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Exeter Observer is published by Exeter Observer Limited, Community Benefit Society No. 8435 registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

Our registered address is St. Sidwell’s Community Centre, Sidwell Street, Exeter EX4 6NN.

Council borrowing nearly triples in three years as property acquisitions and development loans mount

Freedom of information request reveals five paragraph "outline business plan" for £55 million Guildhall shopping centre investment.

Extinction Rebellion UK tour bus outside Exeter City Council's Paris Street offices

COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

World car free day ignored in Exeter as Extinction Rebellion challenges council climate inaction

Protestors gathered outside council offices as CEO Karime Hassan posed for photo with construction company development manager at Princesshay promotion.

The Gorge co-living block classic studio room floorplan

NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE

First Exeter "co-living" block comes on stream with rooms at £946pcm+

Even "affordable" rooms in six storey 133-unit Gladstone Road block would leave many local key workers living below minimum income threshold.

Summerland Street co-living block redevelopment site

NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE

Council paves way for 186-bed "co-living" block in Summerland Street

Freedom of information request reveals intended scale of development after executive committee takes decision behind closed doors.

Exeter City Futures Exeter Development Fund presentation slide

COMMENT ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE

Exeter Development Fund: rent extraction, unaffordable housing and gentrification, but not net zero

Exeter City Futures' private debt-driven Liveable Exeter property development financing scheme is under fire from councillors who say it is based on insufficiently-evidenced assumptions and won't meet Exeter's housing needs.

COMMENT ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

Exeter cycling & walking strategy five years late and counting

County council soft-pedalling on infrastructure plan which city council says will not form part of new Exeter Local Plan despite Department for Transport guidance.

First Exeter "co-living" block comes on stream with rooms at £946pcm+

Even "affordable" rooms in six storey 133-unit Gladstone Road block would leave many local key workers living below minimum income threshold.

PLANNING & PLACE

Council paves way for 186-bed "co-living" block in Summerland Street

Freedom of information request reveals intended scale of development after executive committee takes decision behind closed doors.

Exeter Article 4 Direction area July 2011 map

PLANNING & PLACE

St. James HMO conversion refusal overturned at appeal

Council failed to provide sufficient evidence to support 2012 planning policy introduced to limit impact of student occupation of residential housing stock.

All News

Analysis

Exeter City Council government borrowing 2014-2022 bar chart

ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE

Council borrowing nearly triples in three years as property acquisitions and development loans mount

Freedom of information request reveals five paragraph "outline business plan" for £55 million Guildhall shopping centre investment.

Stagecoach app showing Exeter bus service delays and cancellations

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

Bus back better? Exeter services expected to remain unfit for purpose without needed changes

Government underfunding and bus sector challenges limit scope for improvement but county council failure to upgrade routes and policy ambitions plus high housing costs make Exeter difficulties acute, undermining net zero aspirations.

Exeter City Futures website - vision & mission summary

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

University emissions study confirms Net Zero Exeter plan redundancy

Council retains Exeter City Futures' services despite history of delivery failures and lack of capacity to support defined decarbonisation targets.

All Analysis

Comment

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT

World car free day ignored in Exeter as Extinction Rebellion challenges council climate inaction

Protestors gathered outside council offices as CEO Karime Hassan posed for photo with construction company development manager at Princesshay promotion.

PLANNING & PLACE

Exeter Development Fund: rent extraction, unaffordable housing and gentrification, but not net zero

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

Exeter cycling & walking strategy five years late and counting

County council soft-pedalling on infrastructure plan which city council says will not form part of new Exeter Local Plan despite Department for Transport guidance.

All Comment

Notes & sketches

Race in pole position

Exeter Labour looks set to pick Steve Race as the party’s parliamentary candidate at the next general election after retiring incumbent Ben Bradshaw anointed his former assistant as his heir apparent in what has been a fairly safe Labour seat since the 1997 landslide...

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Bundling boards

The third in a series of city council scrutiny meetings intended to satisfy councillors that Exeter Development Fund is a way to put Exeter on the map rather than the council’s financial viability at risk took place last week...

DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE

Irrationale by design?

The second of two RAMM-hosted Liveable Exeter promotional events, focussed on Exeter’s future as a “garden city”, took place last night with the city council’s Director of City Development, Ian Collinson topping the bill...

PLANNING & PLACE

All Notes & sketches

The Exeter Digest

Exeter Digest #16: Co-living costs - Summerland Street tower - Car free day ignored

Our essential newsletter also includes a selection of community and culture events and signposts our briefing on the new Exeter Local Plan.

Exeter Digest #15: Bus back better? - Net zero redundancy - Development fund under fire

Our bumper holiday newsletter also covers a St. James' HMO appeal, planning enforcement changes, scope 3 emissions failure, cycling and walking strategy delays and property development promotion as community planning participation.

Exeter Digest #14: Exeter beset - Alphington impacts - Magdalen Road - Community involvement?

Our essential newsletter also covers continuing Exeter Development Fund scrutiny, missing meetings minutes from Exeter City Futures and Devon Climate Emergency Response Group, Liveable Exeter confusion and local design code reforms.

All Exeter Digest

On the agenda

New Exeter local plan draft consultation

A consultation on the outline draft version of the new Exeter local plan, which will guide development in the city until 2040, is currently taking place.

All topics

ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY AIR QUALITY AIR QUALITY AIR QUALITY COP26 COP26 COP26 COVID-19 COVID-19 COVID-19 CITYPOINT CITYPOINT CITYPOINT CLIFTON HILL SPORTS CENTRE CLIFTON HILL SPORTS CENTRE CLIFTON HILL SPORTS CENTRE CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE CRISIS CO-LIVING CO-LIVING CO-LIVING CONGESTION CONGESTION CONGESTION COUNCIL TAX COUNCIL TAX COUNCIL TAX CROWN ESTATE CROWN ESTATE CROWN ESTATE CYCLING & WALKING CYCLING & WALKING CYCLING & WALKING DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT DEVON CARBON PLAN DEVON CARBON PLAN DEVON CARBON PLAN DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL DEVON PENSION FUND DEVON PENSION FUND DEVON PENSION FUND EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL EAST DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL EXETER AIRPORT EXETER AIRPORT EXETER AIRPORT EXETER CATHEDRAL EXETER CATHEDRAL EXETER CATHEDRAL EXETER CITY COUNCIL EXETER CITY COUNCIL EXETER CITY COUNCIL EXETER CITY FUTURES EXETER CITY FUTURES EXETER CITY FUTURES EXETER CITY LIVING EXETER CITY LIVING EXETER CITY LIVING EXETER COLLEGE EXETER COLLEGE EXETER COLLEGE EXETER CULTURE EXETER CULTURE EXETER CULTURE EXETER DEVELOPMENT FUND EXETER DEVELOPMENT FUND EXETER DEVELOPMENT FUND EXETER EXTINCTION REBELLION EXETER EXTINCTION REBELLION EXETER EXTINCTION REBELLION EXETER LIVE BETTER EXETER LIVE BETTER EXETER LIVE BETTER EXETER LOCAL PLAN EXETER LOCAL PLAN EXETER LOCAL PLAN EXETER PHOENIX EXETER PHOENIX EXETER PHOENIX EXETER PRIDE EXETER PRIDE EXETER PRIDE EXETER SCIENCE PARK EXETER SCIENCE PARK EXETER SCIENCE PARK EXETER ST. DAVID'S EXETER ST. DAVID'S EXETER ST. DAVID'S EXETER TRANSPORT STRATEGY EXETER TRANSPORT STRATEGY EXETER TRANSPORT STRATEGY EXETER CITY CENTRE EXETER CITY CENTRE EXETER CITY CENTRE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE EXETER FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE EXETER FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE EXETER GENERAL ELECTIONS GENERAL ELECTIONS GENERAL ELECTIONS GUILDHALL GUILDHALL GUILDHALL HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST LEP HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST LEP HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST LEP HOUSING CRISIS HOUSING CRISIS HOUSING CRISIS LGBTQIA+ LGBTQIA+ LGBTQIA+ LIVEABLE EXETER PLACE BOARD LIVEABLE EXETER PLACE BOARD LIVEABLE EXETER PLACE BOARD LIVEABLE EXETER LIVEABLE EXETER LIVEABLE EXETER LOCAL INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY LOCAL INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY LOCAL INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL ELECTIONS LOCAL ELECTIONS MAKETANK MAKETANK MAKETANK MARSH BARTON MARSH BARTON MARSH BARTON MET OFFICE MET OFFICE MET OFFICE MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL MID DEVON DISTRICT COUNCIL NET ZERO EXETER NET ZERO EXETER NET ZERO EXETER NORTHERNHAY GARDENS NORTHERNHAY GARDENS NORTHERNHAY GARDENS OXYGEN HOUSE OXYGEN HOUSE OXYGEN HOUSE PARIS STREET PARIS STREET PARIS STREET PARKING PARKING PARKING PENINSULA TRANSPORT PENINSULA TRANSPORT PENINSULA TRANSPORT PLANNING POLICY PLANNING POLICY PLANNING POLICY PRINCESSHAY PRINCESSHAY PRINCESSHAY PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC CONSULTATION PUBLIC CONSULTATION PUBLIC CONSULTATION PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC REALM PUBLIC REALM PUBLIC REALM PUBLIC TRANSPORT PUBLIC TRANSPORT PUBLIC TRANSPORT RAMM RAMM RAMM REFUSE & RECYCLING REFUSE & RECYCLING REFUSE & RECYCLING RETROFIT RETROFIT RETROFIT RIVERSIDE VALLEY PARK RIVERSIDE VALLEY PARK RIVERSIDE VALLEY PARK ROYAL DEVON & EXETER NHS TRUST ROYAL DEVON & EXETER NHS TRUST ROYAL DEVON & EXETER NHS TRUST SIDWELL STREET SIDWELL STREET SIDWELL STREET SOUTH WEST EXETER EXTENSION SOUTH WEST EXETER EXTENSION SOUTH WEST EXETER EXTENSION SOUTH WEST WATER SOUTH WEST WATER SOUTH WEST WATER SOUTHERNHAY SOUTHERNHAY SOUTHERNHAY SPORT ENGLAND LOCAL DELIVERY PILOT SPORT ENGLAND LOCAL DELIVERY PILOT SPORT ENGLAND LOCAL DELIVERY PILOT ST. SIDWELL'S COMMUNITY CENTRE ST. SIDWELL'S COMMUNITY CENTRE ST. SIDWELL'S COMMUNITY CENTRE ST. SIDWELL'S POINT ST. SIDWELL'S POINT ST. SIDWELL'S POINT STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST STAGECOACH SOUTH WEST STUDENT ACCOMMODATION STUDENT ACCOMMODATION STUDENT ACCOMMODATION TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL TEIGNBRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL UNIVERSITY OF EXETER UNIVERSITY OF EXETER UNIVERSITY OF EXETER