Nine-storey Exeter student flats block approved

Developers want to build student housing on this site next to the John Lewis store in Exeter

Plans to build a nine-storey block of student flats on a landmark site in Exeter city centre have been approved.

Developers want to build 108 self-contained studio flats next to the John Lewis store on the site of the old King Billy pub.

Exeter City Council said its planning committee approved the plans on Monday evening.

The councillor for the area objected to the plans and claimed the "sheer number of students" was having a "severely detrimental impact on permanent residents".

Exeter City Council planners said the city centre was a suitable location for purpose-built student accommodation

Exeter City Council planning officers said the development did "create an over-concentration" of purpose-built student accommodation in the area but claimed there was demand in the city and that they were recommending approval.

Permission already exists in the same location for a similar height building and a similar number of student flats from previous planning applications dating back to 2016.

Tammy Palmer, Liberal Democrat member for Duryard and St James, said the "vast number" of students had severely damaged the "community balance".

She said there were issues with litter, anti-social behaviour, excessive noise and a lack of parking - all caused by the high levels of student accommodation.

The report by city council planners claimed the provision of purpose-built student accommodation would free up houses currently rented by students to go back into the private housing market.

But Palmer claimed that argument was a "lazy lie" and the city ended up with traditional homes occupied by students as well as high levels of purpose-built student homes.

The University of Exeter has seen a big growth in student numbers

In their report, planners pointed to an agreement between Exeter City Council and the university, whereby the council supported "the expansion of the university" and "as much purpose-built student accommodation as possible to reduce the impact on the private housing market".

The report also noted the latest calculations - from 2024 - "show that the increase in student numbers was higher than that last considered in 2018".

It said there had been a projected increase in 2018 of 1,143 students - but the actual increase had been 4,428.

The report said: "This creates a clear demand for additional housing and no evidence of a decline in student numbers has been demonstrated."

A Devon Housing Commission report published in 2024 said the average rent in Exeter for purpose-built student accommodation was £8,600 a year.

According to the housing commission report, there has been a "significant increase" in the number of full-time students at the University of Exeter, going from about 13,000 in 2008 to more than 26,000 in 2021.

The report, written by Lord Richard Best, said: "Whilst the economic and wider social impact of the university is significant this comes at the expense of increased housing pressure in the city."

A spokesperson for the University of Exeter said: "The application in question is a private development which has not been commissioned by the university.

"We are investing in new, purpose-built student accommodation on campus, with more planned, so we can house more students on campus."