I have now spent some time trying to suppress my urge to call this piece ‘How a small group of people managed to persuade the government to sacrifice the wildlife, farmland, communities and the most vulnerable in Devon to further their own interests.’ Obviously, that’s overly histrionic, possibly inaccurate and definitely not helpful, but it […]
Let’s face it: a lot of us are worried, aren’t we? We can see that there’s so much that needs to be fought, fixed and/or changed, whether it’s the climate emergency, or the return of fascism, or wars, or wealth inequality at the global level. Or perhaps you are kept wake at night by anxiety […]
Like so many of our readers, we were horrified to hear of plans for a massive data centre in the North Devon countryside. Anyone who follows environmental and human rights campaigners in North America will know that data centres are responsible for appalling effects on the environment and people’s lives. But many will not. So […]
There’s been a deluge of misinformation recently about ponies on Dartmoor. Dartmoor Nature Alliance’s Tony Whitehead looks at the origins and potential impacts of the current “pony campaigning”. He starts by looking at the origins of agri-environment schemes, which are central to this “debate”, and then how the campaigning in itself poses a threat to […]
“Ponies could be put to death” shrieked the Times, using language that conjures some barbaric, medieval ritual punishment. ‘Keir Starmer’s incompetence has allowed the Dartmoor ponies to be led to slaughter’ howled Victoria Atkins (Conservative MP from Horncastle, 190 miles away). Honest Bob Jenrick (Reform UK, MP for Newark, 260 miles away from Dartmoor), and […]
I am feeling nervous. I am standing in the town centre of Newton Abbot with fellow community activists from a group called Common Ground. We’re all powerfully concerned with democracy and with how it is working (or not working) in our local communities. As a group we have no allegiance to any of the political […]
Ecoanxiety… the chronic fear of environmental breakdown. Sounds horrible, doesn’t it? It’s a word that’s been bandied around a lot recently, as the “strong” men (and it is largely men) of the world tear down the policies that science and reason that the human race needs to survive. What we’re really talking about here is fear… of the […]
The people of Ottery St Mary recently gathered together to show their support for Ottery’s library. Devon County Council is proposing cutting the opening hours to just 13 hours a week and closing the library entirely on Mondays and Fridays; the library’s busiest days. The library is so much more than a place to borrow books.It […]
The Armada Way tree-felling fiasco has certainly put Plymouth on the map. It was a disaster, not just for Plymouth’s canopy cover, but for our city’s reputation and the relationship between the public and the local authority, which wasn’t great to begin with. It was described as “environmental vandalism” by many, resulting in the then […]
More than two hundred people packed the Civic Hall in Totnes to hear an outstanding line-up of panellists discuss the links between democratic systems and climate [and social] justice. George Monbiot, Klina Jordan, Anthea Simmons and Jonathon Porritt, all well-known for their work in different areas of political and environmental campaigning and journalism, started the […]
Yes, young people have too much pressure and expectation and it feels like nobody listens to you. We get it and we want to help. Share your voice, get published, and pocket some (not much) cash in the South West Future Journalists Awards. West Country Voices, Totnes Pulse and the PRSD have put their collective […]
Activists in Exeter will be joining a national wave of protest against the banning of Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist organisation’ this Saturday, November 29. Around 25 protesters will defy the ban by sitting quietly outside Exeter Central Station from 1pm, holding placards stating “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. It’s part of what […]
The south-west of England is a hotbed of newly evolved tree species. There’s a sentence you probably thought you would never read, but it is true. In Britain, we have numerous tree species that are endemic to these isles; they are unique species found nowhere else on the planet, species that evolved here after the […]
Annie Hill-Smith: On 7 November at 10.00a.m. the Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Development Management Committee will hear the Tree Protection Order relating to the trees at Kenwyn. The Park’s Tree Officer is recommending that the order is granted. Hurray! The meeting will be at the DNPA’s office at Parke, just outside Bovey Tracey. I’ve lobbied […]
Do we truly have the kind of democracy in our country which is fit for the challenges of the 21st Century? Does our government fairly represent the views and aspirations of voters? How can we best tackle and mitigate the effects of climate change? All these questions, and more, will be up for debate in […]
On the surface it looks like another ‘conservation versus industry’ planning controversy, with the odds predictably stacked against nature and wildlife. A multinational quarrying company wants to expand its operations in Devon, which will mean destroying a large forest. As the company prepares its application for planning permission, a group of local residents are fighting […]
There are plenty of very stupid and wasteful consumer shopping habits, but top of the list must be buying something quite expensive for one specific job or activity, using it solely for that purpose, and then storing it away in your shed or garage and forgetting about it. We’re talking about things like carpet cleaners, […]
WHAT: The Pilgrims: Our First Undocumented Immigrants demonstrationWHEN: Sunday 17 August 2025 1:00pm – 3:00pmWHERE: Mayflower Steps, The Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LR Protesting immigration raids, detainment camps, and deportation in the USAPlymouth, England – On Sunday, 17 August 2025, Indivisible Southwest and Americans for Action Bristol will join together to host a demonstration at the Mayflower […]
Friday, July 25, 6pm in Exeter city centre. Shops and cafes closing their doors for the evening, people heading home from work, others on their way to pubs and bars for the start of the weekend. None of them could miss the large crowd in Bedford Square, just off the main street, where hundreds of […]
I could feel the fear in a hall full of primary school parents in Totnes as they listened to campaigners going through the evidence about the impact of smartphones on kids at secondary school. The statistics are shocking: Nearly one in 10 children aged eight to 14 have watched online pornography Almost half of children […]
We hear a lot from politicians about immigration, and the debate is frankly toxic. So last week I went to Common Flora, near Diptford, to meet a group of asylum seekers who come here once a month to work on the land, share a communal lunch and sing together. I met a young man who’d […]
The scheme for five affordable homes by Darren Wills of Classic Builders was REJECTED. The community’s need outweighed the need for more housing. Statement from the Open Spaces Society at the bottom of this article. Please read! In the north of Plymouth, surrounded by a housing estate, there is a small, triangular patch of grass, […]
You may have heard about the ‘flex-collect’ three-year trial currently under way, which involves kerbside collections of specified soft plastics as part of the usual weekly collection by some councils. Recoup reported that the UK produced 309,000 tonnes of flexible plastic packaging, but only 8 per cent of this was collected for recycling. The aim […]
On Friday July 4, one year on from the last general election, Totnes Make Votes Matter (MVM) group were joined by the Mayor, Tim Bennett, at the Guildhall to mark the first anniversary of the most disproportionate general election in UK history. At that election the party that got a huge majority in Parliament and, […]
To really appreciate the importance of Exeter’s Respect Festival, just imagine some of the reactions if a two-day celebration of anti-racism, equality and diversity in the city was proposed for the first time today. It would prove divisive. Many people would love the idea, but you can bet there’d be some pushback, with the word […]
The review commissioned by Plymouth City Council (PCC) in order for them to learn lessons from the Armada Way tree felling fiasco is complete and the report has been published. It is damning. The Armada Way Independent Learning Review (AWILR) panel was tasked with looking into the decision to approve the development of Armada Way […]
George Monbiot’s article in The Guardian (27 May 2025) will resonate with many on the progressive side of politics, and especially with those who are involved in street campaigns to counter the alarming rise of the far-right. When we talk to people on the streets of south Devon’s towns, we consistently pick up a growing […]
Inspired by a meditation, devised through an unexpected collaboration, and created on a site where it fitted like the missing piece of a jigsaw: the Tipton St John labyrinth is almost a metaphor for itself. If that seems a bit complicated – welcome to the multi-layered world of labyrinths. A labyrinth is not a maze, […]
Thousands of people are expected to rally at noon on Haytor on Dartmoor this bank holiday Monday (26 May) to call on the government to pass a new Right to Roam Act. The rally comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict upholding the right to wild camp on Dartmoor, quashing a long-running […]
It may not look like a major uprising , but this is part of something huge. This was Exeter’s first Tesla Takedown protest against Elon Musk’s assault on democracy and human rights in the US, and his wider support for the far right. On Saturday, 3 May, local activists including Devon-based Americans demonstrated outside the […]