Friday 14 February 2025
Walking and cycling projects in Devon are receiving £3.9 million of Government funding.
The Active Travel Funding is a share of £291 million announced nationally this week by the Government and Active Travel England (ATE), and is the largest settlement for any authority in the South West.
This latest investment will support the development of around 300 miles of new footpaths and cycle lanes across the country to make walking and cycling easier and safer, while also funding cycle training for thousands of children.
We currently have three Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) and we’re developing three more this year to outline cycling and walking improvements across Devon over the next 10 to 20 years. The aim will be to use all of these plans to inform which schemes will be supported with this latest Active Travel Funding.
Read the full story on our news page.
There could be a big cash boost for repairing Devon's roads and fixing potholes after county councillors backed new budget proposals today.
Our Cabinet is proposing to add an extra £4 million to the highways budget for 2025/26.
In addition, £5 million could be added for services for vulnerable children and there could also be more money than planned to combat homelessness across Devon.
The full council meets next week to set the final budget.
Councillors agreed their target budget for the new financial year at the beginning of January. But the Cabinet heard that there would be greater flexibility on spending because of new revenue from the additional council tax on second homes.
Cabinet member for finance, Phil Twiss, said:
"Our postbags regularly include complaints from residents about potholes on our roads.
"It is important that when there is some extra money available to do more to tackle the problem it should go to that. I am delighted that the budget now includes an additional £4 million to highways to help address this issue."
You can read the full story on our news page.
Do you care about your community? Want to help improve people’s lives? Feel strongly that the voices of residents should be heard? Then you could be just who we are looking for.
The next county council elections are in May 2025 and if you think you've got what it takes to represent your local area, please sign up to our online information session to find out more about the role and responsibilities of a county councillor.
The online session is on Monday 24 February at 9:30am. The County Returning Officer, Maria Price, and our Democratic Services team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about what it's like to be an elected member, such as the commitment needed, support and the training we provide.
To register your interest in advance either visit our website or contact the Democratic Services team at members.services@devon.gov.uk or call 01392 380 547.
It’s all part of our commitment to have a diverse and representative local council, with councillors from a variety of backgrounds bringing their varied experiences to the heart of the decision-making process.
We’ve also published a special edition of this newsletter, with lots of information about being a councillor, to give you an idea about the role, what it involves, and who can be a councillor. You can read it online.
 10,000 Devon children are in the ‘Big Brush Club’
More than 10,000 young children across hundreds of Early Years settings in our local authority area will benefit from a supervised toothbrushing scheme that was launched earlier this week.
It follows new figures that show that a fifth of all five-year-olds in Devon (excluding West Devon) have some form of tooth decay with rates in South Hams being amongst the highest nationally.
The scheme is for three to five-year-olds and is called the Big Brush Club; it has been running in some areas of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay since 2023.
Now it's being rolled out to all Devon primary schools who have an Early Years nursery, pre-school or reception class.
So far 10,225 children are due to take part in 225 settings, with more signing up each day.
Funded by NHS Devon, in partnership with Devon Public Health, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council, the scheme is being delivered by dentist provider At Home Dental.
Read more in the full story on our news page.
Two farmers have praised our Farms Estate and have credited the opportunities we have given them as the reason for their successes today.
The Estate comprises of 65 fully equipped residential dairy and mixed livestock farms over more than 9,570 acres and aims to provide people with their first opportunity to farm and help them to go on and secure an independent livelihood from agriculture.
Liz Warner, who farms in Blackborough, Cullompton and former Farms Estate tenant Barny Butterfield, owner of Sandford Cider Orchards in Crediton, were both asked by Radio 4’s Farming Today about the opportunities given to them despite their families not having a background in agriculture.
You can read more about how farmers Liz and Barny began their businesses in the full story on our news page.
 Overnight closures planned on Bad Homburg Way in Exeter
The final overnight closures for the installation of a new pedestrian and cycle crossing on Bad Homburg Way in Exeter are due to get underway later this month.
The new toucan crossing, which is among the infrastructure improvements being developed in South West Exeter, will complete active travel links around the Devon Hotel roundabout.
Work on the eastern side of Bad Homburg Way is substantially complete and the current contraflow layout is enabling a shared use path to be developed on the opposite side of the road over the next few weeks.
From the evening of Monday 24 February, overnight closures are scheduled to start between the Park and Ride roundabout and Devon Hotel roundabout. These night-time closures will be each weekday evening from 7pm to 6am and are expected to be completed on Friday 7 March.
During these two weeks, all four traffic lanes will remain open during the daytime and at the weekend (1 and 2 March).
Read more about the work in the full story on our news page.
Norovirus reports in the two-week period to 2 February were higher than the previous two-week period.
Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea but can also include a high temperature, abdominal pain and aching limbs.
Infections can cause dehydration, especially in vulnerable groups such as young children and older or immunocompromised people, so if you do get ill it is important to drink plenty of fluids during that time.
Dr Gauri Godbole, Deputy Director at UKHSA said:
“Norovirus cases are still exceptionally high and continue to rise. Half term usually provides a bit of a firebreak, so hopefully we will see a fall in numbers in the next few weeks. However, it’s really important that if you have diarrhoea and vomiting, you take steps to avoid passing the infection on. Please avoid visiting people in hospitals and care homes to prevent passing on the infection in these settings.
“Do not return to work, school or nursery until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped and don’t prepare food for others in that time either. This is because you can still pass on the virus in the days after you stop being sick.
“Washing your hands with soap and warm water and using bleach-based products to clean surfaces will also help stop infections from spreading. Alcohol gels do not kill norovirus so don’t rely on these alone.”
Kooth, which provides free safe, anonymous mental health support and counselling to young people aged 11-18, is holding virtual/online webinars this February half-term for young people and parents and carers.
The sessions are free to attend. To sign up to a session please head to: https://buff.ly/4hUbOPT. We ask that all under 16s attend with a trusted adult.
The webinars will be recorded, so if you're unable to make the live session, not to worry! You'll be sent a recording to watch at a time that suits you.
The Kooth service for young people is free. No referral is necessary and there’s no waiting list. Find out more about Kooth at kooth.com
 Welcome to Stover Country Park
Wildflowers are starting to pop up at Stover Country Park, and visitors at this time can expect to see snowdrops, celandines, dog's mercury and primrose amidst the blanket of leaves. The dawn chorus is getting louder each day, and with birds in full song, the woodpeckers are now drumming on old dead trees, marking out their territories. February is a beautiful time of the year at Stover, and well worth a visit.
You can read more about the season at Stover in their latest newsletter.
It's half-term next week, and with Devon on our doorstep, it's a great excuse to get out and about, weather permitting!
For ideas for some great walking and cycling routes, as well as places to visit, visit our Explore Devon website.
With over 3,500 miles of footpaths and trails to discover, Devon is the perfect place to be next week.
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