county news

RSPB defends Radipole and Lodmoor nature reserve visitor cutbacks

RSPB defends Radipole and Lodmoor nature reserve visitor cutbacks

A wildlife charity has defended plans to cut back on visitor infrastructure at two nature reserves as it refocuses resources.The RSPB said it would remove viewing platforms and stop maintaining some paths at Lodmoor and Radipole in Weymouth, Dorset, focusing more on improving wildlife habitats.But Weymouth and Portland Marine Litter Project, which carries out litter picks at RSPB Radipole Lake, said the area was "neglected" and the changes would have a "negative effect".RSPB Arne and Weymouth Wetlands said…

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Exeter Chiefs: Rob Baxter’s side take on Saracens this weekend

Exeter Chiefs: Rob Baxter’s side take on Saracens this weekend

Rob Baxter is relishing taking on the most potent attack in the country when his Exeter Chiefs travel to face Saracens on Saturday.No team has conceded fewer points than Baxter's resurgent Chiefs so far this season as they continue to put last season's horror show behind them.Yet none have scored more than Maro Itoje's Sarries which suggests something has to give at the StoneX Stadium when the two big guns line up against each other.'We are currently the…

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Survey on how Devon & Cornwall Police should be ‘held to account’

Survey on how Devon & Cornwall Police should be ‘held to account’

Anna VarleHome and social affairs correspondentBBCThe police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall is asking for views on the police forcePolice and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez is asking residents across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly how they want their police force to be led and held to account in the future.It follows the announcement that police and crime commissioners (PCC) are to be scrapped in England and Wales to save £100m over this parliament's…

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Children’s services going ‘in positive direction’

Children’s services going ‘in positive direction’

Children's services are improving in Devon after years of problems, according to a commissioner appointed by the government.The Department for Education appointed Nigel Richardson as Devon's Children's Services Commissioner following an Ofsted report in May 2025 that judged children's services in Devon County Council to be inadequate.The commissioner said the areas crucial to the success of the service were "all heading in a positive direction" and praised the council's leader and chief executive for their focus on children.The…

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Care home placed into special measures after inspection

Care home placed into special measures after inspection

GoogleGarsewednack Residential Home has been rated inadequate by inspectorsA care home has been placed in special measures after inspectors found the level of care had deteriorated.Garsewednack Residential Home in Redruth, Cornwall, has room for up to 21 residents, including some living with dementia, with 16 people living there at the time of the last inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).The CQC said due to the level of concern identified during inspection, it had issued four warning notices…

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Exeter College and Petroc merger to go ahead in January

Exeter College and Petroc merger to go ahead in January

Exeter College and Petroc will merge in the new year to create what they say will be the largest college group in the South West with more than 16,000 students, nearly 2,000 staff and an annual turnover of £100 million.Following approval by each college’s board of governors, the new organisation – Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group – will begin operations on 5 January.Exeter College will keep its name and continue to provide sixth form education at its…

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Exeter College And Petroc Merger To Go Ahead In January – Exeter Observer

Exeter College And Petroc Merger To Go Ahead In January – Exeter Observer
Exeter College And Petroc Merger To Go Ahead In January – Exeter Observer

Exeter College and Petroc will merge in the new year to create what they say will be the largest college group in the South West with more than 16,000 students, nearly 2,000 staff and an annual turnover of £100 million. Following approval by each college’s board of governors, the new organisation – Exeter and North

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Teenager charged with murder of girl, 9, in Weston-super-Mare

Teenager charged with murder of girl, 9, in Weston-super-Mare

Sarah TurnnidgeWest of England PAA post-mortem found the preliminary cause of Aria's death was a single stab woundA 15-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe.Aria was found dead at a house in Lime Close, Weston-super-Mare, shortly after 18:00 GMT on Monday. A post-mortem examination found the preliminary cause of her death was a single stab wound, Avon and Somerset Police said.The teenage suspect, who cannot be named due to his age, remains in…

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West Somerset cycle path upgrade axed as cash spent elsewhere

West Somerset cycle path upgrade axed as cash spent elsewhere

A project to improve a cycle route has been scrapped because it is too difficult to implement, a council says.Active Travel England provided Somerset Council with £1.5m to carry out work on the existing path along the A39 between Dunster and Carhampton in west Somerset.A spokesperson for the council said: "The funding allocation, with the agreement of Active Travel England, was reallocated to a number of other schemes due to the logistical challenges of the original proposal."The authority…

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Arrest over suspected theft of cocker spaniel Gerry in Dorset

Arrest over suspected theft of cocker spaniel Gerry in Dorset

A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a red cocker spaniel that disappeared from a kennel outside a village home in Dorset.Gerry went missing from Hilfield, between Dorchester and Sherborne, on 8 December between 11:30 and 12:30 GMT sparking a police and social media appeal.He was found safe and well two days later near Cerne Abbas about 5km (3 miles) away and was returned home.Dorset Police said a 34-year-old man from Poole was arrested…

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Bid to vary Portland incinerator permit ‘nuts’, critics say

Bid to vary Portland incinerator permit ‘nuts’, critics say

Ros TappendenSouth of EnglandPowerfuel PortlandThe proposed incinerator would be built on land owned by Portland PortAn application to burn more types of waste at a planned incinerator on the Dorset coast have been branded "completely wrong".Powerfuel Portland has permission to build an energy recovery facility at Portland Port after the Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge by campaigners in November.The firm wants to vary its environmental permit to include additional waste types, including waste from sewage cleaning,…

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How many UK homes could be heated from cow manure?

How many UK homes could be heated from cow manure?

Dave HarveyBusiness and environment correspondent, West of EnglandBBCDairy farmer Richard Clothier sees cow manure as "nature's crude oil"How many homes could be heated by cow muck?It is not a question I have thought about before, but as Britain searches for sustainable sources of heat, many farmers are looking, well, right under their noses.Cow manure can be treated to release biomethane, a renewable gas which is already used to power central heating boilers in about a million homes.But there…

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