FEATURES

Freedom of information requests reveal Liveable Exeter Place Board “chumocracy” overseeing the city

Despite the significance of Liveable Exeter Place Board’s role in determining the city’s future, its members are selected and appointed on a secretive, informal basis.

Peter Cleasby

Liveable Exeter Place Board is an unelected and unaccountable body that meets in private, does not publish its discussions or decisions and is taking responsibility for major policies which will determine the city’s future.

Exeter Observer first examined its composition and role in July last year, when we identified the significant number of board members with known, substantial interests in land and property and the extent of its involvement in the city’s post-pandemic recovery plan.

We also highlighted its role in relation to the “Liveable Exeter” property development scheme to build 12,000 new dwellings in the next 20 years, the “Net Zero Exeter 2030” decarbonisation plan and the Sport England local delivery pilot.

We then followed up in February this year when the council responded to our questions about a second Church of England member being appointed to the board by accusing us of promoting a “partisan narrative” and claiming our public interest reporting about the board, which is focussed on its lack of transparency and scrutiny, “bears no resemblance to fact”.

We have since sought to find out more about the how the board’s members are selected and appointed using freedom of information legislation.

Volume house-building at Hill Barton Vale Volume house-building at Hill Barton Vale:
Will the Liveable Exeter property development scheme do better?

We asked Exeter City Council to provide information about the criteria used to select board members for appointment. It said it does not hold information about this “in a recorded format”, then voluntarily added:

“The Liveable Exeter Place Board is not an Exeter City Council board.

“As we look to prepare our city for the challenges of the future and ensure both sustainable growth and resilience, the Liveable Exeter Place Board was established to bring the city together to achieve this, in line with ECC’s Vision 2040.

“The board allows the city a forum to discuss the key issues, including housing delivery, that affect both local government and local businesses, as well as other organisations, residents and visitors to Exeter and the region.

“Members were appointed because they are senior people in their organisations and the work that they’ve done shows their capability for bringing alignment to the task in hand. This is particularly the case with national representatives of organisations connected with the housing and the cultural agenda.

“Some individuals have been approached to provide sector insights, not as representatives but as individuals who may help illuminate subject matter and therefore provide a form of challenge and steer, such as small businesses and culture. Some individuals have been invited as a representative, such as the Chamber of Commerce.”

Exeter City Council offices on Paris Street Exeter City Council offices on Paris Street:
Who is really calling the shots on Exeter’s future?

We also asked the council to provide information about the process by which the board’s chair was appointed. It again said it held no recorded information about this, adding:

“Sir Steve Smith was invited by Councillor Phil Bialyk and Karime Hassan to become the chair of the board because he is a respected figure within the city, region and, indeed, a national figure in education. Sir Steve is capable of convening leaders from across the institutions within the city and is an effective chair.”

These additional comments are unusual, though welcome, instances of the council going beyond its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. Given that no relevant information was held in recorded form it must be the case that the answers were prepared specifically in response to the requests.

The council subsequently told us that they were authored by Karime Hassan, its Chief Executive and Growth Director.

Exeter city centre from Exeter Cathedral roof Exeter city centre from Exeter Cathedral roof:
Who represents non-Anglican faith groups on Liveable Exeter Place Board?

The council was less forthcoming on the matter of the considerations which led to the appointment of the Dean of Exeter Cathedral to the board, about which we also asked.

It claimed the information had already been provided by the council leader, Phil Bialyk, when answering a public question at a full council meeting in April.

Not quite. Councillor Bialyk’s reply was:

“Over the course of the year, the chair of the Liveable Exeter Place Board has invited a number of people to join the board, in part as a consequence of the issues that have emerged during this pandemic.

“This has been an extraordinary year and our leading institutions have been able to have frank conversations about the impact that COVID has had on their sectors and organisations. It has also raised issues that have highlighted gaps on the board and, no doubt, this will continue to be the case.

“The cathedral is a major institution in the city, at the heart of the tourism and visitor economy and probably the biggest visitor draw to the city centre. In a very practical way COVID-19 and the production of a recovery plan highlighted the value of having the Very Reverend Jonathan Greener, Dean of Exeter Cathedral, as a member of the board.

“Bishop Robert is also a significant figure in the spiritual life of the city and brings a unique insight and sensitivity to issues such as well-being, and provides a linkage to the wider Devon community and the role of the city in the region.”

Whether or not this is a polite way of saying that the council appointed the wrong Anglican cleric in the first place, it continues to dodge the issue of why no other faiths are represented.

When asked about the consideration which was given to appointing representatives of other faiths to the board, the council’s response was the bland and unhelpful statement: “The board is committed to ensuring inclusion and equality for all.”

Liveable Exeter Place Board membership update

Since we last reported on the board’s membership there have been further changes:

  • Mark Hopwood has returned to his post as Managing Director of Great Western Railway, replacing his stand-in Matthew Golton on the board.

  • Mark Peck, Group Director South West for Work and Health Services at the Department for Work and Pensions becomes the first representative of central government on the board.

  • Lady Studholme has retired as chair of the trustees of the Northcott Theatre but remains on the board in her new role as High Sheriff of Devon, so bringing to its work not only the accoutrements of an office that predates the Norman Conquest but also becoming the board’s first representative of the Crown.

Exeter City Council is well aware of how to make appointments in an open and fair manner. For example, the places on its new Harbour Board for non-councillors were filled after a selection process which began by publishing advertisements inviting people to apply and setting out the criteria against which applicants would be assessed.

A similar process was followed for the council’s new Council Housing and Development Advisory Board.

It would be normal practice for appointments to a body with a remit as significant as that of Liveable Exeter Place Board to be advertised widely and made transparently on the basis of objective assessment of candidates.

No such process applies to Liveable Exeter Place Board appointments, nor has it ever.

And the informal approach to membership continues, as evidenced in council leader Phil Bialyk’s April statement and in Exeter City Council’s insistence that it does not hold any paperwork in relation to the process of making board appointments.

Exeter Observer has nevertheless seen two letters inviting people to join the board, both of which constitute “information in a recorded format” which should have been released by the council on request under freedom of information legislation.

These make clear that the board’s chair, the unelected Sir Steve Smith, now has a role in making appointments, but neither explains how either invitation arose.

Belmont Pleasure Ground Belmont Pleasure Ground:
Who speaks for climate and environment on Liveable Exeter Place Board?

The absence of members who might, for example, speak up for open spaces and the natural world, and so balance the presence of extensive land and property interests on the board, is either a glaring omission or a revealing reflection of its priorities.

The failure to appoint board members to represent the many community and campaigning groups that comprise much of Exeter’s civil society, or those who have real experience of the hardship, disadvantage and poverty experienced by many Exeter residents, or the trade unions to which many of Exeter’s large public sector workforce belongs, not to mention the city’s non-Anglican faith groups, is similarly remiss.

Subscribe to The Exeter Digest - Exeter Observer's essential free email newsletter

Your personal information will be processed and stored in accordance with our Privacy Policy

It is a departure from good governance that appointments to a self-evidently important - or even evidently self-important - board should be made in such a secretive and informal manner.

While comparisons between the selection and appointment of Liveable Exeter Place Board members and the current Conservative government’s approach to appointments and procurement contracts, the much-criticised “chumocracy”, may be odious, they are unfortunately valid.

Exeter City Council nevertheless claims to be “committed to openness and transparency”, as its pro forma responses to freedom of information requests all say.


Democracy doesn't work when people don't know who is deciding what on whose behalf and what the costs and consequences of those decisions will be.

Exeter Observer is proving that reader-funded media can deliver the independent public interest journalism our local democracy needs.

Upgrade to a paid Exeter Observer subscription from £8.50/month to support our work and get access to exclusive premium content and more.

More stories
Flowerpot Fields revised proposed floor plan keyframe

Exeter College amends Flowerpot Fields plans to replace two of six classrooms with changing rooms

Revisions submitted during building construction also show two rooms described as “changing rooms” and “overflow sports training and education space”, both with unobscured full-height classroom windows and no shower facilities.

Devon County Council Exeter Bus Service Improvement Plan central and eastern corridors map

Controversial Exeter bus lane changes approved after three and a half hour County Hall debate

Devon County Council claims £2.4 million “intelligent corridor” upgrades along Heavitree Road and Pinhoe Road routes could save up to “approximately four minutes” journey time and bring “economic benefit of around £2,150,000” each year.

Devon districts and Torbay home work and travel to work patterns (people aged 16 and over in employment)

New countywide transport strategy falls short on fundamental mobility challenges

Draft 2025-40 Devon & Torbay Local Transport Plan lacks serious measures to address congestion and enable shift to public transport as local government reorganisation threatens derailment.

Proposed floor plans and elevations

Plan for student accommodation block in back garden of 17-bed Pennsylvania Road HMO dismissed at appeal

City council planning consent refusal upheld by inspector in decision citing existing community balance policy that is not retained in proposed new Exeter Local Plan.

Hotel Indigo Exeter

Singapore hospitality group buys Hotel Indigo Exeter for £19.4 million

Sale of converted House of Fraser department store announced one week after Frasers Group purchase of adjacent Princesshay shopping centre.

, updated

Topsham Golf Academy development site view

Topsham gap greenfield development application submitted for approval

Proposals for 54 dwellings on Exeter Golf and Country Club Topsham Golf Academy driving range enabled by city council approval of replacement driving range in Ludwell Valley Park.

On Our Radar
Poltimore House 2023 Christmas market

SATURDAY 23 & SUNDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2024

Poltimore Christmas markets

Four weekend festive markets with stalls selling local arts and crafts.

POLTIMORE HOUSE

Magdalen Road Christmas Fair poster keyframe

SATURDAY 7 DECEMBER 2024

St Leonard’s Christmas Fair 2024

Community-run market returns for thirteenth year with festive food, music and gifts.

MAGDALEN ROAD

Exeter Cathedral Choir members in Exeter Cathedral

SUNDAY 8 DECEMBER 2024

Handel’s Messiah

A seasonal choral performance by Exeter Cathedral Choir with early music specialists Devon Baroque.

EXETER CATHEDRAL