Exeter Observer

Independent, investigative, in the public interest  Upgrade to paid ON OUR RADAR An evening of classical music by candlelight performed by London Concertante. Leigh Curtis Exeter Cathedral is hosting an evening of classical music by candlelight performed by London Concertante on Saturday 24 October. The programme opens with the overture from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, followed by performances of The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

Keep our reporting free for everyone to read  Upgrade to paid ON OUR RADAR One-day conference with talks from historians on magic and witchcraft in Devon in the 16th and 17th centuries. Leigh Curtis Mint Methodist Church Centre is hosting a one-day conference on Saturday 24 October with talks from historians on magic and witchcraft in Devon in the 16th and 17th centuries. Magic, Witchcraft & Devon opens with 13 Devon Witches, 1565-1633, a talk by local historian Todd Gray.

Don't just read Exeter Observer  Upgrade to paid THE EXETER DIGEST With Exeter in Brief, our round-up of local news that matters, and On Our Radar, our pick of upcoming local community and culture highlights. TOP STORIES Labour councillors insist protracted project still on course after repeated delays expose funding dependence on time-limited £2 million Sport England grant. Read more here.

Good journalism costs money  Upgrade to paid NEWS Consumer Council for Water performance report follows Friends of the Earth analysis identifying South West Water as worst environmental offender among water companies in England. Leigh Curtis South West Water recorded the steepest increase in household customer complaints of all water companies in England and Wales last year.

Democracy doesn't work when people don't know  Upgrade to paid SPECIAL REPORTS Labour councillors insist protracted project still on course after repeated delays expose funding dependence on time-limited £2 million Sport England grant.

Keep our reporting free for everyone to read  Upgrade to paid EXETER IN BRIEF Ballot follows staff union declaration of trade dispute in July as petition against job cuts passes 40,000 signatories. Leigh Curtis Exeter University & College Union members have voted in favour of a mandate for industrial action as part of an ongoing dispute with the University of Exeter over planned staff cuts.

Keep our reporting free for everyone to read  Upgrade to paid EXETER IN BRIEF Leigh Curtis An Ofsted monitoring visit has identified significant improvements in Devon County Council children’s services after a 2025 inspection rated them inadequate in four areas and requiring improvement in another after.

Media made in Exeter  Upgrade to paid ON OUR RADAR Chamber music festival returns for twenty-sixth year with poetry readings, workshops and performances across thirteen venues. Leigh Curtis Two Moors Festival returns for its twenty-sixth year with eleven days of poetry readings, workshops and performances from Thursday 1 to Sunday 11 October.

Media made in Exeter  Upgrade to paid NEWS Clarendon House still being advertised to let as office space eight months after plans for demolition and replacement with 297-bed ten-storey block approved. Leigh Curtis Exeter City Council is to sell land to Zinc Real Estate to enable the development of a ten-storey city centre student accommodation block on the site of Clarendon House, an office block on the corner of Western Way and Heavitree Road.

Keep our reporting free for everyone to read  Upgrade to paid ON OUR RADAR A one-day festival celebrating neurodiversity. Leigh Curtis Exeter Phoenix is hosting a one-day festival celebrating neurodiversity on Sunday 27 September. Kaleidoscopic Minds has been designed by and for neurodivergent people and their families. It offers a programme of creative activities, talks and workshops alongside stalls with local neurodiversity charities and organisations.