Mixed feelings for proposed Exeter student flats block

'It is excessively tall, overbearing and wholly out of scale'

People living near the site of a proposed giant block of student flats in Exeter say it will be ‘overbearing’ and boring to look at.

Manchester-based Zinc Real Estate has just submitted revised plans for nearly 300 purpose-built student flats on the site of Clarendon House, which is partly used as the city’s job centre.

The existing building is five storeys high, but the new block would have up to 10 floors.

The latest plans are a slight revision to proposals submitted last autumn for the building in the ‘East Gate’ area on the junction of Heavitree Road and Western Way.

Zinc first shared its plans in December 2023, showing a 16-storey student block offering 350 beds.Following feedback, the revised scheme has cut the number of student rooms to 297, and reduced the highest part of the building to 10 storeys.

The developers say the area is seeing significant regeneration, with the new leisure centre and bus station acting as catalysts, and is deemed ideal for student flats.

Zinc is said to have looked at all options for the site, one of which was to convert it for residential use, but it favoured the purpose-built student accommodation route.

Almost every public comment on the city council’s website is an objection.

One says: “Despite the submission of amended plans, the proposal remains excessively tall, overbearing and wholly out of scale with its surroundings.

“The building is effectively 12 storeys high when the basement level and the enclosing wall to the roof terrace are properly taken into account.”

The objector says there is no robust evidence that Exeter needs any more purpose-built flats for students.

Another says the city’s priority should be affordable homes for local people, and the large block will destroy views of the cathedral from vantage points around the city.

She goes on: “It’s so boring to look at. I know Clarendon House wasn’t beautiful but why are we building such a BORING building?

“Why can’t we be more ambitious and have something interesting and artistic like in other European cities?”

The latest application will be considered by the city council’s planning committee in the coming months.