Summary

  • New figures suggest Cornwall was not as poor as EU thought

  • Debate on Plymouth military closures rejected

  • £60m A30 dual carriageway to open on 14 July

  • Firefighters in London relay for Grenfell Tower colleagues

  • Wolves in reintroduction study out of quarantine

  • Plymouth professor's 'digi hat' could rock music streaming

  • Endangered seahorse discovered off Devon

  • Updates on Thursday 6 July 2017

  1. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:01 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Johnny O'Shea
    BBC News Online

    Live updates for Devon and Cornwall have finished for the day, but we'll be back at 08:00 tomorrow with the latest news, sport, travel and weather.

    Don't forget Spotlight on BBC One later. There will also be news through the night on your BBC Local Radio station.

  2. Money for children's services in Cornwallpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    A project to help support vulnerable children and families in Cornwall has been awarded almost £2m.

    The money is from the Government’s Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme.

    Cornwall has been awarded £1.9m to help transform the way education, health and social care services work together to better meet the needs of children, young people and their families.

    It's one of 24 projects across the country to get funding.

    Cornwall CouncilImage source, Google

    Sally Hawken, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Wellbeing, said: “Integrating our services will ensure that we have the right mix of knowledge and skills to meet all the community-based needs of children, young people and their families, in one place, at the right time.

    "It is what our residents, service users and staff are telling us they want to see and this funding will help us look at different models for achieving this.“

  3. Countdown for blooming smelly flowerpublished at 17:44 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Gardeners at Paignton Zoo are predicting that two huge, rare and smelly flowers could bloom in the coming days.

    The Titan arum flowers can be up to 3 metres high, and 3 metres in circumference, and smell like rotting meat.

    Titan ArumImage source, Paignton Zoo

    It's notoriously difficult to predict when the bloom will fully open.

    Giles Palmer, Curator of Plants and Gardens at Paignton Zoo, said: “There are only about 100 collections anywhere in the world where you can see this plant, mostly botanical gardens.

    "Our plants are in Crocodile Swamp opposite the saltwater crocodile. The last time I measured it, the first one was 150cm tall and growing an impressive 12cm per day.”

  4. Busy day for rescuers around the coast of Cornwallpublished at 17:20 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    BBC Radio Cornwall

    Coastguard teams along with lifeboats have been out around the county.

    The Coastguard Rescue helicopter from Newquay went to help a stranded fisherman who had climbed up a cliff at Church Cove after he got cut off by the tide.

    The man was winched to safety and dropped off at the top of the hill.

    Both Penlee lifeboats were called out following reports of a missing person in Penzance.

    That person was subsequently found.

    The Falmouth inshore lifeboat was also called out after a yacht went adrift. Crews helped the harbour authority secure the boat.

    helicopter
  5. A German film crew has been told to stop living in shipping containers at a Newquay business park while making Rosamunde Pilcher adaptations for televisionpublished at 16:58 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Cornwall Live

    A German film crew has been told to stop living in shipping containers , externalat a Newquay business park while making Rosamunde Pilcher adaptations for television.

  6. Looe Post Office services to movepublished at 16:41 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    The current Post Office in Looe is to close, with a new service being provided in an existing farm shop.

    The Fore Street branch is closing on 24 July, with the new facilities available in Quayside Fresh on Buller Quay from 3 August.

    The Post Office said: "We believe this move is the best way to secure Post Office services locally in Looe. The community will also benefit from increased opening hours over seven days."

    Looe post officeImage source, Google

    The new Looe office will operate from two open-plan tills alongside the retail counter of the farm shop.

    Although the move is confirmed, the Post Office is inviting customers and interested parties to give their comments in a public consultation.

    The scope of the consultation will cover the service on offer and will close on 17 August 2017.

  7. Man in court charged with Jehovah's Witness hall murderpublished at 16:15 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    A man has appeared in court charged with murdering an electrician in a Jehovah's Witness hall in Devon.

    Keith Beviss, 54, of Woodhayes Drive, Honiton, was not required to enter a plea and his case at Exeter Crown Court was adjourned until 21 September to allow time for a psychiatric assessment.

    Philip RyanImage source, Ryan Family
    Image caption,

    Philip Ryan

    He is charged with the murder of 55-year-old Philip Ryan at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in Dowell Street, Honiton, on Tuesday June 6.

    Mr Ryan's funeral was held at the Bristol's Jehovah's Witness Assembly Hall last week and was attended by more than 900 people.

  8. Cornwall is poor, just not that poorpublished at 15:58 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Neil Gallacher, Business & Industry Correspondent
    BBC Spotlight

    Cornwall may not have been poor enough to justify receiving £1bn of European Union funding, it has emerged.

    It's hard to get your head around. As recently as a couple of years back, the official statistics showed that when Cornwall started getting Objective One in 2000, its economy stood at 68% of the EU average.

    Now that statisticians have a supposedly better way of measuring, the same league table shows that in 2000 Cornwall's economy was actually on 83%.

    The basket of things they add up has altered. Oddly, although this new picture shows Cornwall in a better light, it leaves West Wales firmly at the bottom of the league table.

    Cornwall is poor; just not that poor.

    Falmouth
    Image caption,

    Combined Universities in Cornwall were among the major beneficiaries

  9. Lottery funding for Devon projectspublished at 15:32 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Eight projects in Devon have been awarded money to make them more accessible to disabled visitors.

    Seaton Wetlands, Seaton Tram and Seaton Jurassic are among those around the country to benefit from a grant of £527,000 from the Heritage Lottry Fund over the next three years.

    Seaton WetlandsImage source, East Devon District Council

    Improvements at Seaton Wetlands will include an online accessibility guide, British Sign language video tours of the site, along with awareness and skills training for staff and volunteers.

    Councillor Tom Wright from East Devon District Council says it "is keen to be as inclusive as it can be across all its activities and this funding will enable access to the wonderful wetlands by many more disadvantaged people."

  10. Debate on Plymouth military closures rejectedpublished at 15:15 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    The decommissioning of the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Ocean, based in Plymouth, has been condemned in Parliament.

    The Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Luke Pollard, fears the port may end up playing just a minor role in the Navy's future.

    Luke Pollard

    He said: "In 2015 the government promised not to sell HMS Ocean and not close Stonehouse Barracks and the Royal Citadel in Plymouth. The helicopter carrier and both bases are now up for sale.

    "Will the leader of the house agree to a debate on base closures and how we retain helicopter carrier capabilities at Devonport?"

    His call for a debate was rejected by the government.

  11. Cornwall 'not poor enough' for EU fundspublished at 15:02 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Sian Davies
    BBC News Online

    Cornwall may not have been poor enough to justify receiving £1bn of European Union funding, it has emerged.

    In recent years the county has several times been listed at the bottom of the poverty table in England and Wales.

    But revised GDP figures suggest Tees Valley and Durham, South Yorkshire, and West Wales and the Valleys are now all more deserving of EU money.

    Experts say that could make it harder for Cornwall to get funding post-Brexit. Major beneficiaries include the Eden Project, Combined Universities in Cornwall, Newquay Airport and a project to bring superfast broadband to the county. There's no suggestion the money must be paid back.

    EU funding in CornwallImage source, PA

    Pete Ledingham, director of grant-aided firm Geothermal Engineering said the recalculation was "staggering". "I would have thought the need was obvious in Cornwall and has been for a long time," he added.

    Areas with a GDP of less than 75% of the average EU GDP qualified for funding as they were below the EU's poverty threshold. But revised figures Cornwall was never actually below the threshold used to award grants such as Objective One, which provided some £400m to the county.

  12. Calstock embankment may be ‘moved inland’published at 14:52 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Investigations are to be carried out assessing the ongoing flood risk from the River Tamar in the village of Calstock.

    The village has been at risk for many years and had a flood embankment built in the 1980s. In 2012/13 further emergency works were made to a 100m section of the embankment.

    It cost more than £300,000 and the Environment Agency says "maintaining the current embankment in its existing location on a ‘patch and repair basis’ is not sustainable".

    Project manager Dan Boswell said: "One of the options involves moving the existing embankment inland. In addition to flood risk management benefits, moving the embankment would enable the creation of reedbed habitat attracting additional wildlife.

    "It is important to note that we are looking at all options which may be available to us. We will be talking to the community about these before final decisions are made."

    CalstockImage source, Google
  13. Who needs a taxi, when you've got one of these?published at 14:34 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    A unique slice of Dartmouth history came back to life today with the return of a 200-year-old form of transport.

    A sedan chair, which would've carried the mayor around the town has been donated to the local museum.

    Sedan

    The Newman family, who brought great wealth to the town through the Trans-Atlantic Triangular Trade more than 200 years ago, has made the donation.

  14. Hall wants amateur golf success before turning propublished at 14:14 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    James Law
    BBC Sport Online

    Cornish golfer Harry Hall says he wants to be one of the top amateur golfers in the world before deciding to turn professional.

    The 19-year-old, who is studying for a degree at the University of Nevada, narrowly missed out on qualifying for this month's Open Championship.

    Harry HallImage source, Harry Hall

    "I want to be in the top 10, and definitely want to be world number one amateur. In two years time that could be possible," Hall told BBC Radio Cornwall.

    "I've had a few options recently about turning pro, but I want to turn pro when I'm one of the top amateurs in the world."

  15. Memorial service for Lady Mary Holborowpublished at 13:59 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Johnny O'Shea
    BBC News Online

    A memorial service is being held in Truro Cathedral this afternoon for Lady Mary Holborow, the former Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

    Lady Mary was also a magistrate and an active supporter of several organisations and charities within Cornwall.

    Lady Mary Holborow

    In June 2010 Lady Mary was appointed Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for services to The Queen. She died last month, external.

    The service starts in a few minutes.

  16. Police search for missing woman, 79published at 13:41 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    Police are trying to find a 79-year-old woman who has dementia and is missing from Torbay.

    Phyllis Jenkins was last seen at 10:30 and several police units are searching the Torquay area, particularly around Babbacombe, including coast paths and parks.

    She is described as being about 5ft 7ins tall and is wearing a white floppy hat, a pink flowery top and bright pink trousers.

    Phyllis JenkinsImage source, Devon and Cornwall Police
  17. Warm afternoon across Devon and Cornwallpublished at 13:30 British Summer Time 6 July 2017

    It will be another dry afternoon with warm or very warm spells of sunshine. A few patches of mist and low cloud will remain on the north coast.

    Winds will be mainly north or northwesterly and occasionally moderate in strength.

    Maximum temperature: 27C (81F).

    Weather