Controversial Exeter flats deferred

Nearly 1,000 people objected

A much-criticised application involving new retirement apartments in Exeter has been deferred after the city council received a petition with nearly a thousand signatures.

Construction of what will become 146 new homes is underway at the former Royal Academy for Deaf Education campus on Topsham Road. A nursery and a 68-bed care home will also be built.

A 61-bed assisted living complex was also in the original permission, but a developer wants to put up 84 retirement apartments instead, with access from the adjoining Weirfield Road cul-de-sac and a drop off point on Topsham Road.

However, after Exeter City Council’s planning committee heard that 952 people had signed a petition against the access plan, along with uncertainty surrounding affordable housing provision, councillors voted to defer the plan for further discussions.

The development will range from three to five-storeys, providing one to two-bedroom homes for people aged 60 or over, with a communal lounge, patio area and guest accommodation.

The developer, Churchill Retirement Living, said its vision is to “deliver a development that meets our customers’ needs and the local need for retirement apartments whilst also contributing to the character of Exeter.”

But local residents slammed part of the plan, claiming Weirfield Road – popular with pedestrians and cyclists as it slopes down towards riverside footpaths – is wholly unsuitable as an access road.

Speaking at Monday night’s meeting, a resident called Helen asked: “Why should traffic which is ending up on Topsham Road be sent via a narrow cul-de-sac when it could go straight to Topsham Road from the site?

“Local residents are very much in favour of the retirement living complex, and we think it will benefit our community, so we will welcome the planning proposal, but with a modification.”

Councillor Amy Sparling (Green, St Davids) said that while local residents have been “largely understanding and open-minded” about the development, they had been “sadly let down and ignored” about the access point when it was agreed for the original application in 2018.

Like the former deaf academy, she said Topsham Road should be used for vehicle access and claimed the added pressure on the “narrow cul-de-sac road” would go against the council’s strategy to encourage active travel.

“The transport strategy for Exeter has a goal of making 50 per cent of all journeys originating and ending in the city by foot or cycling, and we desperately need more safe space – not less.”

Cllr Sparling added that car parking spaces for the retirement complex and adjoining care home could potentially bring 55 additional vehicles into regular use on Weirfield Road, as well as taxis, and warned of potential congestion and added air pollution, along with safety concerns for mobility scooter users.

“I therefore respectfully ask the committee to move for a deferral, in order for the developer to reconsider the access point and redesign this with the local community and future of Exeter’s residents in mind,” she said.

A further 118 objections were also received, with more concerns about the access, as well as other issues such as the previously agreed assisted living accommodation being “vital to reduce pressure on NHS” and how “parking will overflow into surrounding streets.”

Defending the scheme, a speaker on behalf of the developer reiterated how the access arrangement had already been approved with the original application and claimed the new scheme would “result in a reduced level of vehicle movement than that previously approved.”

He said it had “reduced the height and mass” compared to the assisted living complex, as well as providing a ‘shoppers’ entrance’ directly onto Topsham Road, four extra parking spaces for the road’s residents, and all construction traffic would go in via Topsham Road.

The speaker also told the meeting that it only owned the area where the retirement apartments would be built, and not the whole former deaf academy site. As such, the company has “no control over any of that [other] land.”

Officers recommended approval for the revised development, subject to conditions including an agreement on affordable housing. They said in the planning report it is a “sustainably located brownfield site” in accordance with a local plan policy and “as such, residential development is acceptable in principle.”

In the report, Devon County Council’s highways department confirmed the access on Weirfield Road and drop-off point along Topsham Road were already agreed as part of the previous application, while the opening on Weirfield Road is already built.

But councillors ultimately opted to defer for further talks over the access point and affordable housing.

Councillor Yolanda Henson (Conservative, St Loyes) said three days to consider the residents’ petition was not enough, as it was only handed into the council last week. She added: “If there are problems, we must be seen as a council to be doing things in a proper manner.”

Councillor Rob Hannaford (Labour, St Thomas) also supported deferment, stating: “I think in the interests of being a good neighour, I think [the developer] should take a strong steer from this very large petition and the local members’ views here.”

The committee also backed a delay after being told there had been unexpected delays in sorting out affordable housing contributions.

Members voted to defer a decision by a margin of six votes to four. The application will return to a future meeting in due course.