University of Exeter on-campus accommodation plans given go-ahead

The application for new student residences at East Park, on the University’s Streatham Campus, was discussed by Exeter City Council’s planning committee on Monday, April 24.

Following a constructive debate, the committee voted 6-3 in favour of granting planning permission for the East Park site.

Works on the new accommodation, which strengthen the University’s commitment to reducing pressure on the city’s housing stock by accommodating more students on campus, are due to be completed by September 2021.

Mike Shore-Nye, Registrar and Secretary of the University of Exeter said: “We are pleased that, following on-going consultation with the local community and councillors, the planning committee has approved the revised application for East Park.

“Since the initial proposals for this new, on-campus accommodation were announced last year, we have held positive discussions with the community, and I thank them for their time, questions and suggestions.

“We took on board their comments and, as a result, reduced the overall floor space of the development, and both the size and also number of buildings within the proposals, as well as ensuring more than 70 per cent of the green space on the site will be allocated to landscaping.

“We are committed to easing pressures on the city’s housing stock, and are confident that by offering more student accommodation on campus we will be able to achieve this aim. The new residences will also create dozens of additional jobs for the local community both during the construction phase and when operational.”

The original planning application was discussed by the Council’s planning committee in February and, following constructive debate, was deferred to allow for further discussions between the University and local community.

As well as taking into consideration continuous feedback from residents since the proposals were announced last year, the University has also recently met with key representatives from neighbouring wards to review the outline plans. As a result, the East Park development has been revised to reflect the feedback of all the consultations and community engagement.

The new plans include an overall reduction of more than 18 per cent in floor space from the initial outline plan, while three blocks have been reduced in height, two blocks have been removed altogether, and the development has also been drawn away from the eastern edge of the proposed site, closest to the neighbouring residential areas.

This means the overall open green space on the proposed site has been increased to 73% overall.

The University has already demonstrated its commitment to reducing pressure on the city’s housing stock in recent years, including building £130 million worth of new student accommodation on its Streatham Campus providing for 2,600 students.