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'Yes' to houses. 'No' to road getting to them!

The current proposed access into the new housing development is from Ringswell Avenue

Exeter councillors happy for 48 new homes on old school site, but developers asked to find a new route to access them

Developers have been asked to go away and try and find a different access route to a proposed new housing scheme next to a primary school in Exeter.

Plans to build 48 homes on the site of the former St Lukes High School site that was left following the construction of the St Nicholas Catholic Primary school in Ringswell Avenue were recommended for approval when Exeter City Council planners discussed them last week. But councillors were concerned about the proposed access to the site through Ringswell Avenue and not through the ‘far more sensible’ Bramley Avenue and Ribston Avenue to the north.

Councillors voted by 10 votes to two abstentions to defer the application to allow discussions to take place with the various landowners to see if that access route was an option.

Speaking against the plans, Cllr Peter Holland (Conservative) said: “This will treble the number of homes in Ringswell Avenue. The primary school do welcome this and it will tidy up the site and I would rather see us fill in brownfield sites inside the city before we dig up the beautiful countryside. But common sense should prevail and traffic should be taken through Ribston Avenue.”

Keith Fulford, speaking on behalf of the Ringswell Avenue residents association said that this would will significantly add to the congestion in the cul-de-sac.

He added: “The developer has only proposed one access route, so I urge the committee to recognise the flaws in vehicle access to the site. On a day-to-day basis it is quite common for traffic to be backed up through the road in both directions and waiting to pass each other....If there are any cars parked on one side of the road, it becomes a single access road and buses have to use pavements, and thus, no emergency vehicle could access the road.”

But Alex Graves on behalf of the developer said that the highways authority had not objected to the plans or the access route, claiming the brownfield site will address a significant need for new homes in Exeter and 17 homes will be affordable.” Asked why the access to the site was through Ringswell Avenue and not Ribston Avenue, he said: “We have not rejected it but it is not an option for us as we don’t control sufficient land to provide access from any other point that would allow the road to be adopted to an acceptable standard.”

Cllr Yolanda Henson (Conservative) said: “There is no worry about the development on the land, but it is the access to Ringswell Avenue that is causing us a great deal of problems. We need to approach those who own the parts of the land for the other access point and see if we can crack this. There has to be another entrance to be used.”

Cllr Pete Edwards (Labour leader) didn't object to the development, only the access to it. He said; "It is just common sense that the access would be through Bramley Avenue.”

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