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Torbay Council’s planning committee has given the green light to proposals to regenerate Torquay’s Imperial Hotel in another sign that the Bay is on the up.

As world leaders discuss how to meet de-carbonisation targets at COP26 in Glasgow, 450 miles away in Devon two significant climate change mitigation projects are already underway as they speak. Two nature-based solutions to climate change are already being implemented on the River Otter and the River Culm in East Devon.

How we tell and consume stories is everchanging. For some of us, asking Alexa to update us on the latest news is more familiar than picking up a local newspaper. And with an increasing desire to listen to stories on demand, podcasting has never been so popular.

Exeter is soon to consult on a new Local Plan, but is the city still rising from the ashes of a World War Two Blitz?

At a time of significant change, challenge and opportunity for the British countryside, estate owners, land managers and rural businesses are looking for ways to future-proof their operations.

It’s 10 years since work started in earnest on Devon’s first new town since the Middle Ages: Cranbrook. The anniversary has been seen by East Devon District Council officers as an appropriate time to look back on what has been achieved and what lessons can be learnt.

In a major speech on planning reform, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has said local communities will be put at the very heart of decision-making to help shape their towns and cities.

At a recent conference hosted by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) a government minister, alongside planning, public health and environment advisers, discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed attitudes towards green spaces.

It was impressive to see local councils across the country embrace digital tools to ensure they could carry on working through the pandemic. Digital-first consultations capture the opinions of a much wider community.

The KOR team were lucky enough to head out on a rather unusual field trip recently to see the results of a major project we’ve worked on over the past few years, which has seen the reintroduction of these fascinating creatures in East Devon.

KOR was commissioned by Clinton Devon Estates to stage a live online broadcast to celebrate the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths being declared a National Nature Reserve by Natural England.

Commercial Director Guy Newman shares KOR’s experience with Elon Musk’s high speed broadband service, Starlink.

The nation’s news organisations are seeing record numbers of online readers, so it’s reasonable to say that more people are consuming local and national news than ever before.

Members of Torbay’s planning committee have now given the green light to unlock £100m of private-sector investment in Torbay’s tourism industry which will create hundreds of new jobs and see visitors spend millions of pounds annually in the area.

These are chaotic, life-changing times and millions of us are relying heavily on a daily, maybe even hourly, dose of trusted news and information to provide clarity and guidance.

Once staff have settled into working from home, many business owners and managers will be turning their attention to exactly how they’re going to conduct “business as usual”.

Major planning applications can often divide communities, but the level of public support for one in particular has been highlighted by councillors as they voted to support proposals for a new five-star hotel in the English Riviera.

Bad news travels fast and, in this age of digital, more so than ever before. But when bad news about your company hits, can you stop it?
Yes, you can. If you do and say the right things…

As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, President Nixon’s ‘in the event of a moon disaster’ speech has been released, a powerful and poignant speech which would have been used if the worst had happened on the mission.

I learned the hard way – and the expensive way – about the perils of not fully engaging with your neighbours ahead of making a planning application.

Nearly a quarter of South West SMEs believe it is just a matter of time before they have a cyber-attack or data breach but admit that dealing with cyber-security isn’t a priority.

In a recent survey of senior marketing people, 73 per cent declared that earned media is more effective than paid media.

The PR industry has often struggled to show its worth because, as many professionals can relate to, it is hard to put a price on media relations, let alone demonstrate its value and investment to clients.

By now, you will have no doubt heard endless presentations on general data protection regulations (GDPR) at networking events and will have an inbox full of emails from different organisations requesting you opt-in to legitimise their marketing efforts post May 25th.
So, what are you doing about the data that you hold?

Measurement is a hot topic in the public relations industry. Often, it can be hard to see if a message has been truly disseminated, absorbed or actioned.

As a company, we’ve all had to adapt to the ever-changing world of work and technology and being a dog is no excuse. Dogs are no longer just herding sheep or helping the blind and partially sighted, they’re also leading the way in Public Relations.

I guess it’s a generational thing, because I got it right away, whereas younger folk in these parts needed it explaining: in Australia, a self-contained flat above a garage is called a Fonzie Flat, because The Fonz – played by Henry Winkler in the TV show Happy Days – lived in an apartment above the Cunningham family’s garage.

What’s the point in delivering a brilliant communications strategy on behalf of your client if you’re unable to show them it’s been effective?

Those who have read “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” will know that the book starts with our hero Arthur lying in front of a bulldozer, trying to prevent his house being knocked down to make way for a bypass.

If there’s an important landmark coming up in your business calendar, perhaps an anniversary or a new product launch, you could well be planning an event. But how do you make sure your event aligns with your business goals?