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2 weeks ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Martin Redfern |Peter Cleasby
COMMENTCombined county authority throws public accountability overboard as future regional strategic governance body ratifies constitution at inaugural meeting but fails to explain why so many staff needed to deliver so little at such colossal cost. Martin Redfern with Peter CleasbyDemocracy doesn't work when people don't know who is deciding what on whose behalf and what the costs and consequences of those decisions will be.
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2 weeks ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
NEWSClosure follows loss of Exeter’s last Crown Post Office in Bedford Street, since when all city branches operated by franchisees or independent businesses. Leigh CurtisOne of Exeter city centre’s two remaining post offices is about to close at the same time as the retailer providing the other is sold, raising the prospect that the city centre’s last Post Office counter may soon disappear.
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3 weeks ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
NEWSPolice and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez criticises force for poor performance but statutory report also finds poor commissioner’s office complaint appeals performance. Leigh CurtisDevon & Cornwall Police complaints handling has “not been good enough” according to a statutory report published by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.
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4 weeks ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
ON OUR RADARExeter City of Literature, Taking the Mic and Spork! co-host a third city-wide spoken-word poetry competition. Leigh CurtisExeter City of Literature, Taking the Mic and Spork! are co-hosting a third city-wide spoken-word poetry slam at Exeter Phoenix on Tuesday 29 April. Twelve local poets will compete to win a £150 prize and a spot at this year’s Slamovision, an international slam competition featuring poets from UNESCO cities of literature across the world.
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1 month ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
A three day festival of instrumental music played by upcoming professional musicians hosted in Topsham venues returns for its third year from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 April. The event aims to showcase and support young musicians from across the UK by bringing them and their work to audiences in Devon. The festival is led by artistic director and pianist Nina Savicevic, who was born in Exeter in 2001.
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1 month ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
NEWSDisposal motivated by replacement of nine year-old supercomputer with £1.2 billion government-funded off-site Microsoft facility. Leigh CurtisThe Met Office is set to sell its Exeter Science Park leasehold property including its supercomputer and an adjacent office building. A procurement tender for a commercial agent with data centre expertise to manage the disposal of the property within the terms of the Met Office leasehold at the ten year-old development site closed last month.
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1 month ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis |Martin Redfern
FEATURESHomelessness charity St Petrock’s calls on council to change count methodology which identifies fewer rough sleepers than those known by outreach workers and reflected in government figures. Leigh Curtis with Martin RedfernAn annual rough sleeper count conducted by Exeter City Council for the government “consistently underestimates” the true levels of rough sleeping in the city, according to homelessness charity St Petrock’s, which is calling on the council to change its approach.
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1 month ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
FEATURES5.9% budget increase for 2025-26 conceals £22 million cuts and £66 million cost increases with “inevitable” impact on “vital” services. Leigh CurtisDevon County Council has revealed the perilous state of its finances in its final annual budget before the local elections in May, with its Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) children’s services spending “now having a significant impact on cash balances”.
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1 month ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
NEWSPolice 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. Leigh CurtisThe Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner’s office has confirmed that the cost of paying the three chief constables currently employed by Devon & Cornwall Police is £63,913 per month, equating to £767,000 a year, including allowances and pension costs.
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1 month ago | 
exeterobserver.org | Exeter Observer |Leigh Curtis
Lightbear Lane is hosting a reading of Shakespeare’s bloody revenge tale Titus Andronicus by professional actors with live music on Thursday 3 April at St Nicholas Priory. Thought to be William Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Adronicus begins as Roman general Titus returns from war with captives including Tamora, queen of the Goths. When Titus kills her son, she vows revenge and a cycle of violence unfolds. Lightbear Lane produces site-specific creative and heritage programmes.
