Exeter Observer guides

Exeter regional planning & place

A guide to help potential contributors develop their understanding of planning and place policy and practice in and around Exeter.

If you are considering contributing to Exeter Observer please see our contributors guide.

This guide is work in progress, and may require revision: please get in touch with any corrections or suggestions for additional content, including key documents.

National planning framework

  • 1947 Town & Country Planning Act - “nationalisation” of land, urban sprawl, post-war context
  • Labour regional spatial strategies, would have gone to now-defunct Regional Development Agencies (RDAs)
  • 2000s - 20+ Planning Policy Statements
  • 2010 - National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Infrastructure policy statements, all intended to short circuit traditional system

NB don’t attempt to master the detail!

Regional planning

Local planning

  • Exeter City Council (ECC) Local Plan

    • Composition
    • Process for adoption
    • Five year land supply problem
    • Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) cf. PBSA
    • Neighbourhood Plans inc. Ide, St James

Key issues

  • St Sidwell’s Point - bus station redevelopment + Passivhaus leisure centre inc. Paris Street closure?
  • Citypoint inc. build to rent/co-living?
  • Liveable Exeter “Transformational housing delivery programme” inc. Future Places scheme
  • Exeter City Group inc. Exeter City Living - capital and revenue financing, Clifton Hill sports centre site
  • Housing Revenue Account and Prudential borrowing limits
  • Purpose Build Student Accommodation (PBSA) - St James Article 4 Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)
  • Housing costs vs wages - Exeter now sixth least affordable city in country
  • Eastwards development inc. Cranbrook, Monkerton, Newcourt + Growth Point/Enterprise Zone inc. science park/skypark/airport, Sandy Gate + retail sites inc. Moor Exchange, Middlemoor (D&C Police), Western Power Distribution
  • Ikea - 28,000m2 retail, parking for 1000 cars, generating 390,000 linked journeys into city centre each year
  • Exeter College Hele Road redevelopment
  • Royal Clarence Hotel
  • South Street regeneration inc. closure?
  • Corn Exchange revelopment vs. purpose-built performance venue
  • Exeter City Council surface car park redevelopment
  • Exeter Quay inc. Mallison bridge
  • Cranbrook

  • Building Greater Exeter skills initiative

Key documents

  • ECC core strategy DPD adopted Feb 2012
  • ECC Exeter city centre vision for a green capital Apr 2011
  • ECC housing strategy 2016-2020
  • ECC Liveable Exeter Feb 2019
  • ECC local development scheme Jan 2017
  • ECC South Street urban design proposals Aug 2018
  • ECC St Sidwell’s Point Dec 2018
  • Exeter & East Devon Growth Point LGA case study Jul 2017
  • Exeter St James Neighbourhood Plan Mar 2013
  • ECC Exeter strategic housing land availability assessment (revised) 2015

More guides

Guides covering other Exeter regional policy and practice areas are also being prepared.

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On our radar
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New Exeter Local Plan

New Exeter local plan

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