The US has vetoed the UN Security Council’s draft resolution calling for an “unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza. The other 14 members voted in favour of the document, which also demanded the release of all hostages and the lifting of humanitarian aid restrictions. The US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said the resolution...
Alison Stephenson Local Democracy Reporting Service LDRS The council was 23 years into a 50-year lease to run the toilets North Devon Council has agreed to pay £250,000 to surrender a lease agreement, meaning it will no longer operate and maintain public toilets on Saunton beach. The council entered into a 50-year lease to run...
A councillor has quit the ruling Conservative party at a council with a precarious political balance. Torbay Council member Jason Hutchings left the Conservatives, saying he wanted to be free to voice his own opinions. The Conservatives remain in charge at Torbay Council but now have 17 seats compared to 15 Liberal Democrats and four...
Lewis Adams BBC News, Essex Reporting fromChelmsford Magistrates’ Court Lauren Carter/BBC Jodie Marsh was a person “passionate about the care and treatment” of her animals, a judge said Jodie Marsh should be allowed to keep lemurs at her private animal sanctuary, a judge has ruled. The former glamour model fought Uttlesford District Council in court...
It has been a couple of weeks since the County Council elections and things are starting to get back into a routine. Exeter city councillors will of course work collaboratively with county councillors to resolve issues which are the responsibility of the county council and impact on our city. We hope that by working together...
Bob Dale BBC News, South East Getty Images Zia Yusuf announced the first raft of council audits late on Sunday Reform has announced it will send its first Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) team into local authorities to assess “wasteful spending”. The party said the first council to be audited will be Kent...
Exeter City Council is under pressure to reconsider its plan to close Northbrook Swimming Pool after community campaigners triggered a full council debate on the closure by raising a petition imploring it to keep the pool open that was signed by nearly 2,250 local residents. As a result it will hold a debate on the...
Miles Davis BBC Devon political reporter BBC Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil has been voted in as the new leader of Devon County Council Improving services for children and fixing roads are the top two priorities for the new leader of Devon County Council. Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil will lead a minority administration and has included...
A council said it had taken a loss on the sale of a former leisure centre site in order to keep a promise not to build student accommodation on it. Plans have been agreed to sell the old Clifton Hill leisure centre site, in Exeter, to a company that builds affordable housing for older people....
Nearly 100 older people living in a town’s last remaining high-rise block of flats have been told they could lose their homes and treasured community. Durham Court, in Hebburn on Tyneside, which was built in 1974, is now “beyond its original intended lifespan”, South Tyneside Council said. The 18-storey block needs repairs costing about £12m...
Bids for the two-acre site on the edge of the city centre were received in October 2024. The site already had planning permission for 41 homes but none of the bidders wanted to take those plans forward. The highest bidder, Preferred Homes Ltd, wants to build a 72-unit home for older people with an average...
Torridge District Council has added three electric vehicles to its fleet to replace diesel vans. Two of the vehicles will be used by its estates team for routine maintenance tasks and to help with the running of the pannier markets. The third van will be used by the Northam Burrows rangers to be used at...
Ofsted has found that Devon County Council children’s services are still “leaving children at risk of harm” due to “serious weaknesses” in the way some children – particularly those experiencing neglect and domestic abuse or at risk of extra-familial harm – are cared for. In an inspection report published this week Ofsted rated the county...
Bradley Gerrard Local Democracy Reporting Service BBC East Devon District Council rejected the plans for near Axminster Plans to build a lithium battery storage facility in East Devon have been rejected. Clearstone Energy had asked for permission to build and operate the battery energy storage system (BESS) south of Hazelhurst Raymonds Hill in Axminster. However,...
Miles Davis BBC Devon political reporter Getty Children in Devon experiencing abuse and neglect were particularly at risk, Ofsted found Children in Devon are “at risk of harm” due to continued failings in council services, a report has found. The Ofsted report into children’s services at Devon County Council rated the council as “inadequate” and...