THE EXETER DIGEST

Exeter Digest #25: Economic activity levels decline - Doors close on Devon bus decisions

Catch up with the news in brief, survey local development plans and consultations and have your say on Exeter Observer’s plans to cover more of what matters and help the city’s cultural and community life to thrive.

TOP STORIES

DECLINE IN EXETER ECONOMIC ACTIVITY LEVELS AMONG LARGEST IN COUNTRY

Census figures also show population increasing at nearly six times rate of job creation over past decade while healthcare, wholesale/retail and teaching make up nearly half of all employment, reflecting low pay and productivity.

FUTURE OF DEVON BUS SERVICES BEING DECIDED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Devon County Council does not want the public to hear whether local service improvements are going according to plan.

HOW CAN WE HELP OUR CITY THRIVE?

Exeter Observer is hosting a series of informal events to share our plans to cover more of what matters and help our city to thrive.

Each is loosely themed around a key topic, with short presentations and breakouts.

Attendees will be invited to choose the coverage options they’d most like to see and share their ideas on how we might grow the independent journalism Exeter needs.

There will also be home-made refreshments and plenty of time for ad hoc discussion.

The events take place on Wednesdays from 6-7.30pm:

  • 5 April at Exeter Climate Hub - climate and environment
  • 19 April at St Sidwell’s Community Centre - planning and place
  • 3 May at Exeter Climate Hub - transport and mobility
  • 17 May at St Sidwell’s Community Centre - community and society
  • 31 May at Exeter Climate Hub - democracy and governance
  • 14 June at St Sidwell’s Community Centre - arts and culture.

Places are limited so please RSVP to secure a spot. If you’d like to find out more or attend more than one event please drop us a line by replying to this email.

EXETER IN BRIEF

A MET OFFICE survey which asked a representative sample of the public about climate crisis action has found that 65% of respondents think we should be doing more to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The conversion of BEAUFORT HOUSE, a 3,000m2 five storey office block on New North Road, to a 107-bed student accommodation facility has been approved by the city council.

The INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE has published its Sixth Assessment synthesis report, bringing together its three previous working group reports to deliver a “final warning” as the world approaches irrevocable damage caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions which can only be averted with deep emissions cuts.

Meanwhile council-run VISIT EXETER is promoting tourist visits to Exeter by plane from Scotland to Exeter Airport. Its greenhouse gas emissions inventory excludes aviation emissions from the city’s carbon footprint.

EXETER CITY COUNCIL has lost an appeal against its decision that an additional bedroom in a student house in Devonshire Place was unlawful. Seven students have occupied the house, which costs more than £6,000 per month to rent, since 2020.

The government has granted outline approval for a DEVON DEVOLUTION DEAL which could give new housing and transport powers to local councils across the county without changing its existing patchwork of first and second tier and unitary authorities or requiring an elected mayor. Devon’s local authorities will now prepare a business case for its proposals, which would require the consent of all the county’s councils as well as parliamentary approval before taking effect.

The refurbishment of PATERNOSTER HOUSE at the corner of Fore Street and North Street has begun, just one month before planning permission to convert the former department store into flats expires. Property developer Grenadier, part of the Oxygen House group of companies which is also responsible for Exeter City Futures, does not expect the project to be complete until the end of 2024.

Bindu Arjoon has been appointed as EXETER CITY COUNCIL CEO following the sudden termination of her predecessor Karime Hassan’s employment just before Christmas. Currently interim CEO, she was previously deputy CEO and was appointed after an internal selection process.

EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL has granted outline planning permission for a development of 1,035 low density residential dwellings alongside the old A30. “Treasbeare garden village” will extend Cranbrook southwards across 91 hectares of largely agricultural land towards Exeter Airport, and is expected to take ten years to complete.

Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Mitchell has been nominated to become Exeter’s next LORD MAYOR with the Green Party’s Tess Read as his deputy. Their appointment is expected at the council’s annual meeting on 16 May.

Exeter City Council has decided to sell Grade II listed WEIRFIELD HOUSE in Larkbeare Road above the Port Royal public house on the open market. It has been used for temporary accommodation since the 1980s and requires extensive renovation.

More Exeter In Brief here.

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ON THE AGENDA

The consulation on the draft DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Exeter, which is already nearly six years late, closes at the end of March.

Details of a new INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY to replace the section 106 agreements and community infrastructure levy charges that are currently imposed on most new development have been published by the government and are out for consultation. It would give local councils new powers to integrate affordable housing and infrastructure such as roads, schools and GP surgeries in development plans and facilitate the local capture of land value increases. The changes, which are being introduced in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill but will take ten years to implement, would also require councils to engage with communities to create new infrastructure delivery strategies.

A public exhibition of revised redevelopment plans for the WATER LANE area is being held at Haven Banks Outdoor Education Centre from 10am-7pm on Friday 24 March and from 10am-4pm on Saturday 25 March. Around 1,000 high density housing units, including student accommodation and built to rent flats, are expected on the brownfield site. The information on display will also be available on the developer’s website.

Plans to redevelop the derelict COWLEY BRIDGE ROAD Johnsons cleaners site to provide a total of 350 beds of student accommodation in four blocks up to six storeys tall have been submitted for approval by the city council. The laundry facility was badly damaged by fire three years ago and was demolished last year.

A public consultation on a DEVON, CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLAN which will attempt to minimise the impact of climate change on the South West peninsula will be held from 8 May before a final version is adopted during the autumn, four and a half years after Devon County Council convened the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group to “act now to tackle [the] climate emergency”.

Plans for an ultra-high density build-to-rent development at HAVEN BANKS have been revised to rely on a Welcome Street bridge being built over the railway in response to Environment Agency flood risk objections.

PINHOE COMMUNITY HUB has resubmitted its application for a new building at Station Road playing fields following the lapse of the previous permission, granted three years ago.

SOUTH WEST WATER is consulting on its draft Water Resources Management Plan, which sets out how it intends to ensure a secure regional water supply and manage its environmental impact, until 19 May.

Detailed plans for the Honiton Road MOOR EXCHANGE RETAIL PARK have been submitted for approval. Outline planning permission for the development was granted two years ago.

The UNIVERSITY OF EXETER has submitted detailed plans for its 1,700 bed West Park redevelopment of 50,000m2 of student accommodation. They include ten storey blocks which are two storeys taller than agreed when outline permission was granted in May 2021.

ON OUR RADAR

FRIDAY 31 MARCH // EXETER CLIMATE ACTION HUB

Act together: a community talk and discussion led by University of Exeter climate scientist James Dyke on the climate crisis and how to tackle it.

FRIDAY 31 MARCH // EXETER LIBRARY

Library Late: an evening of live music, creative workshops and a tour of Exeter Library’s hidden corners.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

COUNCIL SLASHES COMMUNITY GRANTS BUT SPLASHES CASH ON PADDLING POOLS IN CONTESTED WARDS

Exeter grants programme budget reduced from £425,000 to £15,000 leaving hundreds of grassroots groups out in the cold as the impact of borrowing takes its toll and council fails to consult on budget cuts despite auditor recommendation.

EXETER CITY COUNCIL’S APPROACH TO DECISION-MAKING IS DAMAGING LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Separation of powers and transparency provisions intended to safeguard public interest being subverted while council defies auditor over loss-making company.

More stories
2024-25 Devon County Council locality budget community grants allocations by Exeter councillor

Heavitree & Whipton Barton community groups miss out on £14,600 after Danny Barnes fails to sign funding agreements

Voluntary sector grants now lost following 12% councillor attendance record highlighting need for by-elections in absentee cases.

Suspended Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Will Kerr

Criminal investigation into suspended Devon & Cornwall Police Chief Constable dropped

Will Kerr to remain suspended while IOPC resumes previously paused conduct investigation and interim chief constable James Vaughan continues to lead force.

2024 duration in hours of monitored spill events at water company overflow sites bar graph

South West Water bills rise by a third following worst performance in sector with 550,000 hours of sewage spills

Tariffs increase as Environment Agency publishes damning data after South West Water owner Pennon Group issues £24.5 million in dividends to shareholders.

Devon & Torbay Combined County Authority inaugural meeting 19 March 2025

Devon & Torbay CCA sets sail for regional democratic deficit with £500,000 crew

Combined county authority throws public accountability overboard as future regional strategic governance body ratifies constitution at inaugural meeting but fails to explain why so many staff needed to deliver so little at such colossal cost.

Exeter Post Office in Guildhall Shopping Centre WHSmith

Sidwell Street Post Office to close as WHSmith shops sale raises risk of Exeter city centre counter service disappearance

Closure follows loss of Exeter’s last Crown Post Office in Bedford Street, since when all city branches operated by franchisees or independent businesses.

Exeter local elections campaign materials

Help hold Devon’s political parties and politicians to account during the 2025 local elections

Send us any campaign materials you receive so we can fact-check candidates’ claims and hold them to their pledges after the votes have been counted.

On Our Radar
Jess Hughes Cameron and Chin See at 2024 Topsham Music Festival

FRIDAY 25 TO SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2025

2025 Topsham Music Festival

Three day event features jazz, percussion and classical music played by young professional musicians from across the country.

TOPSHAM

Tabatha Andrews sculpture

SATURDAY 26 APRIL TO SATURDAY 21 JUNE 2025

The Slightest Gesture

Sculptor and installation artist Tabatha Andrews presents a new immersive exhibition.

EXETER PHOENIX

Liberation in Venice 1945

SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2025

Festa Di Liberazione

Italian Cultural Association Exeter hosts a day of music, dance, poetry and Italian culture.

KALEIDER

Edward Tripp

TUESDAY 29 APRIL 2025

City Slam 2025

Exeter City of Literature, Taking the Mic and Spork! co-host a third city-wide spoken-word poetry competition.

EXETER PHOENIX

Exeter Pride in Exeter High Street

SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025

Exeter Pride 2025

Exeter Pride returns for a celebration of LGBTQ+ diversity with a parade, marketplace, music, cabaret and more.

NORTHERNHAY GARDENS

Detail from Panorama of Prague from the Schönborn Garden

SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025

Czech Classics

Isca Ensemble and chorus perform a programme by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.

EXETER CATHEDRAL