Exeter’s skyline is about to change forever

Those of us who live or work in Exeter are going to see some major changes to the city we love in the coming years.

The city council has dealt with a large number of major planning application, and it all means our skyline is going to change beyond recognition.
Tall blocks of student accommodation and co-living apartments will rise from several building sites across the city as Exeter continues to cement its position as one of the country’s fastest-growing communities.
New homes will spring up alongside the canal and the city’s old police station site will become the location for a massive new development.
These are just some of the major projects in the pipeline.
CLARENDON HOUSE
A huge block of student flats on the site of the city’s current JobCentre has been given the go-ahead despite objectors saying the scheme is ‘overbearing’.
Zinc Real Estate will build the 10-storey building containing nearly 300 purpose-built flats for Exeter University students at Clarendon House on Western Way.
The developers say more than 10,000 Exeter University students are in houses of multiple occupation, and having more PBSA will free up other properties for local families.
The company initially shared proposed plans in December 2023 to demolish Clarendon House and build a 20-storey student block offering 350 beds. Following feedback, a revised scheme cut the number of student rooms to 297, and reduced the highest part of the building to 10 storeys. 
MARY ARCHES
Almost 300 ‘co-living’ apartments will be built on the site of an Exeter city centre multi-storey car park after developers went back to the drawing board.
Earlier this year Exeter City Council’s planning committee decided Eutopia’s plans for the Mary Arches Street car park weren’t good enough and asked them to think again.
Now the developer’s revised plans have been given the go-ahead.
Since January, Eutopia has made major changes to one of the two blocks proposed. Internal accommodation has been re-organised and a link between the two blocks has been redesigned. The height of the most contentious part of the building has been cut to four storeys and a new entrance has been included on the corner of Bartholomew Street and North Street.
Now the project to demolish the six-deck multi-storey car park can begin after the committee voted by a majority to back it. The full proposal comprises the six-storey Block A, which fronts on to Bartholomew Street and North Street and provides communal accommodation including lounges, gym and studio, co-working and laundry.
Block B is now four storeys with an entrance from Mary Arches Street.
The council wants to get rid of the car park, saying it is obsolete and costs too much to run, and voted in 2022 to do so.
OLD POLICE STATION
More than 800 student flats and ‘co-living’ studios are to be built on the site of Exeter’s old police station in Heavitree Road despite neighbours’ fears that their homes will be overshadowed.
The derelict buildings, which also include the city’s former magistrates court, have been empty since 2021. 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.
Since then, developers have redesigned the blocks in collaboration with council officers, aiming to overcome the design concerns which led to the appeal dismissal.
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.
KING BILLY
A nine-storey block of flats for Exeter University students will be built on the site of a former city centre pub despite claims that the local community is being overwhelmed.
Opponents of the scheme to build on the site of the old King Billy pub in Northbrook Street say the St James area has reached saturation point with students.
Durham-based Rok Prop Co (Exeter) have gained permission to build 108 self-contained studio flats on the site next door to the eight-storey John Lewis department store.
The old pub, which was popular with city centre workers, was knocked down in 2023.
VERNEY STREET
Plans to transform the site of a former Exeter nightclub into a giant block of student flats have been lodged with the city council.
Developer Spinnaker Estates says the six-storey block on the corner of Verney Street and Summerland Street will meet a growing need for well-managed student housing in Exeter.
The building will go up on the site of the old Unit 1 nightclub and the Best Tyre Auto Centre next door. It will contain 180 studio apartments for university students, alongside a wide range of internal and external amenities.
The proposed development includes a central courtyard and shared amenity spaces including a residents’ lounge, games room, study spaces, gym and laundry facilities.
It has been designed to achieve net zero carbon in operation.
WATER LANE
Maybe the largest and most transformative project in the city, the Water Lane development is centred on an area between the canal and the railway line, and includes the site of a former meat-rendering plant. The plans are for a low-car, sustainable neighbourhood of around 980 new homes, creative workspaces and a retirement community. The first phases could be occupied in around five years as the new homes transform a run-down area formerly blighted by vandalism and anti-social behaviour
ROYAL CLARENCE
Local developers NooKo are well on the way to completing the restoration of the Royal Clarence Hotel, which was gutted by a huge fire almost 10 years ago. The new development will include luxury apartments and high-end restaurant/commercial space on the ground floor.