Fears that new Exeter flats will ‘harm’ neighbours

More than 800 student flats and ‘co-living’ studios are to be built on the site of Exeter’s old police station despite neighbours’ fears that their homes will be overshadowed.

Exeter City Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead for the project after hearing how developers had worked to decrease its size after a previous scheme was thrown out
Cllr Gemma Rolstone (Lab, Topsham) told the meeting: “Anything will be better than what’s there at the moment.”
The derelict buildings, which also include the city’s former magistrates court, have been empty since 2021 and are currently fenced off. Councillors heard how there had been problems with anti-social behaviour as well as two recent fires which were started deliberately.
The site is owned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The original proposal for larger blocks on the site was refused in 2023 and an appeal from York-based developer NCO (Seven) Ltd was dismissed by a government inspector a year later. The inspector decided the harm to the area’s character and appearance would be severe.
Since then, developers have redesigned the blocks in collaboration with council officers, aiming to overcome the design concerns which led to the appeal dismissal.
Concerns were raised that a number of trees will be lost as a result of the scheme, and the proposed re-planting would not be adequate.
The latest plans are for four blocks of student accommodation, up to six storeys high, with 399 studio rooms. Alongside those would be three blocks of similar size, containing 414 co-living studios.
Of the co-living units, 83 must be for affordable private rent.
Cllr Matthew Vizard (Lab, Newtown and St Leonards) said while the previous proposals had been ‘unsuitable and unwanted’, the new scheme still did not provide the mix of homes the city needed.
And, he added: “The loss of 79 mature trees is hugely disappointing, and the landscaping falls short. This is not good enough for such an important site.”
He also pointed out that the blocks were closer than they should be to neighbouring houses 
“It’s an improved scheme without doubt,” he said. “The monolithic blocks are replaced by buildings which are more modest, so it has moved on.”
Keith Lewis of the Exeter Civic Society said that despite the improvements on the previous plans, views of the ‘distant hills’ would still be blocked and neighbours would be overlooked.
“The proposed five and six-story buildings will dwarf homes on Higher Summerlands, and residents will not only be overlooked but will also have a sense of being hemmed in. Why should they have to accept fundamental changes to their lives?
“They would have 28 people potentially looking into their homes. Is this acceptable? Would you be happy if 28 people were looking into your bedrooms?
“It is your decision tonight as to whether you feel you want to inflict harm on those residents or whether you want to ask the developer to go away and redesign those two blocks.”
Gareth Hooper, the chief executive of agents DPP Planning, said it was an opportunity to create a high quality scheme. “This will remove a decaying building at a gateway to the city, which also will deliver significant economic and environmental benefits,” he said.
Committee chairman Cllr Paul Knott (Lab, Exwick) summed up: “This is a better proposal than anything that’s been before. That site is becoming a magnet for anti-social behavior and even when it was in full use as the police station to me was an eyesore.
“This is something better.”