NEWS

Water Lane SPD consultation opens in parallel with local plan survey

Policy intends to provide development framework and design code for 90 acre site on which 1,600 new dwellings plus employment space expected by 2040.

, updated

Martin Redfern

Exeter City Council is holding a public consultation on the draft version of a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for a large canalside development site centred on Water Lane.

SPDs are intended to extend existing local plans to provide more detail on their policies. They cannot introduce new policies into the existing development plan.

The SPD is intended to provide a development framework and design code for the 90 acre site, which is part of the council’s Liveable Exeter scheme, and will inform individual planning decisions about the 1,600 new dwellings and employment spaces that are expected there.

Most of the Water Lane site was allocated for development in the Exeter Local Plan First Review, which was adopted in 2005 and followed by the 2012 Exeter Core Strategy, which proposed the production of a Water Lane development masterplan.

It extends from Haven Banks retail park, where ultra high-density redevelopment proposals have generated significant local opposition, to the Grace Road playing fields alongside Marsh Barton incinerator.

It also includes the former gas tower site which has recently been marketed for redevelopment. Outline plans for a section of the site stretching from Clapperbridge Lane to Tan Lane were submitted in August after the council agreed to use its compulsory purchase powers to enable vehicle access to the site.

Water Lane SPD development framework and design code site boundary map Water Lane SPD development framework and design code site boundary

The Water Lane draft SPD consultation is taking place in parallel with a consultation on the full draft of the new Exeter Local Plan, which will replace both these planning policy frameworks when it is adopted and which also allocates the Water Lane area as a development site.

However the Water Lane SPD is expected to become a material consideration in local planning decisions concerning the area it covers well before the adoption of the new Exeter Local Plan.

This is currently not expected until December 2025. After adoption, the Water Lane SPD will continue to inform planning decisions on the site, although it may require revision to align fully with the new plan.

New Exeter Local Plan Water Lane site allocation New Exeter Local Plan Water Lane site allocation

The Water Lane draft SPD aims to co-ordinate development proposals across the site by imposing design and infrastructure requirements that would combine to yield a coherent neighbourhood by the time development is complete in around 2040.

The mostly brownfield site presents a range of development challenges including contamination, access restrictions, impact on existing residents and proximity to the adjacent mainline railway.

Flood risk is a major barrier, particularly since the Environment Agency recently said that most new residential development in the River Exe floodplain could only provide uses – including daytime-only uses – at fist floor and above when it forced the redesign of co-living proposals at Exeland House in Tudor Street.

The site is also divided into many parcels of land in multiple ownership making the masterplanning it requires to address its constraints more difficult.

The failure of Exeter City Living, the council’s property development company, to develop less challenging brownfield sites in other parts of the city despite the significant advantages it enjoyed over other private sector developers suggests that viability issues will play a major role in determining planning applications at Water Lane when they come forward.

Water Lane SPD regulating plan Water Lane SPD regulating plan, identifying which spatial codes apply to individual planning applications

Comments on the SPD are invited via a dedicated website which encourages respondents to use emoticons and choose from pre-selected options to express their views, alongside per-policy text boxes.

It is also possible to upload PDF and image responses, enabling residents and businesses to address the SPD as a whole, or in selective parts, as well as the submission of comments or ideas that do not fit into the council’s framework.

The council says it would prefer people to follow its prescriptive approach, which encourages simple feedback and addresses one policy at a time. A printable consultation response form is also provided which reflects the same structure.

Several appendices that are integral to the SPD include an Environment Agency area flood risk map and a summary of “input from the community and stakeholders through multiple engagement methods” that the council says has been used to develop the SPD.

New Exeter Local Plan public exhibitions

TimeDateVenueLocation
1-6.30pm25 OctoberHaven Banks Outdoor Education CentreHaven Road, St David's
1-7pm2 NovemberExeter Community CentreSt David's Hill
11am-2pm7 NovemberExeter LibraryCastle Street
1-7pm9 NovemberSt Thomas Cricket & Social ClubGrace Road, Marsh Barton
12.30-6pm13 NovemberMatthews HallFore Street, Topsham
1-7pm20 NovemberExeter GuildhallHigh Street
1-7pm27 NovemberEmmanuel Hall (Theatre Alibi)Emmanuel Road, St Thomas
11am-2pm28 NovemberExeter LibraryCastle Street
1-7pm5 DecemberAlphington Village HallIde Lane, Alphington
1-7pm7 DecemberPositive Light ProjectsSidwell Street
1-7pm12 DecemberNewcourt Community CentreBlakeslee Drive, Newcourt
4-7pm13 DecemberToby CarveryRydon Lane, Middlemoor
1-7pm11 JanuarySt Thomas Cricket & Social ClubGrace Road, Marsh Barton

Events in bold have been added since the consultation period began.

The Water Lane draft SPD consultation is open until 4 December. A dedicated public exhibition is being held from 1-7pm on Monday 6 November at Exeter Custom House on Exeter Quay.

However council officers are available to answer questions about all aspects of local planning policy at all the new Exeter Local Plan public exhibitions above.

Printed copies of all the council’s planning policy consultation documents can be viewed in the reception area at the Civic Centre and in libraries across the city.

Any queries can be directed to the council planning policy team at planning.policy@exeter.gov.uk or on 01392 265080.


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
St Petrocks No-one Chooses to be Homeless film still

St Petrock’s appeals for funds to support its work with rough sleepers

Exeter homelessness charity’s Christmas 2024 fundraising campaign features a short film depicting the fictional tale of a rough sleeper in the city’s streets.

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

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