Student flats plan for old Exeter police station 'some way off' - PCC

The old police station is now derelict

A viable plan to build on a former police station and magistrates' court "remains some way off", a Police and Crime Commissioner's Office has said.

It wants to build about 950 student accommodation and co-living units on Heavitree Road in Exeter.

The site is boarded up and derelict after being empty for about four years.

Exeter City Council refused planning permission for the 955 units in September and in February the Planning Inspector rejected the PCC's appeal.

Exeter Magistrates' Court moved to the Exeter Law Court site in Southernhay and police station operations were moved to a new station at Middlemoor.

A spokesperson for the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Devon and Cornwall said: "We are disappointed that, despite several years of working with planners and developers, a viable solution for this important site remains some way off.

"We will continue to work with Exeter City Council to develop proposals which are right for Exeter residents and maximise benefits for the taxpayer."

The Police and Crime Commissioner's office wants to build 955 accommodation units

Plans were originally submitted by the PCC and a developer, PBSA Heavitree Road S.A.R.L, in October 2021 and were refused permission by Exeter City Council, and the PCC's appeal against that decision was rejected in February.

The Police and Crime Commissioner's office said a viable plan was "some way off"

Planning Inspector, Hayden Baugh-Jones, described the five-storey buildings as "vastly larger than any other nearby building".

In his report he said the buildings would be "adversely large and of inappropriate design and scale".

He said the harm "to the area's character and appearance" would be "severe".

He added in his conclusion: "The proposal would cross the line of acceptability in terms of its effects on the local area into which it would not satisfactorily integrate."