes could be built on the edge of town.

Repairs to a collapsed retaining wall and edge of a road on the outskirts of Ottery St Mary in East Devon are expected to get underway shortly.

Pennon hosted its latest customer engagement meeting in Sidmouth last week to hear customers’ thoughts and discuss the company’s record investment plans.

A patient at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has become the first person in the South West to receive an artificial cornea transplant

Extra borrowing needed to help fund repairs and maintenance on East Devon’s council houses could mean housing-related debt surpasses £100 million.

Decision-makers in Exeter have pledged to learn from the mistakes of last year’s troubled traffic experiment in Heavitree and Whipton.

Exmouth and Exeter East MP David Reed says the health service’s move to open new mpox vaccination centres in 12 new locations including Exeter is “necessary” to keep the risk of infection low.

It has now been confirmed that Topsham Museum, including the Tea Room & Garden, will be closed for several months while it undergoes large repair works. Work started late last year by which revealed further problems with the structure of the building.

A woman has died following an incident in Exeter which happened on Saturday 1 February.

In September 2024, Ethan, now aged 20, was forced to flee for safety in West Street Co-op when he was chased from the street by four teenage thugs who pushed him to the ground, kicked him in the head, and broke his nose.

Over the last month Steve Carver, aged 42, from Honiton has been transfixed, filming footage of unidentified flying objects on clear nights in the skies over the town.

In recent weeks we have seen a rise in burglaries across East Devon, with cash and jewellery being the main targets. Please take steps to keep your home and belongings safe:

A leading stroke specialist at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been honoured for his outstanding contribution to stroke research.

Police are appealing for witnesses and dash-cam footage following a road traffic collision in Exeter. Officers were called at around 4.25pm on Sunday 2 February following a collision involving four vehicles on Bridge Road.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has secured retrospective planning permission for a temporary sales office in Cranbrook that had been ordered to be removed.

This is the new £1 million bridge that will open up walking and cycling routes around Exeter Quay.

A Devon farmer has been cleared of failing to meet his legal duties after a couple was injured by cows in a field with a public right of way.

A development of up to 21 homes in Honiton has been approved despite local objections. Residents raised concerns including about its potential impact on wildlife, flooding, possible detriment to existing neighbours and fears about a proposed new junction.

Plans to revive the fortunes of a historic Sidmouth hotel have been unanimously rejected mainly because of concerns about protecting heritage.

Exmouth street marshals now have limited policing powers under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, enabling targeted foot patrols to tackle antisocial behaviour as part of a hotspot policing initiative.

Exeter has a vital role to play in Devon’s forthcoming devolution deal despite being in the ‘second tier’ of councils involved.

Supporters across the heart of Devon opened their gardens to raise vital funds for hospice charity amidst funding deficit. 55 gardens opened during 2024 in support of Hospiscare, the local hospice charity for Exeter, Central and East Devon.