
Tariffs increase as Environment Agency publishes damning data after South West Water owner Pennon Group issues £24.5 million in dividends to shareholders.

South West Water Bills Rise by a Third Following Worst Performance in Sector with 550,000 Hours of Sewage Spills - Exeter Observer
Tariffs increase as Environment Agency publishes damning data after South West Water owner Pennon Group issues £24.5 million in dividends to shareholders.
I just so happened to work in that little shop for around 6 months just before it was sold to Morrisons. During that time we were regularly among the top 10 best performing stores in the company, putting most stores in richer places like London to shame.
The queue for the Post Office would sometimes reach the door, it was a very busy place that made plenty of money.
The idea that the store itself is unprofitable is not believable. Either the management they put in there is awful, the business strategy is terrible, or the real reason is something else all together.
Sidwell Street Post Office to Close as WHSmith Shops Sale Raises Risk of Exeter City Centre Counter Service Disappearance - Exeter Observer
Closure follows loss of Exeter’s last Crown Post Office in Bedford Street, since when all city branches operated by franchisees or independent businesses.
Met Office to Sell Exeter Science Park Supercomputer and Office Buildings
Disposal motivated by replacement of nine year-old supercomputer with £1.2 billion government-funded off-site Microsoft facility.
Three Devon & Cornwall Police Chief Constables Costing £64,000 per Month - Exeter Observer
Police and Crime Commissioner seeks Home Office help with wage bill equating to £767,000 a year resulting from suspension of two chief constables in 18 months.
Plans for Unfunded £7 million Wonford Community Hub Redevelopment Approved
Exeter City Council approves own planning application to demolish, rebuild and part-refurbish existing community and sports facilities beside Ludwell Valley Park.
Will Devon’s eleven councils find common ground as local authority reorganisation deadline looms?
A county-wide consensus is gaining traction with most Devon councils already on board and only Exeter City Council standing in its way while County Hall has yet to make up its mind.
Devon County Council admits Heavitree & Whipton Active Streets trial led to “lack of trust” in County Hall decision-making - Exeter Observer
Focus groups held following termination of controversial trial find broad support for safer travel but also reveal perception of “downward spiral” in Exeter highways management while county council confirms it has no plans for new schemes in area.
Bit late but an interesting read. What did you think about the scheme?
Schemes in Alphington Road, Barrack Road, Cowley Bridge Road, Honiton Road, Topsham Road and at Exe Bridges gyratory to follow Cowick Street, Heavitree Road, Pinhoe Road and New North Road changes.
Previous government intended to cancel the leg to Euston despite all the work already being done to save money, but hadn't confirmed.
It made little sense because they'd already spent a lot of money to build a good amount of it and would've made all of it a waste.
Not to mention, having a high speed line terminate further than the main line it's meant to take pressure from would've defeated the point.
Car park plans for old Exeter bus station site criticised - BBC News
The Green Party says the plans are "ridiculous" and do not make sense financially.
Plans for a new city centre car park in Exeter have been criticised.
Proposals to turn the former bus station site into a car park are part of a public consultation which also involves increasing car park prices across the city.
The Green Party said the plans for a new car park were "ridiculous" and did not "make any financial sense".
The Labour leader of the council said he wants to increase the options available for the use of the site.
The council is considering creating a new Paris Street car park, external on part of the old bus station site which was demolished earlier this year.
Previous plans for offices and a multi-purpose performance venue on the site were scrapped in 2023.
Diana Moore, Exeter Green Party leader, said: "A new car park, right next to St Sidwell’s Point, a place which is meant to be a showcase for sustainability and health, and close to a dangerous roundabout and the new bus station, beggars belief."
Ms Moore said the plan showed a "breathtaking lack of
Devon 2024 General Elections Results - Exeter Observer
The ballots cast for each candidate with vote share in each constituency plus turnout and the distribution of seats.
The ballots cast for each candidate with vote share in each constituency plus turnout and the distribution of seats, as they are declared.
The numeric and geographical distribution of Devon’s thirteen parliamentary seats following the 2024 general elections, with all the seats declared, is:
Labour (LAB) 3
Liberal Democrat (LIBDEM) 6
Conservative (CON) 4
UK General Election Results Live: 'We Did it' Says Keir Starmer as Labour Wins Landslide in General Election - BBC News
The prime minister appoints his top team after pledging “the work of change begins immediately”.
Labour has officially won the 2024 general election after reaching the required 326 seats.
Speaking in central London, the next prime minister Keir Starmer says "change begins now".
"It feels good, I have to be honest," he tells a cheering crowd.
Our guide to casting your ballot in person, by post and by proxy as well as voter ID requirements, new regulations for postal votes and constituency boundary changes.
A useful guide for anyone not familiar with voting.
Please vote, even if you feel it's pointless. Democracies fail when people refuse to participate.
Talks between Exeter University and protesters break down - BBC News
Students have camped out at the University of Exeter since 14 May in protest against the war in Gaza.
Students who have camped out for four weeks in protest against the war in Gaza have reached a "stalemate" with their university.
Between 30 and 40 students have been taking part in the encampment at the University of Exeter campus since 14 May.
The university sent an email to all students on 5 June saying it wanted to close the encampment - claiming protesters had "intimidated" open day visitors.
The protesters have denied any claims of intimidation and said the camp would remain in place.
The group has set out four main demands for the university - to cut any ties with Israeli companies, boycott Israeli universities, set up partnerships with Palestinian universities and safeguard freedom of speech for pro-Palestine supporters.
The university said in its email, which was seen by the BBC, there were no formal partnerships with Israeli u
Application for up to 980 dwellings and up to 320 student bedspaces with 40,000m2 of other uses on ex-industrial site between railway embankment and Exeter Ship Canal obfuscates numerous key issues.
Wholeheartedly agree, best we can do is do business with local shops where possible.
Which would make perfect sense if there was some way of adding '... but don't count my vote if it makes electing the Labour candidate less likely' to your ballot. As it is, the effect of voting Green is to make a Labour government, and therefore any effective action on climate change, less likely. So, your real choice is: A Labour government, that does something (even if it's less than you'd like) or voting Green and handing government back to the Tories, and getting nothing (which is definitely less than you'd like).
I agree, which is why I'm voting Labour in a Conservative stronghold. Granted they would still be the largest party after losing those 4 seats, even if they don't reach majority they'd still be able to make a coalition, most likely with the Lib Dems.
And right now, when Labour are promising to decarbonise the grid by 2030, which may well be impossible, it's especially absurd to insist they do 'more'. 'More' than borderline impossible?
That claim by Labour probably has about 10 caveats that would further delay proper decarbonisation.
We also need to decarbonizing everything, not just the grid. Get people out of cars and onto bikes/transit, switch vehicles to renewables, reduce plastic use and meat consumption etc. Pledges for these would require action that would antagonize the majority of Labours voter base so they'll never make any of substance.
We had these where I worked, what a lot of people miss is these don't actually record until the person wearing it presses a button, it doesn't have the battery life to record, encode, then broadcast video for 8+ hours. No doubt when that becomes feasible they'll give it a go though.
In the UK we have to announce to everyone it's recording. The gangs and thieves know this and don't care. They were happy to attack and rob us when we already had store wide CCTV.
The only deterrent that worked was a security guard we had for a short while, but the company withdrew them because we weren't losing over 5% of our daily take to theft, ignoring that we got the guard because two people had been sent to hospital after being attacked by a gang of youths.
People who vote green know they won't win an election, but do so anyway to pressure the larger parties to do more about climate change. The Greens themselves achnowledge this.
However, the pressure won't have much effect until they start actually taking seats from them. Standing down to give Labour a clear shot would destroy their steady gain in momentum and spoil the best chance they've ever had to get more seats.
Exeter St Thomas Improvement Bid Rejected as Devon Denied Step-Free Access Funding For Five Years - Exeter Observer
Two-thirds of Access for All money to go to Conservative seats as low-key Department for Transport announcement finds its way into constituency-level news stories and political PR across the country.
Low traffic neighbourhood scheme in Exeter may be scrapped - BBC News
A report recommending suspending the scheme appeared on the council website but was withdrawn.
A controversial traffic reduction scheme could be scrapped. according to a council report which was later withdrawn.
The low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in Exeter closes off some through roads to car drivers.
A report from Devon County Council recommended the suspension of the scheme at a meeting on Monday.
But the report was swiftly removed from the website and the meeting postponed until June.
Devon County Council said the report was "incomplete" and it needed more time to gather all of the information from a public consultation into the scheme.
Developers claim council planning committee refusal was 'if not malevolent, certainly misguided'
Appeal against decision to deny fifth additional storey in build-to-rent scheme above Crankhouse Coffee accuses councillors of seeking to “appease the weight of objectors’ orchestrated opinion” against amendments to eleven year-old consent.
TL;DR: Original developer got planning permission in 2013 but never started construction and died during the pandemic. Another developer picked up the planning permission and made some major changes that the council refused permission for. Developer claims a coffee shop on the street "orchestrated" 130+ compaints to get it denied.
Ongoing excavations have revealed Roman ruins that were once part of a legionary fortress.
Cross-posted from [email protected]
Archaeologists in England have discovered several Roman ruins buried next to a cathedral in Exeter.
The structures, which were built between A.D. 50 and 75, include a street and wooden buildings that were once part of a Roman legionary fortress, according to a statement.
The construction itself was likely part of a "long barrack building," John Allan, a cathedral archaeologist with the University of Exeter, said in the statement.
Got a 10 year old laptop that couldn't do anything while running Windows 10. Couldn't install Windows 11 because no TPM chip. Was about to replace it when I thought screw it and gave Linux a go.
It now runs as smoothly as the day I got it, and am now a Linux convert.