Major new plans for Exeter's old police station
New plans have been revealed for the redevelopment of Exeter's former police station and magistrates court which closed four years ago. Last year Exeter City Council's (ECC) planning committee rejected plans to demolish the buildings and create two 'monolithic' student and co-living blocks opposite St Luke’s Campus in Heavitree Road.
The previous plans, submitted by the police and crime commissioner’s office and its chosen developer Student Roost, would have seen 646 student flats as well as 318 co-living apartments built on the land. The scheme had been recommended for approval but it was refused in February 2023 for reasons including the adverse impact of its scale and mass, insufficient provision of residential amenity space, the harm it would do to the surrounding area and the loss of 26 trees on the site.
The plans had been altered after planners said they were ‘minded to refuse’ previous plans unveiled the year before, with the total number of rooms cut by 80 to 955. Both buildings were also reduced in height and the blocks set back further from the road.
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In total, the plans underwent eight design iterations and four rounds of public consultation. An appeal against the refusal was rejected by a planning inspector in December 2023 for reasons including its size and impact on the surrounding area.
The latest pre-application proposals are to build 381 student flats and 357 co-living apartments, along with a commercial unit and associated infrastructure and landscaping. The plans, shared by planning consultancy DPP, which also acted as agent for the failed scheme, state the site will be broken up into eight separate blocks to 'visually reduce the perception' of the development from Heavitree Road, and to create a scheme that is 'more reflective of the character of the area'.
The site will be laid out with four co-living blocks situated to the west, along with three blocks of student accommodation to the east, south of the Gorge student development and directly opposite St. Luke’s Campus. A commercial unit will be sited to the south-east, at the junction of Gladstone Road and Heavitree Road, providing a prominent public space and creating 'active frontage' opposite the entrance to St. Luke’s Campus.
The student and co-living schemes will both have separate accessible parking areas for a small number of vehicles and each building will also have its own internal bike store at ground floor level. An internal service road will run around the back of the blocks, along the western and northern boundary to allow access to the accessible parking areas and for deliveries.
In terms of open space, each side of the site will be centred around a semi-permeable open courtyard area providing open amenity space for residents. The co-living courtyard to the west will contain growing spaces for gardening, while the student courtyard will contain seating areas for students. There will also be further outdoor seating situated around the commercial unit along Heavitree Road. Several established trees along this frontage have also been retained.
A public consultation has been launched to receive feedback for the proposals before the plans are submitted to ECC for approval. The deadline for comments to be received is October 9.
To view the plans and take part in the consultation, click here.