Walnut Gardens in Exeter to be turned into student flats

City Council previously turned it down.

Exeter City Council’s planning committee in September 2019 had turned down a  scheme for Walnut Gardens off St David’s Hill and Hele Road, which would have seen the former BBC studio as well as Beech Hill House demolished.

A five storey block of student flats with a 166 bedspaces created, consisting of 138 student bedrooms within cluster flats, 19 self-contained studio flats and nine accessible studios, were included in the plans, as were a gym and a cinema.

Planning officers earlier in 2019 had turned down a larger scheme that would have seen 192 bedspaces provided.

Crosslane Student Development though appealed against the refusal of both plans, and a planning inspector dismissed the appeal against the 192 bed scheme, but allowed the 166 bed scheme.

In his report, planning inspector Neil Pope admitted that some interested parties would be disappointed in his findings, but that local opposition to a proposal is not by itself sufficient grounds for withholding planning permission.

When the plans went before councillors in September, they rounded on the scheme and rejected it on the grounds of scale and massing, the design of the building, and the imbalance it would have on the community.

But Mr Pope said: “The development advanced under appeal B (the 166 bed scheme) strikes the appropriate balance between accommodating growth within the city and safeguarding the quality of the local environment, including the living conditions of neighbouring residents. This proposal accords with the overall provisions of the development plan and comprises sustainable development. H

“Having carefully assessed this scheme against locally adopted policies, I note that planning officers, when advising members, recommended it for approval.

“The limited harm to the significance of the Conservation Area and the impact upon the living conditions of the occupiers of Nos. 55-61 St. David’s Hill that I have identified would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the substantial benefits of this development when assessed against the policies taken as a whole.

“It has not been demonstrated that the numbers of students that would occupy the site would result in an overconcentration of student accommodation within this part of the city, or harm to the character of the area or any imbalance in the local population. This appeal should therefore succeed.”

But on appeal A (the 192 bed scheme), Mr Pope said: “The public benefits of the proposals would not outweigh the less than substantial harm to the significance and character and appearance of the Conservation Area. Permission should therefore be withheld for this scheme. Moreover, when the harm that I have also found to the living conditions of some neighbouring residents is added to the overall planning balance there is a clear case for dismissing this appeal.”