Agenda and draft minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2025 were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as correct.

No declarations of interest were made by Members.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Place.

A Member enquired about a change of use application (C3 to C4) and sought clarification on whether it related to an Article 4 direction and further information.

The Assistant Service Lead – Development Management (Major Projects) would provide a written response on the decision.

The report of the Strategic Director for Place was noted.

A Member noted that officer summaries were missing for some items, and a request was made to include the final appeal decision directly in future reports to improve public accessibility. The Strategic Director for Place noted the feedback and would address this matter.

The report of the Strategic Director for Place was noted.

The meeting was briefly adjourned at 17:35 and resumed at 17:38.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Place.

The Chair invited Mr Shore-Nye, to speak for five minutes in support of the application, who made the following points:

·        the proposed development was for a flagship facility following a two-year extensive collaboration with Council officers and following a number of design revisions;

·        the proposal would deliver a cross-faculty research and teaching facility to support the Institute of Arab and East Studies, accommodating 80 academics and 400 students, meeting the identified need for large, active and digitally connected learning spaces and collaborative research space;

·        the design process involved extensive collaboration with council officers and two reviews by the Council’s Design Review Panel;

·        in response to feedback, the building had been reduced in height and size by 19%, landscaping enhancements had been increased across the site, and the architecture and materiality had been revisited to better integrate with the surroundings;

·        the plan to use the historic Mews courtyard during construction has been removed at the officers' request;

·        the sensitivities and complexity, of developing within the historic campus setting had been a primary consideration throughout the project and the design balanced the functional needs of a new educational facility with the sensitivities of the historic campus setting;

·        the proposals would inevitably result in some heritage harm through the loss of historic fabric on site, but the significant public benefits of the project, would outweigh the acknowledged heritage harm;

·        economic benefits included supporting the University's £509.4M contribution to Exeter's GDP and 9,070 jobs and would generate an estimated £6.7million in annual postgraduate teaching income and £2million in research income;

·        the construction phase would provide additional fixed-term social and economic benefits, estimated to be between £7.45M to £8M to the local economy over two years;

·        the development would create a new, fully inclusive and accessible path through the Reed Hall buildings, improving campus connectivity;

·        a package of restoration measures would be secured by condition to better reveal the significance of Reed Hall;

·        new garden areas and elevated cafe terraces would also allow for greater appreciation of the historic setting;

·        the building would use low embodied carbon materials, off-site construction, and adopt Passivhaus House standards;

·        biodiversity net gain objectives would be met through on-site and off-site measures and a separate, standalone bat house had already been constructed to mitigate impacts on existing roosts;

·        all issues raised by statutory consultees had been addressed through design revisions or planning conditions; and

·        the proposal would deliver a world-class, sustainable academic building that justified approval based on its long-term public value and requested that the Planning Committee support the officer's recommendation.

Mr Shore-Nye responded to Members’ questions as follows:

·        the location was a key area of activity and would be a logical extension for the successful Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies, which was already there;

·        the new building would boost activity in that part of the campus and encourage people to enjoy it more;

·        the university had moved away from a carbon management approach but there was a recent example of creating a valley to increase biodiversity  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Place.

The meeting was briefly adjourned at 19:41 and resumed at 19:43.

The Chair invited Mr Pete Thomas, to speak for five minutes, against the application, who made the following points:

·        there were concerns about procedural validity, access arrangements and policy compliance of the proposal;

·        policy EJ6, designated this land for use for transformational employment allocation and the proposal to deliver 158 dwellings was a departure from emerging policy;

·        there were highway implications, especially on match days where congestion in this area was already difficult and additional traffic from 158 dwellings would significantly worsen existing congestion and impede emergency vehicle access;

·        the applicant's red line boundary on the location plan did not extend to the edge of the access roundabout, leaving a gap, which was land owned by the Exeter Rugby Group;

·        according to National Planning Policy Practice Guidance, the red line must include all land necessary for the development, including access and as the applicant did not own this land, the application was procedurally defective;

·        no ownership notice had been served on his clients;

·        he challenged the Highway Authority's suggestion that access could be secured through a Section 278 agreement, and advised that despite the road surface being the Highway Authority's responsibility, his client owned the adjoining grassed area and bank;

·        if the northern access were undeliverable, all traffic would be forced onto the southern route via New Court Way and Old Rydon Lane, which had not been assessed in the transport assessment;

·        officers had already determined that the southern access was unacceptable;

·        the proposal for 158 dwellings was a material departure from emerging policy in which no operating justification or demonstrable planning need had been provided; and

·        the Planning Committee were requested to uphold the officer's recommendation for refusal and also to refuse for procedural invalidity and the undeliverability of the northern access.

Mr Pete Thomas responded to questions from Members as follows:

·        the Exeter Rugby Group had checked their plan which advised that they owned the small sliver of land around the fence;

·        the redline should include access to the roundabout as an integral part of the application;

·        the Exeter Plan showed the direction, but was not at an advanced stage, so considerations were being highlighted;

·        the objection originated from the potential impact upon the roundabout, particularly on match days, and the larger concerns about traffic coming out of there, and the implications for the surrounding road; and

·        even with commercial land development, there would be additional vehicles to and from the site, so there were concerns about additional vehicles impacting access.

The Chair invited Mr James McMurdo, to speak for five minutes in support of the application, who made the following points:

• he was working for the applicant, who was also a landowner;
• the proposal was a significant opportunity for the city, which planned for 158 houses and 180,000 sq. ft of employment space, which would deliver 1,000 jobs;
• he enquired how such a development could be considered harmful, especially in the context of a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.