Cranbrook to get £3m community centre for families to ‘thrive’

A new town in Devon will receive £3m to create a community space with facilities for families and young people.Devon County Council's cabinet has agreed to allocate the money from housing developer contributions for the project in Cranbrook, near Exeter.The new facility will provide health services for young people "who are at risk of poor outcomes" as part of a larger leisure centre scheme that is being worked on.The council said Cranbrook had a much younger population than other towns in Devon with 30% of residents aged under 15.The report prepared for Devon County Council's cabinet, which signed off the funding on Wednesday, said it was "essential that county council community space is provided to support children, young people and families to thrive".It said the community space would "focus on supporting vulnerable children and families" and offer health services to "deliver essential early support to children and young people who are at risk of poor outcomes".The community space will be part of a new leisure building which will be created by East Devon District Council (EDDC) with more information on this expected later in October. Source link

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Discussions open over £7m libraries budget for Devon

Discussions open over £7m libraries budget for Devon

Miles DavisDevon political reporterLibraries UnlimitedAlex Kittow, of Libraries Unlimited, said people were using libraries differently nowLibraries are now "community hubs" rather than just places to borrow books, according to the boss of the library service in Devon.Libraries Unlimited chief executive Alex Kittow has welcomed the prospect of a consultation on the future of the county's libraries and urged the public to have their say.It comes as Devon County Council looks at ways of reducing its annual payment of more than £7m to the charity which runs 50 libraries.The council's cabinet approved plans on Wednesday for a 12-week public consultation looking at whether more volunteer involvement and improved use of technology could cut costs.Newton Abbot library hosts several events and offers a range of services as well as lending books.A report for Devon County Council said there were more than 113,000 library users in Devon and, while the physical borrowing of books has decreased, digital loans had surged to more than one million a year.Mr Kittow said more than 200,000 people attended events at libraries in 2024/25 and people were using libraries differently now.He said: "You aren't told to be quiet when you enter a library any more - in fact, we…

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Spectacular sight for harvest supermoon hunters in South West

Sky-watcher Jason Way captured this amazing shot of a supermoon above Dartmoor's Haytor Rocks on Tuesday night, among many other images of the phenonomen taken in Cornwall.A supermoon appears brighter and larger than other full moons in the evening sky and occurs when the moon is at its closest point to the Earth.The term was first coined in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle and this occurrence was the first since November 2024.This supermoon is known by different names - both as the Hunter's Moon and as the Harvest Moon.It is referred to as the Hunter's Moon because as the first full moon in October, it was a time when historically preparations were made for winter in the northern hemisphere, with people hunting and preserving meats.It is also referred to the Harvest Moon, as it rises closest to the autumn equinox (22 September), and reflects a time when farmers would use the moon's brightness to collect crops in the evening. Source link

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Is it legal for Trump to put his picture on US Mint dollar coin? | Donald Trump News

Is it legal for Trump to put his picture on US Mint dollar coin? | Donald Trump News

President Donald Trump appears poised to put his image on both sides of a commemorative $1 coin issued by the United States Mint – the country’s manufacturer of legal tender coinage that also produces commemorative coins.On October 3, the White House re-shared an X post from US Treasurer Brandon Beach confirming reports that the Trump administration was seeking to put the president’s image on the front and back of a dollar coin commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listUS currency typically does not feature living people – or sitting presidents – but it’s not unprecedented.“There have been times in the past where commemorative coins have been printed with the faces of living people,” White House National Economic Council chair Kevin Hassett said on CNN’s State of the Union on October 5.He’s right. Several living people have been featured on US currency in both the recent and distant past, including one president.Although the concept of a Trump coin runs counter to a longstanding tradition, there are no unscalable legal obstacles to establishing a US coin with Trump’s image on it.What has the Trump administration proposed?Beach’s X post showed the coin’s front, featuring Trump’s side profile, and its…

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Acclaimed Ukrainian soldier poet invited to the UK for Being Human festival

A Ukrainian poet renowned for composing her verse on the frontline of her country’s defence against Russia’s illegal war is to visit Devon and London to share her experiences and perspectives. Yaryna Chornohuz has been helping to defend her country from Russian aggression since 2019. She is currently a drone operator and previously took part in fierce battles as a member of the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Marine Corps at the time of the full-scale invasion of 24 February 2022. At the same time, her poetry has become so well-regarded that she is now considered among the foremost members of a new generation of Ukrainian wartime poets who have rapidly emerged. And it will be the relationship between war and art, and the importance of culture in the defence of Ukraine, which will be among the topics of conversation when Ms Chornohuz leads three separate events in November, orchestrated by language experts at the University of Exeter with community partners. All are part of the Being Human Festival, the nationwide celebration of the humanities, led by the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British…

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Student entrepreneurs spark electric vehicle revolution for education sector

Two Exeter students are making inroads in business by supplying colleges and universities with electric vehicle chargers. Ruairi Duignan, who studies Business and Environment, and Ammar El Beik, a Law with Business student, started a startup called Turbo Zone in their first year of studies at Exeter’s Penryn campus. They initially planned to manufacture their own EV chargers but were steered towards a different business model after consultation and mentoring from University experts. Turbo Zone emerged as a value-added reseller of electric vehicle chargers, where host institutions either get EV chargers installed and maintained with no upfront costs, or they can opt to buy the chargers directly if they want to own and operate their own EV infrastructure. Ruairi and Ammar’s first client was FX Plus, which manages services on Exeter’s Cornwall campuses, and they have since gone on to supply EV chargers to other education sector clients, helping schools, colleges and universities access EV charging while supporting the UK’s transition to a zero-carbon economy. They oversaw the installation of EV chargers for the Herefordshire, Ludlow & North Shropshire College Group, with 14 chargers installed across five campuses including Herefordshire College, North Shropshire College, Holme Lacy College, Walford College and Ludlow Sixth Form College None of…

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Spectacular sight for supermoon hunters on Dartmoor

Sky-watcher Jason Way captured this amazing shot of a supermoon above Dartmoor's Haytor Rocks on Tuesday night, among many images of the phenomenon taken by photographers around the world.A supermoon appears brighter and larger than other full moons in the evening sky and occurs when the moon is at its closest point to the Earth.The term was first coined in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle and this occurrence was the first since November 2024.This supermoon is known by different names - both as the Hunter's Moon and as the Harvest Moon.It is referred to as the Hunter's Moon because as the first full moon in October, it was a time when historically preparations were made for winter in the northern hemisphere, with people hunting and preserving meats.It is also referred to the Harvest Moon, as it rises closest to the autumn equinox (22 September), and reflects a time when farmers would use the moon's brightness to collect crops in the evening. Source link

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South West Water customers urged to help prevent fatbergs

South West Water customers urged to help prevent fatbergs

South West WaterSouth West Water said in the past year it had cleared more than 7,000 avoidable blockagesSouth West Water (SWW) has asked customers to help prevent blockages and fatbergs from forming as part of a new campaign. The water company said fats, oils and greases when mixed with items such as wet wipes, sanitary products and food waste flushed down the toilet or drains could create blockages. SWW said in the past year it had cleared more than 7,000 avoidable blockages from its network, with three-quarters caused by wet wipes and fats.Jenny Eamer, waste water services operations manager at SWW, said: "Blockages might sound like something out of a horror story, but they're very real - and they start with the choices we all make at home and at work."The month-long campaign which started in October aims to encourage people and businesses to prevent drain blockages and protect waterways by disposing of waste responsibly.SWW said wet wipes, even those labelled "flushable", do not break down like toilet paper.When mixed with fats and oils they can clump together and form solid blockages which can, over time, grow into fatbergs.SWW said it could cause flooding, unpleasant odours, pollution in rivers and seas,…

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