£70m masterplan for Exeter College approved

Councillors unanimously agree to scheme.

The works will take place over five phases and would see all but two of the existing buildings demolished and rebuilt with state-of-the-art replacements.

The iconic tower block would be demolished in the fifth and final phase.

Reserved matters application for each of the five phases would then have to be submitted and approved at a later date.

Steve Campion, Vice Principal, Finance & Business Operations at Exeter College, said: “We are delighted that Exeter City Council’s Planning Committee approved our outline application, which provides a framework for the redevelopment of the Hele Road site over the next 15 years. This allows the College to remain at the heart of the community, as a city centre site, serving learners in both Exeter and the wider Devon area.

“We’d like to thank local residents, stakeholder groups, the city council and our business partners in their supportive approach as we’ve developed our plans over the last 18 months.

“Following the recent completion of a new gym and dancefloor at our Queen Street site, the next major project will be the commencement of a new £10m Digital and Data Centre at the Hele Road site, beginning in Autumn 2019.”

The scheme had been recommended by planning officers for approval, saying that it will deliver upgraded, purpose built educational facilities, together with associated landscaping, pedestrian access improvements and associated infrastructure.

A report to the planning committee added: “The purpose of the masterplan and supporting documents is to ensure that this development comes forward in a coordinated, well-designed way. The planning permission will provide investment certainty for the College, as well as a degree of flexibility to enable the College to refine individual proposals to meet specific needs in the future.

“The 2016-2036 Property Strategy and Masterplan for the College estate observed that the quality of the College’s estate is generally good, however the buildings on the Hele Road Campus do not provide the quality of teaching spaces required for the future. There is also a need to provide additional teaching accommodation to meet projected student growth. This accommodation needs to be flexible, so that it can be utilised more efficiently.

“Apart from the positive social and environmental aspects of the proposal, the development will also have economic benefits. The College is estimated to generate £842m for the local economy over the next 20 years with a further £73m when taking into account cumulative impact. In addition, the College currently supports around 1,100 jobs in the city and employs 874 people directly.”

Supporting the scheme, Cllr Greg Sheldon said that he welcomed the application as so often, long term planning is lacking in major schemes.

The Masterplan includes no parking on the Hele Road site for students or for staff, and Cllr Sheldon added: “Most first year students aren’t old enough to drive and there is nowhere in the area to park unless you pay or risk a ticket. The site is between the two biggest railway stations in Exeter, so I welcome them to stay there rather than move to an outside of town site as so many of these sites tend to do.

“I do have concerns about the overlooking aspect, but there is currently a nine story building where you can see miles from, especially if you have a pair of binoculars, so whatever we end up with won’t be as bad as what we have now.”

Cllr Rachel Sutton added: “I welcome the masterplan approach of the college and I don’t think anyone thinks the tower block adds anything to Exeter. It reflects the level of consultation and time and effort put it and there is real quality in the masterplan.

“The pedestrian walkway through the campus to improve the link between St. David’s Station and the City Centre is welcome, and I do welcome the reduction of car parking on the site as we cannot just make it easy for people to keep bringing their cars into the city.”

Chairman of the committee, Cllr Rachel Lyons added: “I am so pleased that they plan to stay in the city centre, so it is good that they plan to redevelop the site in this way.”

The application, which has 26 planning conditions attached to it, was unanimously approved

A planning application for phase one of the redevelopment – a new South West Institute of Technology that would cater for up to 1,549 students has already been submitted and is awaiting determination by the city council.