South West

Heating Installer of the Year Awards: Last call for entries

A final call has been issued to heating installers across the South West, as there are now only four weeks remaining to enter the Heating Installer of the Year Awards.

Honouring those who constantly deliver an outstanding service for homeowners and who go above and beyond the call of duty every day of the year, the awards sets out to shine a spotlight on the most dedicated and hard-...

Foster carers urgently needed

The Fostering Network have released figures for the number of foster carers needed in 2016: A total of 9070 fostering families are needed throughout the UK, which includes 600 families urgently needed in the South West.

Currently, over 64,000 children live with almost 55,000 foster families across the UK. Foster care provides children with a safe, secure and nurturing family...

Francis Clark announces merger

Francis Clark, the largest independent firm of Chartered Accountants in the South West, today announced a merger with Princecroft Willis, a leading Accountancy Practice in Dorset and Hampshire.

The merger will take place on 1 April 2016.

The newly merged firm will have a combined revenue of £38 million and a team of more than 580 people across nine offices, consolidating...

Investment fund returns to support more social ventures

After a successful first year helping South West social ventures to grow and flourish, applications have now opened for an exciting new programme of Seedbed investment and support for 2016.

Now in its second year, the £1.2 million Seedbed accelerator programme is looking to recruit 25 ambitious social ventures from across the region by the end of January.

Successful applicants...

Half of adults in SW never speak to loved ones about family medical history

Almost half of adults in the South West are shying away from potentially life saving conversations with their loved ones about health conditions that run in the family, 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.

Having a family history of...

Arts Council funding success for Plymouth History Centre

Plans to transform Plymouth’s museum and art gallery into a new world class visitor attraction have taken a giant step forward with the award of £4.2 million funding from the Arts Council.

The Arts Council funding to help create a major new cultural attraction at the heart of the city is in addition to £12.8m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £8m from Plymouth City Council.

...

500,000 people in SW cutting back on winter essentials to pay rent or mortgage

The New Year may not be very happy for hundreds of thousands of people in the South West, as research by Shelter reveals a fifth of rent or mortgage payers in the region are cutting back on winter heating and clothing to meet their housing payments. This is the equivalent to 500,000 people.

The study by housing and homelessness charity Shelter and YouGov shows the strain people in the...

64% of those with dementia feel isolated

New research by Alzheimer’s Society shows that 39% of people in the South West mistakenly think that once a person with dementia stops recognising loved ones, they don’t benefit that much from spending time with them.

In a separate survey of 300 people affected by dementia, the charity also found that 64% of those living with the condition felt isolated from friends and family...

Ditch the drink for Cancer Research UK

Men and women across the South West are being challenged to ban the booze in January to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Dryathlon is Cancer Research UK’s popular fundraising campaign that invites social drinkers to take a month-long break from alcohol.

‘Dryathletes’ pledge to ditch the drink for a month and either get sponsored or donate the money they would have spent on...

Stormy weather to continue this week

December 2015 has already been exceptionally wet in places, and we have more stormy weather to come this week

This is has already been a record breaking month for rainfall in some parts of the UK, with exceptional amounts of rain falling onto already saturated ground, and Met Office meteorologists are predicting a further spell of stormy weather for this week.

The very wet...

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