Former Police Station and Magistrates Court, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LS

outline planning application with all matters considered in detail except landscaping, for the demolition of the existing buildings and construction of mixed-use development comprising Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (Sui Generis) and Co-Living (Sui Generis) with associated infrastructure

Authority: Exeter City Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Baugh-Jones H

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effects of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, including its effects on a non-designated heritage asset, St Luke's College
The effects on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers in Higher Summerlands with regard to privacy and outlook

What decided it

The severe harm to the character and appearance of the area from the scale, mass and design of the proposed buildings outweighed the housing benefits of the scheme.

The significant benefits of market and affordable housing, PBSA and co-living provision were outweighed by the severe harm to the character and appearance of the area, tipping the balance against the proposal

Framework references: 11, 135, 130, 203, 197

Plan policies cited: CS Policy CP17, saved LP Policy H5, saved LP Policy DG1, LP Policy SG4b)

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.