Met Office

GOOD WEEK
The hole truth: Torbay council has repaired a record number of potholes since the start of the year. So far this year 800 potholes have been mended, on top of 400 which were fixed in November and December 2009. This is compared to 543 repaired over a similar period last year and 434 the year before

Torridge District Council, which has been named as one of the best councils in the country to work for, according to Best Companies staff survey. The Devon district council came top in the South West and sixth overall.

Brixham treasure: Brixham is being heralded as the jewel in Torbay’s crown when the lastest multi-million pound redevelopment is completed, which will feature road widening, a ferry port and park-and-ride facilities.

Something for a rainy day: The Met Office has awarded its staff more than £12 million in bonuses over the last five years. The bonus is performance-related and yearly, with the average award at £1,485 per member of staff.

BAD WEEK
Political stickiness: An OAP from had to pay £1.30 to receive a letter from the Lib Dems asking for elections donations. It was sent without the required postage and was picked up at the mail depot. Torbay MP Adrian Sanders apologised and said he would send a letter of apology and a book of stamps.

Council finances: A perfect storm of economic and financial issues have created a gloomy future for the council’s finances, says the BBC’s Chris Whipp. They include “reduced funding from central government; less cash coming in from money-earners such as parking; and increasing demand for things like housing benefit as a result of the poor economic climate”. Combined with a poor rate of return on investments and councils are having to decide between ‘must do’ and ‘nice to do’ services.

Devon rail travellers: The new high-speed trains that were cleaner, greeners, would generate less noise, have more seats, be more reliable and cut journey times and planned to replace the ageing stock of the  Great Western Line have been postponed.