Local News

When Love Becomes Advocacy

As Carers Week prompts conversations about supporting unpaid carers, I’ve found myself reflecting on something that has touched both my professional and personal life recently: advocacy.

And more specifically, what it feels like when advocacy is not a professional role, but something...

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£5m for councils to stop rogue landlords

Councils across the country are to receive a £5m cash boost to tackle rogue landlords in their area, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis announced today.

Forty eight councils will share the funding so they can take on the irresponsible landlords that force tenants to live in squalid and dangerous properties, making their lives a misery.

The cash will also allow councils to root out...

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Eyesore building to be demolished to make way for new starter homes

Plans to demolish a derelict eyesore building to make way for new housing have moved a step closer.

The former Whitleigh Community Centre, which has been disused for the past seven years and subject to vandalism, will be knocked down to prepare the groundwork for 27 new starter homes.

An Executive Decision was signed by Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council,...

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Plymouth

Police and Crime Commissioner learns more about police drones

Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg this week met with police officers from Devon and Cornwall Police and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) to learn about the benefits of drones for policing.

Devon and Cornwall Police has been trialling the use of drones to aid police work since early November 2015.

The force currently has two drones in operation, which have been used...

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Scientists discover freshwater diversity hotspot in arid region of South Africa

Scientists from Plymouth University have discovered a number of new species in a previously unrecognised hotspot for water beetles in South Africa.

Detailed tests have so far identified six new species which were sampled during a two-day research trip to the Bokkeveld plateau, an area of Namaqualand with reliable winter rains in what is generally an otherwise arid region.

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Plymouth prepares to host historic yacht race

The world’s oldest solo transatlantic race makes its return to Britain’s Ocean City this year. From 24 April to 2 May 2016 Plymouth’s waterfront will come alive with events and entertainment for all ages.

Preparations are in full swing in Plymouth as the city gets ready to host one of the most famous and gruelling transatlantic races, The Transat. Setting sail from Plymouth competitors...

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Stagecoach launches new buses in Plymouth

Stagecoach South West has confirmed that it is launching its new fleet of Plymouth buses with a roadshow event.

The event will take place in Plymouth City Centre on Friday 29th January at the city’s Civic Centre Piazza, Royal Parade.

The operator has invested £5 million in twenty-six buses for the network. Some of them are entering service immediately with the rest to follow...

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Crime continues to fall across Devon & Cornwall

The latest figures for 2015 shows that crime continues to fall across Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Recorded figures for January to December 2015 showed a decrease of 4.9% or 3,998 fewer offences compared to 2014, with reductions across a number of crime groups. The updated picture shows the Force continues to see reductions in public order offences (down by -12.4%),...

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Crime continues to fall across Devon & Cornwall

Devon & Cornwall Police

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Five arrested following wildlife crime operation

On the 20 January, officers from both Avon & Somerset and Devon & Cornwall Police along with staff from Devon and Somerset Trading Standards, Environmental Health and the National Wildlife Crime Unit visited nine premises in the Barnstaple area as part of a wildlife crime operation.

This activity follows a two and a half year investigation and intelligence gathering by both...

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Demand for SW homes increasing as buy-to-let investors look to beat stamp duty rise

The South West’s housing market has seen a rise in demand following the Government’s recent announcement that stamp duty is set to increase for buy-to-let investors, the latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed.

The RICS UK Residential Market Survey, December 2015, has shown that demand for new properties in the South West rose at the fastest...

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Half of people in SW have heart disease fears

Almost three quarters of people in the South West have someone in their family with risk factors that put them greater risk of heart disease, according to new statistics released ahead of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Wear it. Beat it. campaign to get the nation wearing red to fight heart disease on Friday 5th February.

The BHF poll revealed over half of people in the South West...

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British Heart Foundation