Headlines
Illustrative floor plan of new redevelopment proposals

New Heavitree Road police station student accommodation and “co-living” complex proposals submitted to Exeter City council

Change in bus passenger journey numbers 2019-20 to 2023-24 by England local transport area bar chart

National Audit Office finds decline in Devon bus passenger journey numbers among largest in country

Danny Barnes

Danny Barnes received full £15,000 Devon County Council allowance during 2024-25

, updated

Exeter cycle route E9 Wonford Road bus gate modal filter

Wonford Road modal filter bus gate to be first of five Exeter ANPR camera sites

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Devon & Cornwall Police deputy chief constable Jim Colwell receives 18-month misconduct warning

Devon & Cornwall Police deputy chief constable Jim Colwell receives 18-month misconduct warning

Outcome of Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation delivered day before retirement of suspended chief constable Will Kerr announced, with Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez unwilling to say whether “golden handshake” agreed.

Newtown active travel scheme approved after four years of public consultations

Newtown active travel scheme approved after four years of public consultations

Joint Devon County Council and Exeter City Council project includes road closure, car parking changes and contraflow Clifton Hill cycle lane.

Dawlish rail resilience, Exeter A379 bridge renewal and Cullompton M5 J28 schemes all shelved after spending review

Dawlish rail resilience, Exeter A379 bridge renewal and Cullompton M5 J28 schemes all shelved after spending review

Government road and rail funding announcement billed as “the biggest boost to England's transport infrastructure in a generation” largely passes Devon and Cornwall by while leaving final phase of South West Rail Resilience Programme undelivered.

On Our Radar
Summer at the Quayside illustration

TUESDAY 29 JULY TO FRIDAY 29 AUGUST 2025

Summer at the Quayside

A month of free family activities including weaving, felting, doodling and drumming.

EXETER QUAY

Spork! summer special

THURSDAY 31 JULY TO THURSDAY 14 AUGUST 2025

Theatre in the Park

Exeter Phoenix hosts an al fresco summer theatre season featuring Shakespeare, spoken-word poetry, puppetry and physical comedy.

ROUGEMONT GARDENS

Three Acres And A Cow production still

SATURDAY 2 AUGUST 2025

Three Acres And A Cow

A history of land rights and protest in England told in folk song, story and poetry.

SIDWELL STREET METHODIST CHURCH

Spotlight
Danny Barnes

Danny Barnes received full £15,000 Devon County Council allowance during 2024-25

Heavitree & Whipton Barton councillor failed to sign off £14,600 community grants after attending only two of fifteen public meetings and is alleged to have worked for Scottish Labour MP Imogen Walker since shortly after last year’s general elections.

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News
Illustrative floor plan of new redevelopment proposals

New Heavitree Road police station student accommodation and “co-living” complex proposals submitted to Exeter City council

Application for full planning permission for 813-room scheme in seven blocks follows decision to reject previously-proposed 955-room scheme in two blocks which was subsequently upheld at appeal.

Change in bus passenger journey numbers 2019-20 to 2023-24 by England local transport area bar chart

National Audit Office finds decline in Devon bus passenger journey numbers among largest in country

Devon journeys down 28% – seventh from bottom across 85 areas – while journeys in Cornwall increased by more than 40%.

Exeter cycle route E9 Wonford Road bus gate modal filter

Wonford Road modal filter bus gate to be first of five Exeter ANPR camera sites

Devon County Council will use new moving traffic offence enforcement powers to issue penalty charge notices to motorists contravening active travel, bus lane and one-way street restrictions.

Devon five-a-day fruit & vegetable consumption by district 2023-24

Exeter residents eat lowest proportion of 5-a-day fruit and vegetables in Devon with only South Hams above England average

Public health report also finds three in ten Devon residents are physically inactive and nearly two-thirds overweight with new countywide health and well-being strategy due in autumn.

All news

Features
Newtown active travel scheme map

Newtown active travel scheme approved after four years of public consultations

Joint Devon County Council and Exeter City Council project includes road closure, car parking changes and contraflow Clifton Hill cycle lane.

South West peninsula 2025 spending review road and rail investment map

Dawlish rail resilience, Exeter A379 bridge renewal and Cullompton M5 J28 schemes all shelved after spending review

Government road and rail funding announcement billed as “the biggest boost to England's transport infrastructure in a generation” largely passes Devon and Cornwall by while leaving final phase of South West Rail Resilience Programme undelivered.

Clifton Hill sports centre redevelopment site

Second undervalue sale of Clifton Hill sports centre site after buyback loss leaves city with £3m less than initial market value

Council sold land for £2.14m – at £2.11m discount – then bought it back for £3.037m before selling again for £3.375m at £425,000 discount with £225,000 sweetener after also agreeing to spend net £600,000 on preparation, marketing and disposal costs.

All features

Comment
Save Northbrook Pool campaigners dressed in black outside Exeter City Council's offices on 24 June 2025

Labour councillors dive deeper into denial in decision to abandon Northbrook pool

Exeter residents mourn as council suppresses destructive consequences of creating St Sidwell’s Point complex that looms in leisure service shadows like a leviathan.

Mary Arches car parks redevelopment site aerial view

300-bed “co-living” blocks to trump social housing vision for Mary Arches car parks

More people could be crammed into Eutopia Homes complex than current car parking spaces after Exeter City Council commits to “homes for the people of Exeter” on Liveable Exeter North Gate site.

Devon & Torbay Combined County Authority inaugural meeting 19 March 2025

Devon & Torbay CCA sets sail for regional democratic deficit with £500,000 crew

Combined 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.

Exeter City Council consultation charter

Multiple-choice survey on £3.5m budget cuts follows auditor criticism of council public consultation methods

Move to replace resident views on key decisions and policies with opinion polls and selective questionnaires follows serial failure to uphold own consultation charter.

All comment

Special Reports
Northbrook pool

Exeter City Council fields false prospectus in determination to close Northbrook pool

Ian Collinson reports double down on misrepresentation, material omission and flat denial as council plans to rend more of city’s fabric from its roots.

English Devolution White Paper cover

South West peninsula devolution in disarray as Devon, Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay & Cornwall seek conflicting goals and seven Devon districts left out in cold

Contempt for local democracy laid bare by unlawful County Hall failure to publish plan to postpone local elections while Westminster looks set to back local Labour bids for disproportionate influence in regional governance reorganisation.

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Exeter Science Park main building

Council sinks additional £1.25m into struggling Exeter Science Park as company unable to repay £7m debts

Serial scrutiny failures continue as emergency meeting held to increase city council exposure to joint venture to more than £2 million on top of £450,000 project costs plus £950,000 guarantee but rescue plan risks repeating earlier strategic mistakes.

Scrutiny Programme Board agenda extract 21 July 2022

City council scrutiny board enabling illicit obstruction of democracy

Essential safeguard against misuse of power misdirected by Executive members and senior officers while backbench councillors persistently denied rights to examine high-risk schemes and citywide climate crisis response.

All special reports

Spotlight
Devon districts and Torbay home work and travel to work patterns (people aged 16 and over in employment)

New countywide transport strategy falls short on fundamental mobility challenges

Draft 2025-40 Devon & Torbay Local Transport Plan lacks serious measures to address congestion and enable shift to public transport as local government reorganisation threatens derailment.

All topics