THE EXETER DIGEST

Exeter Digest #21: Greener grass? - Council lottery - EDF secrecy - £2.2 million ECL loss

A bumper festive holiday edition also covers the nurses strike, South West Water’s ‘sustained poor performance’ and the university’s gender pay gap plus a Community Infrastructure Levy consultation.

TOP STORIES

IS THE GRASS REALLY GREENER IN EXETER CITY CENTRE?

Academic research placing Exeter retail area at top of green space table was nationally reported, locally misrepresented then repurposed as booster fuel by local politicians overlooking study’s social justice focus.

COUNCIL LOTTERY OPERATOR TO TAKE CUT FROM LOCAL CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Decision to promote gambling as “incentivised giving” plays down risks without assessing potential impacts or evidencing claimed benefits, disrupting relationships between community and voluntary sector organisations and supporters.

EXETER CITY FUTURES FALSELY CLAIMS DEVELOPMENT FUND DOCUMENTS DISCLOSED UNDER FOI LEGISLATION

Senior council director puts company on collision course with Information Commissioner’s Office as significant governance failings emerge after councillors and public kept in dark over Liveable Exeter financing scheme proposals.

FIRST DAY OF HISTORIC NURSES STRIKE GOES AHEAD AFTER GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO NEGOTIATE OVER PAY

Royal College of Nursing members out in force at Exeter NHS trusts alongside colleagues across the country as recruitment crisis threatens profession.

SOUTH WEST WATER PERFORMANCE REMAINS AMONG WORST IN SECTOR AS IT FALLS FURTHER BEHIND TARGETS

Regulator highlights “sustained poor performance” after serious pollution incidents nearly triple and Environment Agency condemns company in annual assessment.

EXETER CITY LIVING PUT COUNCIL AT “SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL RISK” AFTER £2.2 MILLION LOSS IN FIRST TWO YEARS

Missing business plan, lack of transparency and conflicts of interest among senior council directors prompt board resignations and governance review at council-owned and funded company.

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER LAGS BEHIND ON FEMALE PAY AND EMPLOYMENT TERMS

HESA figures show poor performance compared with Universities UK members and only incremental changes over past five years, mostly since staff began industrial action over pay, pensions and working conditions.

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ON THE AGENDA

COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY REVIEW

Exeter City Council is consulting on a partial review of the charges it levies on developers to pay for community grants, habitat impact mitigation and projects like Marsh Barton railway station.

Its decision to launch a public consultation as the holiday period begins follows an attempt by opposition councillors to prevent the proposals going ahead in their current form.

The council employed a firm of consultants to produce background and viability reports to justify its revised charging proposals which are incomplete and insufficiently evidenced.

The revised charging schedule will be submitted for public examination next year. Anyone wishing to speak at the examination hearing must notify the council in writing before the end of consultation period on 25 January.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

INFORMATION COMMISSIONER TO INVESTIGATE UNIVERSITY OVER STUDENT ACCOMMODATION NUMBERS REFUSAL

Compliance failure follows university admission that nearly 39,000 students based at Exeter campuses in 2021-22, suggesting around three quarters of city’s private rented housing stock occupied by students.

STAGECOACH ESCAPES MAJOR SANCTIONS OVER SERVICE FAILURES

Traffic commissioner decides four days of free weekend travel in Exeter Plus ticket zone is sufficient penalty for poor performance despite public inquiry hearing severe criticism of company.

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER STAFF STRIKE IN LARGEST WALKOUT IN SECTOR HISTORY

Dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions continues as universities generate record income.

MOTOR VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE DEVON TRANSPORT SPENDING

New active travel infrastructure to receive just 5% share of capital allocations this year and next, with new roads capital expenditure to increase from 74% to 86%.

LAST WORD

Exeter City Council’s announcement this week that its CEO Karime Hassan is leaving at the end of March came replete with a range of eyebrow-raising claims yet was missing key information.

We’re looking forward to examining the former and investigating the latter in the new year.

In the meantime, best wishes for the festive season to all our readers from everyone at Exeter Observer.

More stories
2024-25 Devon County Council locality budget community grants allocations by Exeter councillor

Heavitree & Whipton Barton community groups miss out on £14,600 after Danny Barnes fails to sign funding agreements

Voluntary sector grants now lost following 12% councillor attendance record highlighting need for by-elections in absentee cases.

Suspended Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Will Kerr

Criminal investigation into suspended Devon & Cornwall Police Chief Constable dropped

Will Kerr to remain suspended while IOPC resumes previously paused conduct investigation and interim chief constable James Vaughan continues to lead force.

2024 duration in hours of monitored spill events at water company overflow sites bar graph

South West Water bills rise by a third following worst performance in sector with 550,000 hours of sewage spills

Tariffs increase as Environment Agency publishes damning data after South West Water owner Pennon Group issues £24.5 million in dividends to shareholders.

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 Post Office in Guildhall Shopping Centre WHSmith

Sidwell Street Post Office to close as WHSmith shops sale raises risk of Exeter city centre counter service disappearance

Closure follows loss of Exeter’s last Crown Post Office in Bedford Street, since when all city branches operated by franchisees or independent businesses.

Exeter local elections campaign materials

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Send us any campaign materials you receive so we can fact-check candidates’ claims and hold them to their pledges after the votes have been counted.

On Our Radar
Jess Hughes Cameron and Chin See at 2024 Topsham Music Festival

FRIDAY 25 TO SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2025

2025 Topsham Music Festival

Three day event features jazz, percussion and classical music played by young professional musicians from across the country.

TOPSHAM

Tabatha Andrews sculpture

SATURDAY 26 APRIL TO SATURDAY 21 JUNE 2025

The Slightest Gesture

Sculptor and installation artist Tabatha Andrews presents a new immersive exhibition.

EXETER PHOENIX

Liberation in Venice 1945

SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2025

Festa Di Liberazione

Italian Cultural Association Exeter hosts a day of music, dance, poetry and Italian culture.

KALEIDER

Edward Tripp

TUESDAY 29 APRIL 2025

City Slam 2025

Exeter City of Literature, Taking the Mic and Spork! co-host a third city-wide spoken-word poetry competition.

EXETER PHOENIX

Exeter Pride in Exeter High Street

SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025

Exeter Pride 2025

Exeter Pride returns for a celebration of LGBTQ+ diversity with a parade, marketplace, music, cabaret and more.

NORTHERNHAY GARDENS

Detail from Panorama of Prague from the Schönborn Garden

SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025

Czech Classics

Isca Ensemble and chorus perform a programme by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.

EXETER CATHEDRAL