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Rick Stein and Russell Watson among the celebrities appearing at East Devon festivals

South West residents get ready for a spectacular trio of festivals

As the busy school holiday season winds down, East Devon is gearing up to offer visitors and locals alike an indulgent escape with a trio of exceptional festivals this September.

The Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, Taste East Devon Festival, and Sidmouth & East Devon Walking Festival are organised, and supported, by a diverse range of dedicated local partners and sponsors, whose collaboration has been essential in bringing these events to life.

Festival goers can look forward to a feast...

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New director to lead Great South West’s ambitious growth plans

Authored by Program
Posted: Tue, 11/07/2023 - 8:00am

Ahmed Goga has joined the Great South West Partnership as a director, advising on the Board’s future growth plans.

The Great South West is a Pan-Regional Partnership of senior business leaders, local government, Local Enterprise Partnerships, universities and colleges across Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. The Partnership aims to promote the region’s ‘blue and green’ assets, as part of its ambition to become the ‘UK’s Natural Powerhouse’, and deliver up to £45bn of economic benefit by 2035.

The region’s unique marine, manufacturing, energy,...

South West’s leading maritime sector receives funding boost to drive innovation

Authored by Program
Posted: Mon, 10/23/2023 - 12:22pm

Innovate UK announce Government funding to support innovation and growth in the region’s marine and maritime sectors

The Great South West , which covers Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, has been chosen as the country’s Marine and Maritime Launchpad, recognising its leadership in the sector.

As part of the programme, the region is set to receive up to £7.5m of investment to drive innovation and business growth, building on its strengths in marine and maritime.

Karl Tucker, Chair of the Great South West, said: “It’s fantastic to see the...

How do cross-chain swaps work?

Authored by David Banks
Posted: Mon, 10/23/2023 - 7:00am

The number of different first and second-level blockchains is growing steadily. Each network has its own unique characteristics, which means that smart contracts and tokens from one blockchain cannot be directly transferred to another. Work on solving the problem of blockchain incompatibility began quite a long time ago. As a result, cross-chain bridges were created and continue to be improved.

Why are bridges needed if there are exchanges?

If transfers between blockchains are impossible, then how do large centralized exchanges where hundreds of coins are traded work? It is...

Heart of the South West LEP achievements and transition outlined in AGM

Authored by Program
Posted: Fri, 10/20/2023 - 11:28am

The Heart of the South West LEP hosted their Annual General Meeting (AGM) via online webinar on Friday 13 October.

The event included a summary of the LEP’s activities and achievements over the past year; including unlocking opportunities in key sectors, as well as recent Government announcements and the future of the LEP.

16 Local Growth Fund and Getting Building Fund projects have been completed over the last financial year. Projects such as Marsh Barton Railway Station, InterCity Place in Plymouth and the Somerset Digital Innovation Centre have all reached completion,...

How is a cryptocurrency card issued?

Authored by David Banks
Posted: Thu, 10/19/2023 - 6:15am

A cryptocurrency card is a necessary thing in today's world. It is necessary for users who use cryptocurrency and want to carry out various kinds of transactions with its help. This is a type of payment card that can differ in its characteristics depending on the company you choose. Accordingly, the choice of crypto bank card should be approached responsibly, weighing all the pros and cons. If you have little information on this topic so far, it's worth continuing to read this article.

Peculiarities of registration of such a card

Signing up for a cryptocurrency card is not as...

South West communities receive funding boost to improve mobile connectivity

Authored by Program
Posted: Tue, 10/17/2023 - 4:47pm

The Connecting Devon & Somerset Mobile Boost scheme has secured over £430,000 from the Heart of the South West LEP, to provide vital mobile connectivity to rural communities.

The Mobile Boost scheme ran from February 2021 to March 2023, and funded over 1,700 installations across the region, helping small businesses and homeworkers with poor indoor mobile coverage.

Data from Ofcom states that 23,000 premises across the Devon and Somerset area are 4G ‘not-spots’, meaning they lack adequate coverage.

Following the success of the project, and continued interest from...

Exeter marketing firm takes gold for campaign tackling harassment against women

Authored by Program
Posted: Mon, 10/16/2023 - 11:27pm

Bystander Intervention Campaign wins at South West CIPR Awards

A campaign to help tackle harassment against women and girls in Exeter has won a major award.

Exeter-based marketing agency Program saw off competition from around the country at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards for their Bystander Intervention campaign for the Safer Exeter Partnership .

The campaign, run in partnership with the Safer Exeter Partnership, encouraged safe and skillful intervention in harassment situations. It included eye-catching ads across Exeter, along...

Plymouth Science Park secures £500k for state-of-the-art DREAM project

Authored by Program
Posted: Tue, 10/03/2023 - 11:24am
Cutting-edge additive manufacturing facility ba South West LEP

Plymouth Science Park has been awarded £507,000 for a new digital engineering test facility, to complement their Advanced Digital Manufacturing Innovation Centre . The funding has been allocated by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) , from the £8m Digital Investment Programme.

The DREAM (Digital Reverse Engineering And Metallurgy) project will offer businesses a digital engineering test facility for reverse engineering, design, manufacturing and validation of additive manufactured prototypes...

Former global CFO and CTO joins Foot Anstey LLP as Non-Executive Director

A versatile executive with global leadership experience at a Magic Circle legal giant and Big Four accounting firm is to join one of the UK’s fastest growing law firms as Non-Executive Director.

Foot Anstey LLP has appointed Jason Haines to support on the firm's next strategic period and ambitious growth goals from October 2023.

Jason has recently retired after a 16-year tenure at Allen & Overy where he demonstrated his strong leadership skills as Finance and Operations Director for the international law firm. He oversaw a comprehensive range of IT and business services...

Peer network launched to support South West business community

Authored by Program
Posted: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 12:15pm

The Heart of the South West LEP has launched a Peer Network programme, giving SMEs the opportunity to learn from successful businesses, to help to boost productivity and resilience.

The Peer Networks will be led by an experienced facilitator, with each network consisting of a minimum of 11 owners or managers from the SME business community across Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay. Participants will receive 18 hours of action learning through their network, with additional 1:1 support to receive tailored support.

The programme aims to improve the resilience of SMEs, their...

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