COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
SEND deficit deal demands £50m budget cuts, £13m asset sales and use of £20m financial reserves
Department for Education to contribute £95 million over nine years, but terms of deal require Devon County Council to break even on SEND within two years despite five years of multi-million pound overspends.
PLANNING & PLACE
Secretary of State overturns council decision to waive Southgate site Environmental Impact Assessment
Proposals for up to 200 flats in high-rise tower blocks have potentially significant impacts on Exe Estuary avian flightpaths, Exeter Cathedral skyline, listed buildings and ancient city walls placing protected landscapes and heritage assets at risk.
PLANNING & PLACE
Judge quashes planning permission for 350 homes at St Bridget Nurseries in Old Rydon Lane
High Court judgement finds city council did not properly discharge duties or take material considerations into account, council officer seriously misled planning committee and county council failed in statutory local highway authority role.
PLANNING & PLACE
Heavitree Road police station & magistrates court redevelopment appeal dismissed
Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and offshore development partner sent back to drawing board after attempt to overturn city council decision to refuse two huge student/co-living blocks fails.
PLANNING & PLACE
Student landlord submits new plans for Union Road HMO back garden block following appeal failure
Application for six bedroom, single storey purpose built student accommodation block made on site of refused ten bedroom, two storey scheme in garden of thirteen bedroom shared student house.
TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Regional transport infrastructure strategy published for public consultation
Framework seeks to draw together major evidence base assembled over several years to address key challenges to 2050 including integration of walking and cycling with local bus and rail network and freight decarbonisation.
PLANNING & PLACE
Clifton Hill sports centre site - with adjacent green space - and Mary Arches car park set for sale for PBSA
Reversal of policy to prohibit Purpose Built Student Accommodation on city council land proposed to cover expected £9 million outstanding Exeter City Living debt, with £800,000 budget proposed for site disposal costs.
PLANNING & PLACE
Planning inspectors uphold decisions to refuse illuminated city centre advertising screens
Appeal dismissals conclude JCDecaux 'multifunction hubs' would materially harm character, appearance and visual amenity and have 'very limited' benefits in Sidwell Street, Paris Street and South Street with High Street hub decision to follow.
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TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Heavitree & Whipton Active Streets trial consultation to restart as taxi bus gate use introduced
More than 4,000 responses submitted in first eleven weeks with 1,650 people attending public exhibitions on scheme intended to reduce motor vehicle through traffic and increase walking and cycling.
ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Exeter employment rate second lowest in South West for second year running
Economic inactivity levels related to large student and retiree population remain high, creating recruitment challenges from healthcare to refuse collection, but council celebrates top retirement destination ranking as 'more good news'.
PLANNING & PLACE
County council to sell land and buildings worth up to £10 million to raise money and cut costs
Wedding venue Larkbeare House and gardens, County Hall residential development land and Compass House, home of adult mental health service Talkworks, among assets for disposal as part of property rationalisation programme.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
St Thomas library forced to relocate when lease expires in November
Landlord Exeter Estates Holdings, controlled by Exeter Chiefs CEO and chairman Tony Rowe, sought substantial rent increase after withdrawing planning application to demolish library building and replace it with block of thirteen flats.
PLANNING & PLACE
Developer appeals Heavitree Road police station & magistrates court student/co-living blocks refusal
Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and offshore-registered PBSA Heavitree Road S.A.R.L. seek to overturn Exeter City Council decision to reject application for 964-bed development beside The Gorge.
PLANNING & PLACE
First Exeter 'co-living' rooms advertised to let from £1,045-£1,360 per month plus council tax
£40,800 minimum salary to rent 26.5 square metre room in six storey 133-unit block, promoted as two minutes' walk from university St Luke's campus, requiring tenants among top 20% of Exeter earners – or with wealthy guarantors.
PLANNING & PLACE
City council grants Howell Road garage flats permission despite pending PBSA appeal on same site
Developer still aims to build student accommodation block saying flats would be 'backstop' against loss of appeal while St James residents concerned students will occupy development either way.
PLANNING & PLACE
New Community Infrastructure Levy charges to be introduced by city council
Charges levied on most new development towards the cost of infrastructure that is needed to mitigate its impact are to change in line with council proposals that discount co-living development to facilitate its delivery.
TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
New Heavitree & Whipton Active Streets scheme public exhibitions
Devon County Council is holding two further public exhibitions of the Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets scheme from 4.30-6.30pm on 12 September at Whipton Community Hall and at the same time on 14 September at St Mark’s Church Hall.
TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Public consultation on county council moving traffic offence enforcement powers
Devon County Council is holding a public consultation until 18 September on its plans to adopt moving traffic offence enforcement powers and introduce Automatic Number Place Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
City council invites comments on digital customer service transformation
Exeter City Council is inviting comments until 15 September on a draft digital customer service strategy that aims to make more efficient use of council resources by increasing its reliance on digital technology for service delivery.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
£1 million leisure overspend fuels £3.2 million city council deficit
2022-23 budget review confirms £2.2 million annual leisure subsidy to continue with St Sidwell's Point expected to make a loss for at least five years while another £22 million to be spent on Exeter City Living Vaughan Road development.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter councillor Yvonne Atkinson found in breach of code of conduct but escapes prosecution
Summary of investigation related to rental property interests involving Devon & Cornwall Police and Crown Prosecution Service withheld by Devon County Council while councillor campaigned for re-election to Exeter City Council.
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PLANNING & PLACE
University comes clean on true Exeter campus student numbers over past two decades
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information Act confirm between 7,500 and 12,000 more students based in city each year than university numbers suggest – until this year – with major implications for council planning policy.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Devon County Council admits 'serious, material, well-evidenced' governance failures
Deficient SEND and children's services combine with threat of section 114 bankruptcy notice to prompt 'root and branch' review aimed at restoring 'external confidence in the council's democratic legitimacy'.
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ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
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.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Devon County Council charged with 'relentless institutional failings' in SEND children's services provision
Children with special educational needs and disabilities protest alongside parents at County Hall as Ofsted monitoring continues to find serious unresolved issues and key areas that require significant change.
PLANNING & PLACE
Information Commissioner to investigate university over student accommodation numbers refusal
Compliance failure follows university admission that nearly 39,000 students based at Exeter campuses in 2021-22, suggesting around three quarters of city's private rented housing stock occupied by students.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Reclaim the Night protest against sexual violence and harassment of women and girls in public space
Exeter event takes place after survey finding that 85% felt unsafe or very unsafe when walking alone in city centre at night, with police figures showing violent and sexual offences exceed 35% of all recorded crime in city.
PLANNING & PLACE
University says 39,000 students – nearly 30% of city's population – based at Exeter campuses in 2021-22
Freedom of information request reveals 11,500 more students than published FTE figures with major implications for council planning policy but university refuses to disclose numbers in PBSA vs residential housing stock.
PLANNING & PLACE
Council rejects calls for greater community involvement in Exeter planning policy and decisions
Council defends existing approach despite Statement of Community Involvement consultation producing just 17 responses, and won't do more to promote neighbourhood planning despite prospect of enhanced community powers.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter ranked bottom of Russell Group and 103rd overall in social mobility league table
Landmark study by Institute for Fiscal Studies, Sutton Trust and Department for Education finds University of Exeter undergraduates are less likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those that do are less likely to be high earners.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
South West Water misses pollution targets for tenth year running
Environment Agency says regional company's performance 'drags down the whole sector's reputation' as report places it at bottom of annual assessment league table while company pays out millions in shareholder dividends.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Environmental activist Imogen May defiant after second liability order for non-payment of council tax
Extinction Rebellion demonstrated at Exeter Law Courts in support of Crediton lone parent who has withheld council tax for two years in protest over government climate crisis inaction.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
South West Exeter district heating network plan abandoned
Property developers refuse to back scheme despite local authorities committing £7.3 million to project to supply 2500 new homes with waste heat from Marsh Barton incinerator, Exeter's largest single source of carbon emissions.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
World Meteorological Organization report confirms 'relentless' intensification of climate crisis despite pandemic lockdowns
2020 set to be equal warmest year on record despite cooling La Niña while Internal Energy Agency warns post-pandemic economic stimulus expected to drive second largest annual increase in carbon emissions in history and UK emissions set to overshoot 2030 target by 40%.
ARTS & CULTURE
Council announces plan to produce 'Exeter the Musical' at city's Corn Exchange
Exeter City Council has announced a plan to produce a musical theatre extravaganza billed as 'an ambitious celebration of a better life in the world's most world-class city' as part of its UNESCO City of Literature celebrations.
TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Okehampton to Exeter 'Dartmoor Line' passenger rail service reinstatement confirmed
£40 million Department for Transport 'Restoring your Railway' funding to enable trains every two hours by end of this year, with plans to increase to hourly service during 2022. Stakeholders combine to get South West infrastructure needs onto Whitehall agenda.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Report places Devon County Council among UK's top local authority fossil fuel investors
£157 million of Devon Local Government Pension Scheme is invested in companies including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BHP, Anglo American and ExxonMobil despite local authority climate emergency declarations and carbon reduction commitments.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
May local elections to go ahead despite COVID-19 challenges
Ban on doorstep canvassing and door to door leaflet distribution likely to favour the two major parties on 6 May as postal and proxy voting encouraged in Exeter City Council, Devon County Council and Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
District heating network planned for new South West Exeter development
Local councils are investing up to £7.3 million in a £23 million project to supply a development of 2500 homes with heat which depends on the Marsh Barton waste incinerator, Exeter's largest single source of carbon emissions.
TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Council abandons temporary COVID-19 cycling and walking safety plans in Exeter city centre
Devon County Council cites 'pushback' from traders as schemes on North Street, South Street, Fore Street and Cowick Street are scrapped. Meanwhile temporary changes in Topsham are dropped after 'snap poll'.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Council announces £1.584m April budget shortfall caused by COVID-19 restrictions
Council revenues have fallen dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, prompting a £6.357 million capital spending deferment. But financial support from government has so far been limited.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter strike ends third week with rally and concert at St David's Church
The Exeter branch of the University & College Union (UCU) is taking part in four weeks of national industrial action over pensions, equal pay for female and BAME staff, increasing workloads and the use of casual employment contracts.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter climate strike anniversary march brings junction to standstill
Protestors form human chain around County Hall to highlight Devon County Council's role as key regional climate policy decision-maker after Exeter City Council confiscates banners promoting carbon neutral blueprint policies.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter PRISM network champions queer STEMM pioneers
Exeter students celebrated the lives of polar explorer and botanist Elke Mackenzie, inventor, engineer and futurist Nikola Tesla and astronaut and children's author Sally Ride in winning LGBT+ network competition entries.
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter staff strike over pay, pensions and working conditions
The Exeter branch of the University & College Union (UCU) is taking part in a national eight day strike for fair pay and pensions, including equal pay for female and BAME staff, and against casualisation and increasing workloads.
ARTS & CULTURE
Rainbow Trail LGBTQIA+ exhibition queers RAMM for Exeter Pride 2019
A new collaboration between X-Plore Youth Devon, Exeter College LGBTQ+ society, Natalie McGrath of Dreadnought SW and Dr Jana Funke of the University of Exeter explores gender and sexual diversity across time, place and culture by reimagining objects from the RAMM collections.
DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter Labour loses local elections in all three city centre wards
Voters in Exeter yesterday elected three new councillors to represent them in the key wards that cover the city centre, with all the city's ruling Exeter Labour group candidates missing out despite the party's confident campaign.
