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Top story
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South West councils: ‘cuts are deep but roughly what we expected’
Local authorities in the South West have given a stoic response to the government’s announcement that funding to local councils will be slashed by 7.1 per cent a year following the Comprehensive Spending Review. This amounts to an almost 20 per cent reduction in the national budget for local government in cash terms over the next four years.
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Government and politics
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Mears chief – nothing to fear in CSR
Bob Holt, the chief executive of Gloucester-based social housing giant Mears, has told Insider that his £600m business has found nothing to fear in the coalition government’s sweeping budget reforms that Chancellor George Osborne outlined on Wednesday.
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Retail sector ‘will struggle to soak up cuts’
Retail and property representatives have cast doubt on the sectors' abilities to help soak up impending public sector job cuts and support the UK’s economy following Chancellor George Osborne Comprehensive Spending Review speech on Wednesday.
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North has won again, says South West RDA's chief economist
The South West has again lost out to the more vocal lobby in the North of England, according to the South West RDA’s chief economist Nigel Jump. Reflecting on the spending priorities outlined by Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday, Jump said there was no doubt that more money for major projects was going to the north in relative terms, as the government set out some detail on planned investments in transport, high-speed broadband trials and carbon-capture technology.
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Almost a thousand staff have left Devon Council
Almost 1,000 staff have left Devon Council over the last year, according to figures released by the local authority following the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review. Devon County Council has revealed it introduced a jobs freeze in November 2009 and in the ten months up to August 2010, a total of 970 staff have left the authority.
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Business
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Novartis schedules launch of Vectura respiratory drugs
Drugs using technology licensed from Chippenham-based inhalation product development company Vectura Group have been scheduled for launch by Swiss group Novartis within the next three years.
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Eighty jobs lost as Bristol greengrocer enters administration
Bristol-based greengrocer chain Stokes has gone into administration, leading to the loss of 80 jobs. Richard Hill and Joff Pope of KPMG have been appointed joint administrators.
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Weston Pier ready to open tomorrow
Kerry and Michelle Michael, the owners of Weston’s Grand Pier, have confirmed it is still on course to reopen on Saturday. The opening of the rebuilt and redesigned pier coincides with the October half-term holidays.
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Property, Regeneration & Public Sector
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Simons wins Dorset town centre redevelopment
Lincoln-based property firm Simons has won planning permission for a major town centre redevelopment Charles Street in Dorchester, Dorset. The £60m mixed-use scheme will include new retail space, an underground car park, a 63-room hotel and 18 affordable homes, in addition to new offices for West Dorset District Council, a library and adult education centre.
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