Planning Context
Local and National Need
To address the chronic under supply of homes in the UK, the Government has committed to building 1.5 million new homes and national planning policy supports this commitment. As a result, all councils are expected to allocate land to deliver enough homes to meet their housing needs.
East Devon District Council continues to face challenges in maintaining a robust housing land supply over the medium and longer term. While good progress is being made with the Local Plan, early delivery is constrained by delays to housing and infrastructure delivery.
The proposed new development, on land between Clyst St Mary and Clyst St George, offers an immediate and complementary opportunity alongside the new community at Marlcombe. However, the delivery of new homes at Marlcombe is unlikely to be realised for many years, whereas the acute need for market and affordable homes exists now. Our proposals will help address that acute and urgent need.
Through the Duty-to-Cooperate, which is the requirement for Councils to work together on strategic planning issues, such as housing and infrastructure delivery, it is expected that East Devon District Council will also need to assist Exeter City Council in delivering unmet housing need, that cannot be delivered in the City.
Deliverability
The site is in the control of only three landowners, all contractually bound and committed to delivery at the earliest opportunity. As such, the site is capable, subject to planning permission, of contributing new homes within the next five years, assisting the Council in strengthening its housing supply.
Importantly, the site is absent of significant environmental constraints and there is no requirement for major new strategic infrastructure to make it acceptable in planning terms. Unlike Marlcombe, which will eventually be progressed via a Development Corporation that will be established, funded and directed by Central Government, our proposals will give East Devon greater influence over the pace and quality of delivery, ensuring both its deliverability in the plan period in a way that meets local needs and viability.
The proposed site at Clyst site is well-positioned directly to the east of Exeter in the West End, which the Council acknowledges is most sustainable and least constrained part of East Devon and provides connectivity into the City and key employment locations on the eastern edge of Exeter.
Previous assessment
When East Devon District Council considered locations for a new community in 2022/23, this site was part of a larger land holding. Various sites underwent public consultation and scrutiny in multiple aspects such as impact on biodiversity, flood risk, and deliverability.
The site performed well across multiple categories, and similarly or favourably, to the since allocated new community at Marlcombe. The former site only scored poorly under deliverability, due to the site being in the fragmented ownership of 20 landowners, none of whom were contractually bound.
This matter has now been resolved with the new proposed site in the control of only three landowners, all contractually bound and committed to delivery. Therefore, should the assessment be undertaken now on the same basis, our site would outscore Marlcombe.