News in Axminster

Year 11 pupils from Axe Valley Academy have been sent home following confirmation of a COVID-19 case within the school.

This is the second time the school has had to send home students, with a single case of coronavirus detected last month. This affected a small number of students who have now returned.

Fire crews were called to Axminster Arts Café Bar in the early hours of this morning (Monday).

Crews from Axminster, Colyton and Charmouth were called to the café in Church Street at 1.12am after a neighbour reported that the fire alarms were sounding and they could smell smoke.

The A35 between Axminster and Bridport will be closed for five nights next week.

Resurfacing works will be carried out on Chideock Hill as landslip works on the hill have been paused.

Axminster and Lyme Cancer Support are continuing to support those who have ben diagnosed or affected by cancer, but in slightly different ways during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With more routine check-ups and appointments now being held again, more are being diagnosed with cancer but the local charity it here to help anyone seeking help, advice or support during these uncertain times.

As I finished saying in my last chapter, life on 'The Camp' was very different to anything I had known previously, but one thing I was never short of was friends.

Many of my lifelong friends originated from friendships forged there. We were surrounded by neighbours, all in a similar situation to ourselves.

Light Up Axminster have announced their plans for the town's annual Christmas celebrations.

While they had hoped to continue with the festive market, lantern parade and celebratory event that has taken place in previous years, they are unable to do so with the current COVID-19 regulations in place.

Obviously today's Millwey Rise bears little resemblance to that in which the early civilian squatters moved into in the Autumn of 1946.

It is difficult now, without photographs, to describe in detail its appearance and the buildings of which it comprised although there are still two examples of the 'flats' that remain to remind us. One is the row of garages across the very bottom of Bonners Causeway which once provided two homes, one of which was occupied by the Spurway family, and I will mention the other further on.

Axminster's Community Waffle House has offered a sneak peek at its new premises in Trinity House, which is set to open in November.

With just a few weeks until the popular community enterprise takes over the whole first floor of the landmark town centre building, the Waffle House team have shared photos of how the renovations, overseen by Axminster Property, are coming along on their Facebook page.

The leader of East Devon District Council, Paul Arnott, has offered a scathing criticism of former MP Hugo Swire, following the publication of his wife's explosive memoir.

Lady Sasha Swire's 'Diary of an MP's Wife: Inside and Outside Power' has been described in the national press as "jaw-dropping" and "indiscreet" as she lays bare the secrets of her high-powered Conservative friends, including former Prime Minister David Cameron.

East Devon residents on lower incomes who cannot work from home and have lost income as a result of being told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace will be able to access a payment of £500 each time they are required to self-isolate.

Recognising that self-isolation is one of the most powerful tools for controlling the transmission of COVID-19, this new Test and Trace Support payment will ensure that those on low incomes are able to self-isolate without worrying about their finances.