Exeter rough sleeper numbers hit new record high

The number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Exeter is the highest for 15 years, according to new figures.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says there were 51 people sleeping rough in Exeter on the night of November 12 last year, which is the largest number recorded since the ‘snapshot’ count began in 2010.
Part of the increase is down to a change in the way the count is done, but local homelessness charity St Petrock’s has praised Exeter City Council for overhauling the way it counts the figure despite knowing it would create an increase in numbers.
Exeter’s figures place the city within the top five local authorities and districts in England with an estimated rate of 36.8 people rough sleeping per 100,000 population count.  
For the 2025 count the city council used both a physical count and intelligence provided by partner agencies including St Petrock’s to provide a more accurate figure, rather than relying solely on numbers physically counted on the night in question as in previous years. 
St Petrock’s chief executive Peter Stephenson explained: “For some years we have had concerns that Exeter City Council continued to rely on physically counting the numbers of rough sleepers for the annual snapshot when agencies such as ourselves providing frontline services knew that there were many others who were rough sleeping but not counted.
“This was either because they weren’t seen by the counting teams, or they weren’t bedded down or about to bed down when they were seen.” 
The charity estimates that the number of people sleeping rough on the city’s streets more than doubled from 2024 to 2025.
“The key thing for me is that now we have a more realistic picture of the numbers sleeping rough in our city,” said Mr Stephenson. “This will help to inform the strategy to get people off the streets and into stable accommodation. For too long the number of rough sleepers has been significantly underestimated.” 
St Petrock’s has seen a steady increase in demand for its services over the past few years, putting the charity under strain, according to the charity’s head of client services Rowan Livingstone.
She said: “We have had to take on additional staff to enable us to properly support the increased numbers of rough sleepers coming to the St Petrock’s centre each day. This comes alongside greatly increased demand for the services we offer such as nutritious meals, showers, laundry, clothing, sleeping bags and more.
“Our team also provides one-to-one support to help clients cope with the harsh realities of sleeping rough and we link them into other services such as housing providers, mental health support, drug and alcohol services, and help them to reconnect with family where appropriate. The list is endless.” 
The charity relies on public donations for most of its income.