®Planning appeal decision
Clifton House, Clifton Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 2BH
Planning appeal 3356032 at Clifton House, Clifton Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 2BH (Exeter City Council) was dismissed on 19 May 2025 by Inspector Kent R, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: whether the proposal would be acceptable in this location with particular regard to the level of student accommodation in the surrounding area.
erection of six purpose built student accommodation units
- Authority
- Exeter City Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Other minor developments
- Inspector
- Kent R
- Postcode
- EX1 2BH
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- whether the proposal would be acceptable in this location with particular regard to the level of student accommodation in the surrounding area
- whether the proposed development would provide adequate living conditions for future occupants of the accommodation with particular reference to internal living space and external amenity space
What decided it
The adverse impacts of granting permission—moderate harm from adding to student accommodation concentration and substantial harm to future occupants' living conditions—significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the Framework policies as a whole.
The moderate harm from adding to student accommodation concentration and substantial harm to living conditions outweighed the modest benefit of providing additional PBSA and limited short-term economic benefits, despite the Council's inability to demonstrate five years' housing land supply.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- LP policy H5LP policy DG4CS Objective 3CS Objective 9
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 11
- Judgments
- Exeter City Council vs. Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Waddeton Park Limited and The R B Nelder Trust [2015] EWHC 1663
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.