Revised Exeter flats plan revealed

It includes student and co-living accommodation

Revised plans for student and co-living blocks on the site of Exeter’s former Heavitree Road police station will be considered next week.

A previous incarnation of the development wasn’t supported in October when the city council’s planning committee said they were ‘minded to refuse’ the two six-storey blocks with a combined total of 1,000 rooms.

One councillor described the plan for opposite St Luke’s Campus as “hideous,” while other concerns included the design, height and scale of the development, its close proximity to Heavitree Road, a lack of amenities and the loss of trees and biodiversity.

However, instead of refusing the application, the developer successfully asked for more time to submit revised plans, which councillors will be asked to vote on again on Monday [20 February].

The updated application, submitted by the police and crime commissioner’s office and Student Roost, cuts the number of flats by 80 from the previous proposal and both buildings have been reduced by one storey, and they are now set back further from Heavitree Road.

If finally approved, they will replace the existing former police and magistrates court buildings next to Waitrose, which haven’t been used since the police moved to a new HQ at Middlemoor in 2020.

A communal courtyard has been redesigned as a single large courtyard and, following criticism from councillors at the previous meeting, the co-living room sizes have been redesigned and their sizes increased.

Planning officers have again recommended approval, subject to conditions, stating in their report that the project has “evolved to represent what is probably the optimum density of development for this brownfield site and therefore makes best use of it.”

They add: “The design of the development in terms of its height, scale and massing is acceptable and provides the right balance between making the most of this brownfield site in a highly sustainable location and achieving a design that is appropriate for its context.”

However, some members of the public remain unimpressed. There have now been 118 objections and one neutral comment on the entire application, with 18 objections to the revised plans.

Issues raised include that the proposed buildings are “still too big, too ugly and not needed,” as well as there being “already a lot of student accommodation.”

Other respondents have concerns about the scale of the development, a loss of existing habitat, and its impact on local residents and nearby parking.

The planning committee will consider the new plan on Monday evening.