With our pick of upcoming local community and culture highlights and a recap of the top stories from our previous edition.
TOP STORIES
How did Devon MPs vote on the assisted dying bill second reading?
Ten of Devon’s thirteen MPs voted in favour of a private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying in the House of Commons on Friday as the bill reached its crucial second reading stage. Read more here.
Exeter real-terms wages fall while increasing in neighbouring districts
Devon Public Health Intelligence index also scores several Exeter neighbourhoods among highest combined relative poverty risk areas in county. Read more here.
Acting Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Jim Colwell suspended
Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation of gross misconduct allegations follows suspension of previous Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Will Kerr last year. Read more here.
ON OUR RADAR
St Leonard’s Christmas Fair 2024 // Magdalen Road
Community-run market returns for thirteenth year with festive food, music and gifts. More details here.
Handel’s Messiah // Exeter Cathedral
A seasonal choral performance by Exeter Cathedral Choir with early music specialists Devon Baroque. More details here.
Winterwood // Emmanuel Hall
A family-friendly, interactive production set in a festive forest by Theatre Alibi, Angel Exit Theatre and Above Bounds. More details here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED DIGEST #67
2024-25 SEND overspend rises to £45.8m as government “safety valve” deal target breach doubles to £14.7m in two months
County council breaches Local Government Act by failing to publish budget documents in time for scrutiny and cabinet meetings and councillors complain about missing financial information and being “kept in the dark” about SEND delivery. Read more here.
Exeter Business Improvement District wins ballot for third five-year term
Just under half of 670 businesses eligible to vote took part, 90% voting in favour of renewal. Read more here.
St Petrock’s appeals for funds to support its work with rough sleepers
Exeter homelessness charity’s Christmas 2024 fundraising campaign features a short film depicting the fictional tale of a rough sleeper in the city’s streets. Read more here.
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EXETER CHIEFS members have voted in favour of a takeover of the club proposed by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment. The US investment company, led by CEO Bill Foley, bought AFC Bournemouth in 2022 and is a minority shareholder in Edinburgh club Hibernian F.C.. The vote follows a January announcement by Exeter Chiefs chairman Tony Rowe that he was seeking a new major shareholder for the club, made a few days before Exeter Chiefs owners Exeter Rugby Group reported a £10.3 million loss. Tony Rowe said that the proposed takeover “does not represent a firm offer” and is “just a non-binding expression of interest at this stage”. He added: “Hopefully, an offer will follow and we can begin negotiating the terms of the sale”.
EXETER CITY COUNCIL’S RECYCLING RATE was ranked in the bottom tenth among councils in England which collect household waste last year. According to government figures just 29% of the household waste it collected was sent for recycling, compared with 54% by neighbouring Teignbridge District Council and 60% by East Devon District Council, which was among the best-performing councils in the country on this metric. Exeter’s residual waste performance was better than North Devon, Plymouth and Torbay councils, but East Devon recorded the lowest residual waste rate of all.
SOUTH WEST WATER has been ordered by the the Environment Agency to fix scores of faults including leaking pipes, cracked tanks, seeping liquids and faulty monitoring equipment as well as address poor general maintenance across its network. The issues were discovered during inspections which have taken place over the past year at 860 South West Water sites in Devon and Cornwall, such as sewage treatment works and storm tanks.
Two luxury city centre apartment blocks are being advertised for sale by Nooko, the developer responsible for renovating the ROYAL CLARENCE HOTEL. The company is seeking £13.5 million for Paternoster House, which it described as a “blueprint for Exeter’s future”, where several of the 29 flats in the block are currently being marketed to rent for between £1,950 and £2,383 per month. It is also looking to sell Concord House, a nearby block of 28 flats in South Street, for £7 million. A two-bed flat there is currently being marketed to rent for £2,167 per month. Both sale advertisements claim that the buildings are fully let.
Exeter City Council has finally published an EXETER PORT AND HARBOUR BUSINESS PLAN after repeated requests from river and estuary users to see the document, which was apparently prepared three years ago. Despite purporting to cover the three years from 2025-26 onwards the plan only includes a summary budget for 2024-25. When an Exeter Harbour Board member asked whether the council intended to remedy this by adding forecast future budgets to the plan, a council officer said that the 2024-25 budget would “probably be the total budget over the next three years”. They added that there was “some work to be done around budget arrangements” and that “any income changes” would “need to be considered”.
Market returns for 2026 season with stalls selling vintage items, jewellery, crafts, clothing, records, food and drink.
FORE STREET
FRIDAY 22 MAY 2026
The Dreaming
Debut show from theatre company Thresh & Bray explores the convergence of personal experience, ancestral threads and nature.
EXETER PHOENIX
SUNDAY 31 MAY 2026
Mindful Market
Vintage items, handmade gifts and baked goods from local traders with wellbeing activities including yoga, crafts and hula-hooping.
THE BIRDHOUSE
More stories
Green surge leaves Labour without council majority and competing with Reform UK for second place across city
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
Exeter City Council 2026 local elections results
The votes cast for each candidate with vote share and party vote share change in each ward plus turnout, postal votes and the distribution of seats.
, updated
2026 Exeter local elections guide
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.
When, where and how to vote in the 2026 Exeter local elections
Our guide to casting your ballot in person, by post and by proxy as well as voter ID requirements and regulations for casting postal votes.
Help hold Exeter’s political parties and politicians to account during the 2026 local elections
Send us campaign materials as this year’s contest enters its final week so we can fact-check candidates’ claims and hold them to their pledges after the votes have been counted.
Centre for Cities finds Exeter economic growth and living standards performance among worst in country’s 63 largest places
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.
Spotlight
Exeter City Council is about to seize the helm of Exe estuary maritime life: will it steer it onto the rocks?
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.
