Latest news with #DevonCountyCouncil
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Major Exmouth gas network upgrade making 'good progress'
A major gas network upgrade is moving forward on schedule. The £552,000 investment project is being delivered by Wales & West Utilities in the Salterton Road area of Exmouth to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of gas to homes and businesses now and for years to come. The work, which began in February, involves upgrading ageing gas pipes as part of a wider programme to modernise the network. Roxanne Whittaker from Wales & West Utilities said: "We are making good progress with this project and, barring any engineering difficulties, we are on track to finish during November. "We know that working in areas like this is not ideal, but it is essential to make sure we keep the gas flowing to homes and businesses in the area, and to make sure the gas network is fit for the future. "While most of the gas network is underground and out of sight, it plays a central role in the daily lives of people across the area. "Whether it's heating your home, making the family dinner or having a hot bath, we understand how important it is for your gas supply to be safe and reliable and there when you need it. "This work is essential to keep the gas flowing to local homes and businesses today, and to make sure the gas network is ready to transport hydrogen and biomethane, so we can all play our part in a green future." Wales & West Utilities has worked closely with Devon County Council to coordinate the project and manage traffic disruption. Current traffic measures include a road closure on the Salterton Road service road until Thursday, June 20, and a parking suspension on Salterton Road, also in place until June 20. Chapel Lane will be closed from Sunday, June 23, until the end of August, with residents being notified directly about access arrangements. Anyone with questions about the work can contact the company's customer service team on 0800 912 2999, or reach out via X (formerly Twitter) @WWUtilities or on Facebook at Wales & West Utilities serves around 7.5 million people across the South West of England and Wales.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Warning of M5 delays as thousands set to attend Devon County Show
Drivers are being warned to expect delays on the M5 near Exeter due to the Devon County Show this weekend. The three-day event at the Westpoint Arena, Clyst St Mary, is expected to attract up to 100,000 people. It will take place on Thursday, May 15, Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17. This is expected to cause increased traffic on the M5 north and south of junctions 29 and 30, the A30 east and west of Exeter and the A38 south of Exeter. Congestion has previously occurred during the morning influx to the show, particularly the M5 northbound between junctions 31 and 30, and traffic is likely to be particularly busy on Thursday morning. M5 traffic will be directed to use junction 30 to access the showground via the A376 and A3052, while A30 westbound traffic will be directed to exit at the Daisy Mount junction and use the B3180 and A3052. READ: Weymouth seafront bike and classic cars night draws crowd John Ingram, south west network planner for National Highways, said: "We're working closely with our partners at Devon County Council and Devon and Cornwall Police to give drivers advice to help them plan their journeys during this busy period, and our traffic officers will be patrolling the M5, A38 and A30 to assist with any breakdowns and incidents. "Junction 30 of the M5 could be particularly busy and the north approach to junction 30 could also see significant increases in traffic between 8am and 10.30am over the three days when visitors to the Devon Show could be using the motorway at the same time as commuter and freight traffic. "The A30 east and west of Exeter and A38 south of Exeter could also see increases in traffic, and drivers are advised to plan their travel routes in advance, and to keep up to date with the latest road conditions. "Yellow signs will advise show visitors which route to take on the approaches to the show." For more event details, people can check out the Devon County Show website. In the meantime, drivers can obtain up-to-the-minute travel information by accessing the Traffic England website.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Package of support proposed for Devon foster families
Devon County Council is to vote on a new support package for foster carers amid a growing shortage of proposals, due to be discussed on 23 May, include council tax relief, increased allowances, and new funding for essential equipment and support Clark, service manager for Devon's fostering team, said: "We're currently looking after 848 children with just 208 fostering families. "Some families care for two, three, even four children, but we urgently need more." 'Severe shortage' In 2024/25, just 11 new fostering households were approved, while 33 were lost, said the a foster carer from North Devon who has cared for 40 children over the past decade, said it was "a way of life". "I don't look at any child that comes into my house as a job. "These children become part of your family. They come on holiday with us, have birthday parties, and we celebrate them just like we do our own children."Kim began fostering alongside her mother and has welcomed children from just two days old to 14 years."It's tough when they leave and they move on, but I still see children who I fostered who've had their own children and their children are now part of our family as well," she said. 'For the children' Ms Clark said financial support was a key part of the council's strategy to attract new carers."We're reviewing fees and allowances to ensure they cover the real cost of caring for a child," she said. "We're also looking at council tax rebates and aligning our support with what other local authorities offer."But Ms Clark said money was not the main motivator for foster families."If you were doing it for the money, there are easier ways to earn," she said. "What impresses me is that every carer I've met says the same thing when I ask why they do it, the children."That's what keeps them going." The proposal The council's proposed support package includes:Council tax relief: 25–50% off the council tax element paid to the council, depending on weeks of care increases: Weekly payments for carers of children aged 16+ raised to match the national equipment fund: £80,000 to cover items like beds and budget: £36,000 for peer support, wellbeing groups, and Oversight: Two new officers to review foster carers annually.A further consultation on additional support is expected this summer.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Digital tool aims to help Devon pupils choose right job
A council is rolling out a new online tool that aims to help young people choose a career County Council said "vocational profiling" supported those aged 12 and above in obtaining careers gives students an online profile to help identify job interests, work experience and authority said the initiative would be rolled out to all secondary schools in Devon. Debbie Stafford, Devon County Council's senior economic development officer, said the aim was to provide consistent advice to pupils."Because careers is not part of the national curriculum, there's little consistency around language, quality or time spent on advice and guidance across schools," she said."So when thinking about an individual's best next steps, pupils in one school may have an advantage over pupils in another school."Vocational profiles have been around for a while and are a great way to identify a young person's interests, achievements and what sort of job they'd like to have as an adult." While working on the project, the council said it looked at issues specifically in relation to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Devon County Council and its last local election before changes
Elections usually mean new beginnings – but for Devon County Council this week's poll is the beginning of the all local authority councils in the remaining "two-tier" areas – governed by a combination of county and district councils – it will soon be government announced in the autumn that it wanted unitary authorities – single councils which provide all local government services – say it is the end of an era in Devon is perhaps an understatement: Devon County Council has been governing most of the county for a very long time. Councillors in the dock It was created by the Local Government Act of 1888 - a milestone in local then, Devon's smaller towns and rural areas were governed by unelected magistrates through the Court of Quarter Sessions, which sat in the old law courts at Exeter castle courtrooms subsequently became the first home of the new county council – although the accommodation was apparently so cramped to begin with that some members had to sit in what had been the dock for the previous courts' it was only in 1964 that the council moved to its current purpose-built home outside Exeter city centre. The main urban centres of Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter have at different times moved in or out of the county council's the moment Exeter's in, while Plymouth and Torbay are out, both having been made unitary authorities nearly 30 years though, everything and everywhere in Devon is up for grabs; all 2,590 square miles (6,710 square km), 1.2 million people, the county council, the eight district councils and Plymouth and Torbay will be remoulded into a much smaller number of unitary how is a work in progress, but ministers expect the new local government map of Devon to be in place by 2028 at the that is not the country, the government also wants to see unitary authorities coming together under elected existing councils in Devon wanted that to extend across the River Tamar in the form of a joint mayor for Devon and Council, already a unitary authority, has emphatically rejected that, saying Cornwall should not have to combine with anybody and it does not want a mayor. Driving local solutions Devon's local government leaders are now asking Whitehall for a mayor to oversee the new group of councils in Devon alone – with an open invitation for Cornwall to join. How this pans out remains to be some things we do have been clear they are prepared to intervene as a last resort if acceptable solutions cannot be agreed is equally clear they see mayors as key players driving local government solutions. Expect to see more powers handed down from Westminster and Whitehall to those areas which accept an elected the pub trade, for instance. The Mayor of London has just been given new powers to grant pubs and clubs later opening government said this could be extended - you've guessed it - "to other mayors".Perish the thought that local government could ever be the outcome of this week's elections is just the start.
