Have your say on the Exeter Plan and help shape the future of our city
Published: 26 September 2022
Residents and businesses are being invited to have their say in shaping the Exeter of the future.
The Exeter Plan - the city’s new Local Plan - looks ahead over the next 20 years to 2040 and will be the blueprint that shapes the future development of Exeter. The Outline Draft is now ready for consultation with the people of Exeter.
Highlighting important issues like climate change, economy and jobs, the future of the high street, transport and infrastructure and design quality, the Exeter Plan builds on the city’s vision to be healthy, inclusive and sustainable.
The plan shows how Exeter can build the new homes it needs to strengthen communities and create new neighbourhoods on sites across the city.
It also supports other Council strategies to help achieve Exeter’s Net Zero 2030 ambition, tackle the climate emergency, enable nature recovery, develop our cultural offer and enhance Exeter’s rich heritage.
Potential development sites are identified as locations where new homes and other uses could be developed in the future. Around 85 per cent of homes on sites in the plan will be on previously developed, so-called brownfield sites, and the green hills and ridge around the city will be protected from development.
Cllr Emma Morse, Lead Councillor for City Development and Planning, said: “We really want everyone to be involved in this consultation. The Exeter Plan looks at the future of development in our city over the next 20 years.”
“It is really important that everyone helps to shape the future of Exeter. This is our city and by giving feedback as individuals, businesses or visitors to the city we can work together to protect the things that make Exeter uniquely beautiful, including the green hills and historic setting.
“The Plan will also allow Exeter to look at different ways of developing, create opportunities for people to learn new skills and have employment opportunities, all the things necessary to ensure that Exeter is a wonderful place and continues that way.
“We are very proud to be consulting on the Exeter Plan. We want to make sure that quality of life is at the heart of all the things that we do.”
Everyone is now invited to help shape the plan for how the city will grow and develop in the future.
The consultation begins on 26th September and runs for 10 weeks to 5th December. It has been designed to engage with residents and those who work, study in or visit the city, and those views will be crucially important in preparing the final plan. People can feedback in a variety of ways including:
- Online via an interactive and easy to navigate online survey platform https://exeterplan.commonplace.is/
- In person at a series of public exhibitions to enable face to face discussion
Consultation materials can be made available in different formats on request.
The Council has a statutory duty to prepare planning policy for the city, and the Exeter Plan will replace earlier development plans for the city. Government has calculated that Exeter needs to provide 650 homes per year. In order to meet this requirement a series of sites are identified.
These include the eight large-scale strategic sites identified as part of Liveable Exeter, a series of smaller sites owned by the Council, sites promoted by third parties and a small number of sites, which are already allocated in the Core Strategy but have not yet been built.
Further consultation will be held in 2023.
