Independent, investigative, in the public interest Upgrade to paid
MONDAY 15 TO SATURDAY 20 JUNE 2026
Refugee Support Devon celebrates annual event with a film screening, radio programme and live performance alongside month-long fundraising campaign.
EXETER CITY CENTRE
Exeter Observer publishes the independent investigative journalism our local democracy needs.
It can do this because it is the city's only news organisation that doesn't answer to corporate advertisers, remote shareholders or those in power.
Instead it depends on readers like you to sustain its public interest reporting.
169 of the 300 paying subscribers we need to cover our running costs and keep publishing have signed up to support our work so far.
Join them today from less than £2/week and get access to exclusive premium content and more.
Government white paper proposes England and Wales National Police Service and creation of as few as ten “super-forces” overseeing newly-defined local policing areas.
Heritage statement in support of covering crumbling concrete Exeter Corn Exchange windows with advertising hoardings included content from 2013 article about Bourne Corn Exchange 195 miles away in Lincolnshire.
Defiant Phil Bialyk says Exeter election results are vote of confidence in party which will propose own portfolio holders, leader and deputy at May annual meeting.
, updated
City council elections take place on Thursday 7 May. Our comprehensive guide covers who’s standing where, wards to watch and the backdrop to this year’s ballot, which looks set to end fourteen years of Labour majority control over the city.
Council leader Phil Bialyk celebrates rapid Exeter population rise but fails to mention think-tank findings on falling disposable incomes, declining living standards, low wages and unaffordable housing – or impact of student numbers on population figures.
Complex of seven blocks up to six storeys tall on site of police station and magistrates court to bring purpose-built temporary accommodation tally to 3,250 beds in Newtown alone – while failing to meet local plan minimum building separation policy.
Green Party call for “co-operative council” to “put people before politics” ignored despite opposition councillors holding balance of power.
, updated
Labour councillors plumb new depths to cling to power – and personal financial gain – as government-backed contempt for democracy enables seven of eight executive members to avoid ballots in their wards until council abolition in 2028.
Council land disposal to include rights to lay underground distribution pipework across River Exe floodplain following “low-to-zero carbon” Grace Road Fields heat plant planning approval in face of Environment Agency sequential test concerns.
Rejection of voluntary and community sector calls for more inclusive response follows thirteen-year council failure to comply with legal duties under crime and disorder legislation in relation to Exeter Community Safety Partnership.
Exeter Observer analysis finds more students living in city centre than residents as council bid to include PBSA in housing delivery figures weakens local planning policy – but does not remove it from decision-making altogether.
, updated
Five gas boilers to provide 80% of “low-to-zero carbon” Grace Road Fields plant generation capacity for distribution to institutional consumers through privately-run 13-mile underground network expected to take ten years to complete.
Charges for waterways access are set to be imposed from the quay and canal basin to the coast under proposed Harbour Revision Order powers after six years of rising costs propelled by pursuit of Port Marine Safety Code compliance. They risk driving away craft of all sizes, from kayaks to yachts, while redevelopment threatens canalside land – but it’s not too late to change course.
, updated
Leigh Curtis is deputy editor of Exeter Observer and a director of its publisher Exeter Observer Limited.
She writes most of our community and culture stories as well as news reports and contributes to features and investigations.
Leigh holds a degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. She leads on marketing and also manages our finances and administration.
She is an accredited UK press card holder and a member of the National Union of Journalists.
Martin Redfern is Exeter Observer’s editor and a director of its publisher Exeter Observer Limited.
He writes many of our news stories and features, leads on investigations and maintains the Exeter Observer website.
Martin holds a masters degree in Journalism with distinction at Birkbeck, University of London.
He is an accredited UK press card holder and a member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists and the Society of Editors.
