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Council leader Phil Bialyk celebrates rapid Exeter population rise but fails to mention think-tank findings on falling disposable incomes, declining living standards, low wages and unaffordable housing – or impact of student numbers on population figures.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services has said that DEVON AND SOMERSET FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE has not made sufficient progress in addressing concerns it raised after inspecting the service at the end of 2024. HMICFRS identified a cause of concern related to fire prevention and made six recommendations. It says all will remain open following a further visit it made in January.
SOUTH WEST WATER has admitted criminal offences relating to the contamination of drinking water in Brixham in 2024. The outbreak, caused by the parasite cryptosporidiosis, affected around 16,000 properties in the area and led to around 100 cases of illness. The admission, made during a case heard at Exeter Magistrates’ Court, followed news that a claim against the company being brought by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of residents and businesses in Exmouth affected by sewage pollution has been expanded to include people living in Dawlish, Sidmouth, Teignmouth, Newquay and Penzance. A 2025 Ofwat investigation into the management of South West Water’s sewage treatment works and sewerage networks led to the imposition of enforcement measures costing £24 million. During the 2024-25 reporting year the company recorded 109 pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer – more than any other water company in England and Wales, five times the industry-wide target and more than double the industry average.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons has found that EXETER PRISON, at which seven self-inflicted deaths have taken place since 2022, still faces “deep-rooted and longstanding challenges” despite the efforts of staff, which it said were “beginning to make a real difference”. It said the prison was “no longer overwhelmed” and commended the “desperately needed” commitment of a new governor who took over in 2023. The inspection report follows news that unnsafe levels of radon gas have been detected at the prison along with fifteen others in England and Wales, including Channings Wood in Newton Abbot, with a total of 33 sites under investigation by the Ministry of Justice. Exposure to high levels of radon gas – a colourless, odourless, radioactive gas present in particularly high concentrations in the south west peninsula – increases the risk of lung cancer. Dartmoor Prison closed in 2024 after radon levels of up to fourteen times the permissible limit were detected on the site.
A new E-BIKE HIRE SCHEME is expected to begin a pilot in Exeter in the next few weeks, according to Local Democracy Reporter Guy Henderson. Thomas Lloyd Foster, trading as not-for-profit Sprintco Limited, says his app-based scheme will start with ten docking stations on private land in high-footfall areas, and that he is discussing scheme expansion with Devon County Council. Co-Bikes, a previous scheme of around 240 e-bikes operated by shared mobility provider Co-Cars, ceased trading in July 2023 when Co-Cars collapsed.
The UNIVERSITY OF EXETER has made redundancy payments of almost £19 million to around 450 staff who have left under a voluntary scheme over the past two years. Its 2024-25 annual report says that first round of the scheme, which ran from April to August 2024, was taken up by around 180 employees with around 270 employees then leaving during a second redundancy round held the following year, which the university says was prompted by “the acknowledgement of the impact of continued international student recruitment challenges”.
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 MARCH 2026
Medieval food, talks, workshops and music exploring the life and times of Hildegard of Bingen.
ST NICHOLAS PRIORY
An Exeter City Council executive committee decision “relating to financial ask of c.£475,000” for an Exeter City Community Trust scheme at KING GEORGE V PLAYING FIELD, which was expected at its 17 March meeting, has not appeared on the meeting agenda. Work began recently on the scheme to install a full-size artificial football pitch with floodlighting, refurbish and extend a sports pavilion and expand the car park at the Countess Wear playing field. The otherwise unexplained “financial ask” has not been rescheduled for a future council meeting.
Devon County Council has deferred a decision to sell a 1.5 acre plot in the grounds of County Hall following a campaign by local residents and councillors. The sale was proposed by the county cabinet in October 2023 after buildings known as the MATFORD OFFICES which occupied part of the plot were demolished. A January decision by the county council Land and Property Committee to dispose of an area of public open space surrounding the demolished plot in order to facilitate its sale for development was referred to cabinet following complaints from local councillors that the decision was faulty. The committee report had incorrectly said that the 0.91 acres of public open space to be included in the sale represented 4.65% of the green space at County Hall when it actually amounts to 7.4% of the 12.5 acre grounds. Despite 180 objections in two rounds of public consultation and a local campaign, Devon County Council leader Julian Brazil said that it remained the council’s intention to sell the land in order to help deliver affordable housing. The cabinet agreed that the sale decision should be deferred in order that covenants and/or contractual obligations could be implemented to ensure that site redevelopment would provide social housing, care leaver or key worker accommodation. The city council, meanwhile, has said it wants a three-storey block built on the site to provide 27 flats, twice as many as the county council intends.
Exeter City Council has withdrawn its £2.5 million plans to refurbish the upper decks of the CATHEDRAL & QUAY MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK and outsource its daily management. A brief report summarising the plans was brought direct to a city council meeting without being first scrutinised by councillors, as is required by local government legislation. The meeting was repeatedly paused so council leader Phil Bialyk could confer with senior council officers in response to numerous concerns raised by councillors about the plans. The upper decks of the 355-space council-owned car park were closed six years ago after a survey revealed structural defects. The council says it has been advised that the car park is now capable of “withstanding” the loads it was designed to carry.
A Devon County Council consultation on controversial DRYDEN ROAD layout changes has resumed after being halted at the request of councillors to clarify the options it presented. Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee agreed to hold a public consultation on changes to the road layout at its meeting in October last year after being presented with a petition of over 2,000 signatures. The petition followed the introduction of a modal filter preventing motor through-traffic on the road, which forms part of the E9 strategic cycle route, in 2020. In January this year the committee agreed four options for public consultation which include introducing a bus gate, making the road one-way only to motor traffic and re-opening the road with the addition of segregated cycle lanes. Two days after the consultation opened on 2 March it was paused while County Hall officers made clear that the cycle lanes would be painted rather than physically segregated from motor traffic. The consultation has been extended by five days and will now close on Friday 10 April.
Exeter City Council is holding a public consultation on the way it spends Neighbourhood COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY – a charge paid by the developers of most new development which is intended to mitigate its impact – which the council has been controversially spending on community grants and Wellbeing Exeter since 2019. The consultation follows extensive criticism of levy spending governance risks which were first identified by council auditors eighteen months ago.
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Council leader Phil Bialyk celebrates rapid Exeter population rise but fails to mention think-tank findings on falling disposable incomes, declining living standards, low wages and unaffordable housing – or impact of student numbers on population figures.
Secretary of State Steve Reed withdraws decision following legal advice in face of Reform UK High Court challenge, leaving city council leader Phil Bialyk facing electoral oblivion.
Public consultation on changes explores possibility of closing some branches altogether despite claims to the contrary while Libraries Unlimited contract extension decision scheduled for six weeks before consultation ends.
Complex of seven blocks up to six storeys tall on site of police station and magistrates court to bring purpose-built temporary accommodation tally to 3,250 beds in Newtown alone – while failing to meet local plan minimum building separation policy.
Campaign film underscores dedicated homelessness charity mission as demand for its support services grows.
21 people died while homeless in Exeter in 2024, nearly three times as many as previous year, but council says nothing despite report publication during city homeless awareness week.
Labour councillors plumb new depths to cling to power – and personal financial gain – as government-backed contempt for democracy enables seven of eight executive members to avoid ballots in their wards until council abolition in 2028.
Council land disposal to include rights to lay underground distribution pipework across River Exe floodplain following “low-to-zero carbon” Grace Road Fields heat plant planning approval in face of Environment Agency sequential test concerns.
Rejection of voluntary and community sector calls for more inclusive response follows thirteen-year council failure to comply with legal duties under crime and disorder legislation in relation to Exeter Community Safety Partnership.
Exeter Observer analysis finds more students living in city centre than residents as council bid to include PBSA in housing delivery figures weakens local planning policy – but does not remove it from decision-making altogether.
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Five gas boilers to provide 80% of “low-to-zero carbon” Grace Road Fields plant generation capacity for distribution to institutional consumers through privately-run 13-mile underground network expected to take ten years to complete.
Charges for waterways access are set to be imposed from the quay and canal basin to the coast under proposed Harbour Revision Order powers after six years of rising costs propelled by pursuit of Port Marine Safety Code compliance. They risk driving away craft of all sizes, from kayaks to yachts, while redevelopment threatens canalside land – but it’s not too late to change course.
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Leigh Curtis is deputy editor of Exeter Observer and a director of its publisher Exeter Observer Limited.
She writes most of our community and culture stories as well as news reports and contributes to features and investigations.
Leigh holds a degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. She leads on marketing and also manages our finances and administration.
She is an accredited UK press card holder and a member of the National Union of Journalists.
Martin Redfern is Exeter Observer’s editor and a director of its publisher Exeter Observer Limited.
He writes many of our news stories and features, leads on investigations and maintains the Exeter Observer website.
Martin holds a masters degree in Journalism with distinction at Birkbeck, University of London.
He is an accredited UK press card holder and a member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists and the Society of Editors.
