We are now able to take new green waste customers. You can subscribe for a green waste collections by visiting our website or by calling our Customer Service Centre on 01395 571515

Every Can Counts congratulates the people of East Devon for embracing recycling amidst lockdown and thanks the unsung heroes of the pandemic.

Fresh figures gathered by Every Can Counts, in conjunction with the District Council are showing a massive increase in recycling during lockdown, as reports of the environmental silver lining of social distancing continue to grow.

240 TONNE INCREASE IN MARCH VERSUS LAST YEAR

127 MORE LORRY LOADS OF RECYCLING COLLECTED IN APRIL

Read more on this very positive news.

East Devon District Council’s Extraordinary Virtual Meeting which was due to take place on Wednesday 27 May has been cancelled. The Council will now hold  two Extraordinary Virtual Meetings on Thursday 28 May. 

The first of those meetings at 5pm, will ask members whether they wish to hold a meeting on Monday 8 June to elect the Chair and Vice Chair of the Council. The second meeting, beginning at 5.30pm, will elect a new Leader and receive the Leader’s appointments of the Deputy Leader and the Cabinet.

All our virtual committee meetings can be now viewed via our YouTube channel, search for 'East Devon District Council' and visit the website for the agenda for this meeting. 

With the government encouraging some sectors of the economy back to work, and enabling people to travel more, there has been increasing traffic levels on our roads. 

Devon County Council have announced this week that their parking enforcement officers will be deployed to areas where issues have been raised by communities, Police and local councillors. 

Initially they will not be issuing penalty charge notices - instead they will just be issuing warning notices to anyone flouting parking restrictions in on-street pay and display, limited waiting bays and residents' parking areas.   

This to give drivers a grace period to get used to the resumption of enforcement which will start ‘live’ next week, from Monday 25 May.

On Wednesday the Government announced a new process for honours nominations, making it easier to nominate those who have contributed to the coronavirus response.

Contributions can include:

Frontline work supporting the most vulnerable members of society and those who have caught coronavirus
Providing critical care to coronavirus patients
Developing innovations to support the vulnerable and those with coronavirus
Going to extraordinary lengths to keep critical services going
Volunteering in the community or for service organisations in support of those affected by coronavirus

The nomination form requires details about the candidate and a summary of the impact the person has made.

Further details and to nominate can be found by visiting the website.

We have paid out over £40m in grants to support East Devon businesses. If you are yet to claim your grant or want to decline it please fill in the online form.

Guidance for local authorities on Government’s new ‘top-up’ fund has been published and we are working with our Devon authority partners to develop the policy for the grants to respond to local need. It is clear though, that the amount of funding available in the District (circa £2.5m) relative to the priorities already identified in the national guidance (including B&Bs, charities, market traders and businesses in shared office space) will mean that grants are likely to be restrained in amount, as the likely demand on the fund will significantly exceed the limited amount of funding the Government has allocated. There will be more news on the fund next week.

Our East Devon Business Continuity Programme of FREE informative webinars, brought to you by Cosmic, provides practical support to help you adapt to the current circumstances. From digital marketing made easy to using Zoom, Facebook, Instagram and improving your website, these helpful sessions provide real and useful guidance to reshaping your business for it to survive and thrive, so sign up to these without delay.

NATURE SHORT 6 – Jo Lathwood

How to make Oak Gall Ink

Artist Jo Lathwood shares how to make a traditional old ink called Oak Gall Ink (or Iron Oak Ink).

The ink is unique as it is lightfast and does not fade in sunlight like many natural inks. The Dead Sea Scrolls, original bank notes and numerous medieval manuscripts were all written in Oak Gall Ink.

Part of Culture + Climate 2020 in partnership with East Devon AONB, NATURE SHORTS is an online series showcasing art practices which inspire, build creativity and deepen our connection with nature especially during isolation. Every Wednesday, May to June.

Whilst our hides have been closed at Seaton Wetlands for people they are definitely open for wildlife. The island hide has its usual swallow family, also a wood pigeon and the Discovery hut hide has the beginnings of a new swallow nest!

Why not challenge yourself to grow a sunflower this month. These flowers are great for wildlife, with bees and insects enjoying the pollen and birds loving the seeds later in the year. They look great too.

We have been a sharing more exciting home schooling activities this week including Windy Day Mobiles, Symmetry in nature and Camouflage caterpillar game.

Please go to the webpage for latest videos

Our nature reserves are still open for visiting including Seaton Wetlands where toilets and hides will remain closed. Please follow social distancing guidelines when enjoying any of our sites at this time. For site information go to our webpages  

Check out @wildeastdevon to get the latest news.