Controversial student flats plan approved

A nine-storey block of flats for Exeter University students will be built on the site of a former city centre pub despite claims that the local community is being overwhelmed.

Opponents of the scheme to build on the site of the old King Billy pub in Northbrook Street say the St James area has reached saturation point with students.

The university says the scheme is a private development, and it is investing in its own purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) within the campus site nearby.

Exeter City Council’s planning committee met on Monday night and agreed to pass the plans.

Durham-based Rok Prop Co (Exeter) asked for permission to build 108 self-contained studio flats on the site, and planners gave them the go-ahead to start work.

The development will be next door to the eight-storey John Lewis department store, and permission already exists for a similar height building and a similar number of student flats.

The old pub, which was popular with city centre workers, was knocked down in 2023. Permission to build student flats on the site was first granted in 2016, albeit for a smaller block than the one discussed this week.

City council planning officers say there is a ‘continued, evidenced, demand’ for PBSA.

A report to the meeting said: “The scheme delivers a high-density form of development that responds to its context, is appropriately scaled, and includes sufficient mitigation to address potential amenity and management concerns.”

The development will also help cater for the ever-growing number of students attending the university. But objectors say St James cannot take any more PBSA developments.

Cllr Tammy Palmer (Lib Dem, Duryard and St James) said: “The residents have simply had enough.

“Adding in another 108 students to a residential street will make their right to enjoy their homes much more challenging.

“The area is like a ghost town outside of term time. Streets that should be full of families are empty, with full rubbish bins left out on the street for the gulls, foxes and rats to enjoy.”

And, she said, claims that building PBSA to house the university population would put other homes back into general use for local families were false.

There are also proposals to build PBSA blocks on the city’s JobCentre site at Clarendon House and on the site of the former Unit One nightclub off Verney Street.