Coming to St James: student flats and a Co-op!

Students will be able to nip down to buy booze at 6am (if they're out of bed)

A new supermarket is coming to Exeter as part of a student flats development.

Planning permission for a mixed use scheme on Old Tiverton Road, near to the St James Park home of Exeter City was granted in May 2016. The scheme comprises of retail space on the ground floor with two upper floors, comprising nine self-contained student studio flats (providing 10 student bed spaces in total), but no name for the retailer was known.

But the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal that a Co-op supermarket is lined up for the site as a premises licence for a new Co-op has been submitted to Exeter City Council.

The licence application suggests the supermarket is set to become the tenant on the ground floor of a new student flats block that is being built on the site of the former car wash. It is a separate scheme to the new tower block that will house 312 students behind St James Park that financed the replacement 1,600 seater Old Grandstand at the ground, but there will be pedestrian access between the two developments.

When the scheme for Old Tiverton Road was approved, planners said that the creation of a relatively small retail outlet in this area will enhance vibrancy and vitality in the area and replace some of the employment lost from the closure of the car wash and commercial repairs business, but would also be in a location that was sustainable and not require vehicle access, although nine parking spaces would be provided.

The premises licence that the Co-operative Group have asked for would enable them to sell alcohol between 6am and 11pm, Monday to Sunday. Exeter City Council will determine the fate of the application and representations on the premises licence must be made in writing to the council by New Years’s Day.

Gareth Dexter, Regional Acquisitions Manager for the Co-op, said: “We’re looking forward to opening a new store in Exeter . We’re delighted to have the opportunity to provide shoppers with our wide range of award-winning food, in a store designed to be easy to use for everyone.

“The new store will also bring a funding boost for community groups through the Co-op’s Membership scheme. Members receive a five per cent reward on purchases of own-branded products and services, with a further one per cent going directly to local causes to make a difference in the community.”