Welcome to Exeter St James Community Trust
Victory for St James Neighbourhood Plan!
Latest application for student accommodation on rear garden of 47 Union Road, REFUSED, with the adverse impact on community balance recognised
Following his lost appeal against the refusal of an application for a 10 bed student block in the rear garden of his Union Road property, a 13 bed student HMO (advertised with double occupancy possible in all but one room) above a self-contained 2 bed basement flat also advertised for students, Mr Startup, the owner, submitted plans (23/1483/FUL) last December for a 6 bed student block on the same site (see our previous article here).
Local residents, including many Trust members, who submitted objections will be relieved and delighted that this application has been refused. The Planning Officer’s Report, which reveals appropriate consideration has been given on this occasion to the consultation responses including that submitted by the Trust, provides a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the proposal against national and local policies, and concludes that it is contrary to a wide range of specific policies, including four Neighbourhood Plan (NP) policies relating to environmental matters, design and community (see Decision Refusal Notice here).
Each of these are equally important, but it is particularly encouraging that, on this occasion, community balance has been recognised by the Planning Authority as a valid issue and the refusal decision, citing NP Community policy C3 ‘Small Scale Purpose Built Student Accommodation’ includes the statement:
By virtue of the intensity of use, the overdevelopment of the plot and the location of the development, the scheme would prejudice the objective of creating a balanced community in St James, Exeter
Time will tell whether the owner decides to accept this decision, or to submit an appeal as he did following refusal of his original application on the site, and which he has now done in the case of 70 Pennsylvania Road (opposite), another HMO property that he owns, where his similar proposal to develop the rear garden as purpose built student accommodation was also refused (see here).
A splendid community occasion
On Saturday 29 June the St James community came together at the Trust’s annual summer fundraising event. Blessed with fine weather, friends and neighbours sought bargains at the plant and book stalls where business was brisk while home-made cakes, teas, coffee and squash were consumed at the refreshment stall.
There were also parachute games, giant Jenga and Connect Four for all to enjoy but perhaps the high spot was a visit from Minerva, the Little Owl.
An excellent, well-supported day which raised much-needed funds thanks to the efforts of our volunteers and the generosity of members who donated plants, books and cakes.
Didn’t make it this time? Don’t miss out – join us at our next event!
2024 AGM Update
The AGM held on 2 July was attended by 33 members including Board Members Robyn Connett (Chair), Paul Layton (Secretary), Rebecca Bower (Treasurer) and Harry Temple.
Robyn welcomed members to the meeting and spoke to various aspects of the Annual Report concentrating particularly on the Queen’s Crescent Garden regeneration project and the Board’s continuing determination to secure a fair share of the neighbourhood portion of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding. Other matters raised included the Trust’s communication with members through our biannual newsletter About St James, the website and regular mailings; monitoring ECC planning applications and responding as consultee in relation to the Neighbourhood Plan; and vigilance in reviewing the Trust’s resilience.
The Annual Report was adopted and the accounts approved. Harry Temple was re-elected to the Board but gave notice that he would be standing down in November.
At the close of the business meeting members were treated to a thought provoking presentation by Frazer Osment, Chair of LDA Design and co-architect of the Exeter St James Neighbourhood Plan:
“Our Neighbourhood Plan – its achievements and lessons learned for a future Plan“
