Devon County Council

LDRS

More than 40 per cent of the contents found in bins in Devon could be recycled.

A presentation by Wendy Barratt, from Devon County Council, revealed the amount Devon residents are failing to recycle.

She said the recent findings showed across the county, 40.8 per cent of the contents put into the residual bins were recyclable.

This is the equivalent of 56,000 tonnes of materials and if all Devon householders recycled all of this material, the recycling rate would rise to 71 per cent, rather than the current 54 per cent.

She added that the cost of the 56,000 tonnes going for disposal instead of recycling is approximately £6.7m, while the potential loss of income from the glass, paper, card, metal, textiles and plastic that could have been recycled was more than £1m.

All streetlights operated by Devon County Council will be converted to low-energy LED bulbs in the next three years.

So far 34,000 lights have been changed.

The council said that once the programme was complete it would reduce carbon emissions by 75%.

In conjunction with part-time lighting being introduced in some residential areas, the council said it had £3m a year.

BBC

A former leader of Devon County Council has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault at Exeter Crown Court.

Brian Greenslade, 71, from Barnstaple is accused of the indecent assault of two women between January 1994 and December 1995.

Mr Greenslade is also charged with the sexual assault of another woman between June 2005 and January 2006.

He was granted bail and a trial date has been set for 24 February 2020.

BBC

Devon would "struggle to cope" with prolonged periods of snow and leave some communities at risk of being cut off, a report has revealed.

A task group was set up to examine Devon County Council’s current winter policy after last winter’s snow and ice across the county, including the Beast from the East.

BBC

The group agreed the current plans were sufficient, but said there could have been better coordinated volunteer and community response, and that communities would have struggled if the snow continued.

It also slammed members of the public who ignored the widespread warnings from weather forecasters about the dangers of driving in such conditions, which resulted in vehicles becoming stranded and an increased risk to the public and emergency services.

Councillors are recommending no cuts to be made to Devon’s winter gritting routes, and the task group said that it would be difficult to add any new roads to the salting routes.

Council tax in Devon will rise by four per cent as part of a budget that will see more money spent on children's services, adult social care and roads.

The 2019/20 budget provides an extra £11.5m - an increase of 9.4 per cent - to be spent on hard-pressed children's services, and a two per cent rise of £4.5m for adult care and health.

BBC

The budget will see spending on services rise from £479.4 million to almost £494 million, with the extra spending partly paid for by an increase of 3.99 per cent in council tax.

The rise encompasses a 2.99 per cent hike for general services and an extra one per cent dedicated solely to adult social care.

It means Devon residents will have to pay an extra £53.10 on an average annual Band D council tax bill.

This budget will protect statutory services and support the most vulnerable in the county. It is a good budget for the people of Devon. Our social care support for children and our services for children with special needs and disabilities are facing unprecedented demand, and our health and social care services for adults continue to be under immense pressure...We have always said our priority is to protect the most vulnerable in our society and I believe this budget will help to do that."