Exeter ambulance station becomes shared housing

Student flats scrapped for co-living site

Plans for the redevelopment of the former ambulance station in Exeter will now see a purpose-built high-quality co-living development rather than student flats provided.

Latest proposals for the redevelopment of the Gladstone Road have been drawn up following in-depth discussions with Exeter City Council planners over many months.

Watkin Jones Group planned to demolish the site and replace it with a five storey student flats block of 154 bedspaces in a mixture of studios and cluster flats – 37 studios and 117 shared rooms.  But those plans have now been revised and will instead see 134 co-living studios provided instead.

Iain Smith, Planning Director for Watkin Jones, said: “We know that Exeter City Council has identified that co-living developments such as this will provide much-needed housing to help retain graduates in the city, helping it meet its ambitions for employment and productivity growth.

“The proposed scheme has been completely redesigned to reduce scale and massing. The introduction of pitched roofs means the building sits very comfortably within the immediate neighbourhood. We have also achieved larger room sizes for the 134 co-living studios, each of which will accommodate a double bed, kitchenette, bathroom, study area and casual seating within a 20 sq. m room – larger than the average co-living studio in other UK cities.

“The location is also ideal for residents to be able to take advantage of the city’s major leisure, entertainment, and retail offerings.

Subject to planning permission, it is hoped to welcome its first new residents in 2022.

Exeter City Council planners will determine the fate of the application at a later date.

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has previously confirmed that the Exeter ambulance station in Gladstone Road is being sold with the sale said to be ‘progressing’ and that they are in the process of identifying a suitable alternative site in Exeter.