Exeter City Council

The executive approved a grant award to Citizens Advice Exeter to support continuation of its general advice service, paid in two tranches over two years. The proposal also included monitoring arrangements, subsidy control compliance, and continuation of the reduced rent/service charge arrangement.

Members concluded that the proposed development on protected open space should be refused. The discussion centred on conflict with the development plan, loss of openness, conservation area harm, design concerns, biodiversity impacts and insufficient justification for the scheme when weighed against its benefits.

Council approved a £2.5 million capital budget funded through additional borrowing to refurbish and upgrade Cathedral & Quay multi-storey car park. The works include internal floor repairs, improved external appearance, lighting, pathways and reopening the lift, with anticipated extra parking income used to cover borrowing and staffing costs.

The council confirmed there is no single fixed heat threshold policy, but services and contractors must assess heat as a workplace risk and apply suitable controls such as hydration, shade, rest breaks, welfare checks and PPE adjustments. The issue was raised in the context of hot-weather protection for outdoor workers including refuse collectors, street cleaners and parking staff.

The council is consulting on changes to the parking places order for Cathedral and Key, including moving it from zone 2 to zone 1 and extending charging to 10 p.m. The changes are tied to the wider capital refurbishment and are not expected to take effect until the car park reopens next year, with tariff implications subject to further parking orders.

The applicant’s planning obligations package was discussed in detail, including a sports pitch contribution, an NHS/GP surgery contribution, biodiversity mitigation, and over £1 million for off-site affordable housing. Officers explained the overall viability headroom had been tested by external consultants and that the final planning agreement would secure the obligations legally if completed on time.

The committee considered revised planning and listed building consent proposals for the Royal Clarence Hotel redevelopment. The main procurement-related issue was a major reduction in the viable section 106 contribution after an independent viability appraisal, cutting the affordable housing-related contribution to about £360,720 from a previously cited policy-compliant maximum of around £2.4 million. Members also discussed the need to protect heritage assets, the control of works already started on site, and the lack of a local-plan basis for a review mechanism to increase contributions later.

The meeting focused heavily on local government reorganisation, council support for the city’s civic partners, and major capital and policy decisions. Key procurement-related items included approval of £2.5m borrowing for Cathedral & Quay car park refurbishment, a revised corporate debt management policy, funding for Citizens Advice Exeter, and a grant-funded gum removal project. Members also debated the council’s role in responding to proposed redundancies at the University of Exeter and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, alongside wider concerns about the city economy, housing, and service impacts.