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ON OUR RADAR
Magdalen Road Christmas Fair
Community-run market returns for thirteenth year with festive food, music and gifts.
Leigh Curtis
Magdalen Road Christmas Fair returns to St Leonard’s on Saturday 6 December for its thirteenth year.
The road will be closed to provide space for dozens of stalls selling gifts, food and drink. Bricks-and-mortar retailers will also offer food and other wares in front of their shops.
Local acts will play live festive music throughout the afternoon event, which attracts thousands of attendees each year.
It has held the fair every year since except in 2020 because of the pandemic and last year due to bad weather. A creative street festival was held in June this year instead of last year’s event.
St Leonard’s Neighbourhood Association was formed following efforts by local residents to protect Bull Meadow Park from the construction of Western Way, and has been active for half a century.
It promotes community activities and publishes a neighbourhood newsletter which it delivers to 3,200 local addresses every two months.
This year’s Magdalen Road Christmas Fair takes place from 2-6pm on Saturday 6 December 2025.
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.
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Exeter In Brief
A new E-BIKE HIRE SCHEME is expected to begin a pilot in Exeter in the next few weeks, according to Local Democracy Reporter Guy Henderson. Thomas Lloyd Foster, trading as not-for-profit Sprintco Limited, says his app-based scheme will start with ten docking stations on private land in high-footfall areas, and that he is discussing scheme expansion with Devon County Council. Co-Bikes, a previous scheme of around 240 e-bikes operated by shared mobility provider Co-Cars, ceased trading in July 2023 when Co-Cars collapsed.
The UNIVERSITY OF EXETER has made redundancy payments of almost £19 million to around 450 staff who have left under a voluntary scheme over the past two years. Its 2024-25 annual report says that first round of the scheme, which ran from April to August 2024, was taken up by around 180 employees with around 270 employees then leaving during a second redundancy round held the following year, which the university says was prompted by “the acknowledgement of the impact of continued international student recruitment challenges”.
The redevelopment of KING GEORGE V PLAYING FIELD by Exeter City Community Trust has begun after a scheme to install a full-size artificial football pitch with floodlighting, refurbish and extend a sports pavilion and expand its car park was approved by Exeter City Council last August. The decision was made by officers and did not go before the council’s planning committee. It followed a July 2024 council decision to transfer 40 acres of land at the Countess Wear playing fields to the trust which was made without a promised “wide-ranging, fully open public consultation” on the proposal. The trust instead held an informal consultation in December 2024. The council executive is due to hear an otherwise unexplained item related to the scheme next month described as “relating to financial ask of c.£475,000”.
£46 million of debt – including £392,000 owed to former employees – will be left unpaid by MIDAS CONSTRUCTION LIMITED following its dissolution, according to documents filed at Companies House by its administrator. The 2022 collapse of Midas, which had seven offices in Exeter and across the south west, led to hundreds of job losses and left numerous projects stalled including schools, homes, hotels and warehouses.
Significant storm damage has prompted emergency works to shore up the bank separating the Exe estuary from the BOWLING GREEN MARSH nature reserve at Topsham. Exeter City Council has repeatedly postponed a flood defence scheme proposed for the site, which it owns. It says that the emergency works are “not likely not be a long-term solution” and that “longer-lasting repairs for the areas of worst damage” are “currently being investigated”.
The developer of a scheme at 130 FORE STREET is seeking to amend the design, height and layout of the building, which extends down West Street towards Grade I listed St Mary Steps church, by converting the building’s basement level – previously occupied by Crankhouse Coffee – from commercial to residential use and reducing the number of flats in the scheme, which was originally approved thirteen years ago. Exeter City Council rejected an attempt to add a fifth storey to the scheme in 2023, a decision which was upheld at appeal last year.
Exeter local elections to go ahead in May after government cancellation U-turn
Secretary of State Steve Reed withdraws decision following legal advice in face of Reform UK High Court challenge, leaving city council leader Phil Bialyk facing electoral oblivion.
Exeter City Council leader Phil Bialyk hides behind flimsy CEO capacity claims to contrive local elections cancellation
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.
Exeter Rugby Group reports £10.3 million losses as Exeter Chiefs seeks new investor
Losses include £6.2 million loan write-off associated with Sandy Park Hotel owned by club chairman Tony Rowe.
Exeter is for Everyone event attendees outnumber anti-migrant marchers 14:1
Around 850 people took part in city centre event held under “Unite Against the Far Right” banner while “Unity March Exeter” attendees numbered around 60.
Plans for six-storey Summerland Street student block submitted for approval
Spinnaker Estates application for full planning permission for 180-bed redevelopment would increase number of student beds in immediate area to 1,754.
Devon County Council funding cuts set to reduce core library opening hours by 30%
Public consultation on changes explores possibility of closing some branches altogether despite claims to the contrary while Libraries Unlimited contract extension decision scheduled for six weeks before consultation ends.
Spotlight
Labour and Conservative councillors join forces to block Exeter city centre antisocial behaviour initiative
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.
