Council considers student housing land sale

The Clifton Hill leisure centre was demolished in 2022

A council is considering breaching its own policies by selling off two multi-million pound landmark sites for student housing.

A report has recommended Exeter City Council should sell the former leisure centre site at Clifton Hill and the Mary Arches multi-storey car park without restrictions on use.

Councillors are considering the sales despite a council policy not to sell off land for student accommodation.

Exeter City Council needs to raise millions of pounds to pay off debts from its failed housing development housing company, Exeter City Living.

Exeter City Council is looking to sell Mary Arches car park for redevelopment

The report going before the executive of Exeter City Council on Tuesday evening shows the council is likely to be left with an outstanding loan of about £9m as a result of the winding down of Exeter City Living.

The report states: "The council’s current corporate policy is not to dispose of any of its land for Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in the city centre."

Valuations carried out for the sale of the two sites have not been made public but it said if the council stuck to that policy it could lose out by "something in the region of 70% of the site’s potential value".

When the council announced the demolition of Mary Arches car park in December 2022 the council leader, Phil Bialyk, said: "I can be clear, if it is the city council's land, there will be no purpose-built student accommodation."

On Tuesday, Mr Bialyk, Labour and Cooperative Party, said: "The officers have a duty to advise me and the executive as to the potential value of all the sites for whatever purpose.

"We have to cover the original debt that we now have to deal with going forward."

Large purpose-built student accommodation has been built on several sites around Exeter

According to the council's report specialist student accommodation is "failing to meet rising demand" with about 29,000 full time students at the University of Exeter, and numbers expected to increase to about 36,500 by 2026.

The Clifton Hill leisure centre closed in 2018 and was demolished in 2022.

Michael Mitchell, Liberal Democrat councillor and Progressive Group co-leader, said: "The community surrounding the Clifton Hill site are rather concerned about the possibility of student accommodation being built on the old Clifton hill leisure centre site.

"A commitment was made by this council not to allow PBSA on this site and I hope they will not renege on this decision as a result of the failure of Exeter City Living."

'Dismayed'

Anne Jobson, leader of the Conservatives on the council, said she was "dismayed" to read the report.

She said: "I would have thought that within Exeter there would be a developer for residential housing or for a housing association or for affordable/social housing which is what we need in Exeter.

"What we are looking for is housing that will accommodate people that work in Exeter - care workers, teachers and nurses who find it hard to get into the rental sector and don't qualify for social housing."

Diana Moore, Green Party councillor and Progressive Group co-leader, said: "There has simply been a failure by the executive to provide proper oversight of Exeter City Living and it has turned council assets into liabilities."