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THE EXETER DIGEST

Exeter Digest #58: City council relocation - Harlequins redevelopment - Cowick Street bus lane

We return from the summer recess with a bumper edition for you to catch up with all the local news that matters and take your pick from a curated selection of community and culture events.

HEADLINES

Council cuts and post-pandemic working prompt downsizing plan as small offices replace Paris Street Citypoint vision

Proposed move to Guildhall shopping centre, Phoenix arts venue and Oakwood House intended to enable Civic Centre site redevelopment as council claims £100,000 costings report and capital spending to come at “no cost to council taxpayers”. Full story.

The first of eight pre-commencement planning conditions imposed by Exeter City Council on the redevelopment of Harlequins shopping centre has been discharged, with several others pending. Full story.

Cowick Street bus lane decision reversed

Devon County Council’s Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee has reversed its decision to introduce bus lane changes in Cowick Street. Full story.

EXETER IN BRIEF

Exeter St David’s railway heritage reprieved

Network Rail has confirmed that the former superintendent’s office at Exeter St David’s station will not now be demolished following timetable changes by train operator GWR. Read more.

Creative Arc seeks funding proposals

Exeter “place-based cultural solutions” vehicle Creative Arc is seeking final round funding proposals for city “innovation projects” that “create tangible, meaningful interventions” and can be delivered between October and March for less than £10,000. Read more.

Exeter St David’s station has least reliable passenger lifts in Devon

Exeter St David’s station has the least reliable passenger lifts in Devon, according to Network Rail figures, despite the availability of step-free access being limited to two of its six platforms. Read more.

Larkbeare House grounds listed

The grounds of Larkbeare House, which front onto the River Exe between Colleton Hill and The Port Royal public house, have been added to Historic England’s National Heritage List for England. Read more.

City council seeks elections polling arrangements feedback

Exeter City Council is inviting public comments on its local and general elections polling arrangements before the publication of review proposals in December. Read more.

Council falls for company content marketing materials - again

Exeter City Council has again used its official communications channels to promote company brands by repeating content marketing materials, this time for a global financial services corporation and a London-based multinational marketing firm. Read more.

Musgrave House flats to return to commercial use

Proposals to convert nine city centre housing association flats in Musgrave Row to commercial use have been submitted to Exeter City Council. Read more.

ON OUR RADAR

Brillsville Market // St Thomas

Regular community-run market that offers goods from local growers, makers and traders with a repair cafe and more. Saturday 14 September. More details.

Exeter Independent Market // Cathedral Green

Exeter Cathedral market returns with handmade crafts, clothing and accessories, local food and drink and live music. Saturday 14 September. More details.

Quayside Shanty Festival // Exeter Quay

Free one-day festival features shanties from Boscastle Buoys, Mariners Away, The Rusty Tubs and more. Saturday 14 September. More details.

365 Years of Purcell // Exeter Library

A free lunchtime concert to celebrate the composer’s work. Sunday 15 September. More details.

Kidical Mass rides again // Belmont Park

Kidical Mass Exeter is holding its eighth family bike ride as part of an ongoing campaign for safe cycling routes for children, young people and families. Sunday 22 September. More details.

Salmon Run 2024 // River Exe

Community runs along the River Exe highlighting the significance of salmon and the species’ relationship with the waterway. Sunday 29 September. More details.

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More stories
Illustrative view of proposed co-living blocks from Heavitree Road

Heavitree Road police station student accommodation and “co-living” scheme consultation extended

Developers revise application for full planning permission for 813-bed seven-block complex submitted in May as similar proposals proliferate across city centre.

Boneyard arcade games

Unique retro games arcade to create new Sidwell Street venue after long search

Boneyard arcade seeking permission to change use of empty Brighthouse retail unit after making way for “co-living” block at previous Red Lion Lane location.

Proposed revised Mary Arches Bartholomew Street East co-living block elevation

Mary Arches “co-living” developer resists “miniscule” room size criticisms as design revisions prompt further consultation

Changes include increased building footprints and removal of twelve rooms to provide eleven communal kitchens – between residents of 297 studios – while gates obstruct pedestrian thoroughfare and site’s historic setting and significance essentially ignored.

September 2025 permitted replacement scheme west elevation

Council denies data and contrives criteria to dismiss community balance concerns in third King Billy student block approval

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.

, updated

Grace Road Fields in March

Botched consultation restarted on sale of 8.5 acres of Riverside Valley Park green space

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.

On Our Radar
Jo Eades

FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER 2025

Spork! Dead Poets Slam 2025

Halloween spoken-word special featuring Jo Eades and Samuel L. Cohen with a £100 cash prize poetry slam.

EXETER PHOENIX

Carmen with rose graphic

SATURDAY 8 & SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2025

Carmen

Exeter Opera Group performs Bizet’s tale of a free-spirited woman and her passionate and destructive love affair with a soldier.

EXETER CASTLE

Exeter Philharmonic Choir

SATURDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2025

The Weather Book

Exeter Philharmonic Choir performs a new weather-inspired work plus pieces by Brahms, Poulenc and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

EXETER CATHEDRAL