Exeter News
The latest Exeter news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Exeter Ward Grants: £350 a Group; St James Left £1,250
Exeter groups can claim up to £350 from their ward's £3,000. Duryard and St James left £1,250 unclaimed last year; the council wants bids from three wards.
More stories
Council
Devon Mayor Plan: Exeter Wants Equal Seat as Plymouth Joins
Exeter backs an elected mayor for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, but wants an equal seat on the authority. The consultation is open; Plymouth decides in November.
Council
Exeter City Centre Plan: Anti-Social Behaviour Ranked First
Exeter's five-year city centre strategy goes to full Council on 1 December. Tackling anti-social behaviour came top with 340 consultation respondents.
Crime
Exeter Crime Figures: Anti-Social Behaviour Down 16%
1,318 anti-social behaviour reports within a mile of central Exeter in the year to August, down 16%. Violence rose 4%, and July hit a two-year high.
Planning
Former Holland & Barrett Exeter: 8 Flats Plan Revised
Revised plans add a bike store to the eight-flat scheme above the listed former Holland & Barrett at 192 High Street, a year after it went in and was opposed.
Culture
Frederick Douglass Play at Exeter's Cygnet: 1 and 2 October
The Ocean Can Be a Bridge, a play about Frederick Douglass's 1846 visit to Exeter, is at the Cygnet on 1 and 2 October. Tickets £15, 7.30pm start.
Wonford
Wonford Community Wellbeing Hub Plans on Show 24-25 Sept
Exeter City Council shows the redesigned £6m Wonford hub on 24 and 25 September. The police design adviser has repeated concerns the new plans do not answer.
Heavitree
Heavitree Water Play Now Opens Spring 2027, Not This Month
Exeter's new Heavitree water play facility will not open until Spring 2027: the concrete needs a 28-day cure. The St Thomas splash pad stays open for now.
House prices
Exeter House Prices: Flats Back to 2021 at £164,900
Exeter flats averaged £164,900 in July, a price the city last saw in 2021. The average home across all types fell £4,907 in a year to £282,696.
Community
Exeter City Grants: £40,310 Left, Deadline 13 October
Exeter groups can bid for up to £2,500 by 13 October. Last year 19 of the 33 winners got less than they asked for, and only 4 of 15 got the full amount.
Culture
Bayeux in Exeter: Free RAMM Display as London Sells Out
London's Bayeux Tapestry tickets are sold out to 31 December. Exeter's own Norman coins and pottery are on free display at RAMM until 11 July 2027.
Planning
Heavitree Road Police Site: Affordable Homes Cut to 61
The 813-studio scheme for Exeter's old Heavitree Road police station still has no issued permission. Its affordable studios fell from 83 to 61 in June.
Jobs
Exeter Claimant Count: Under-25s Up 23% in a Year
Exeter's under-25 claimant count rose 23% in a year to 535, against 9.4% across England. The city's total reached 2,150 in August, 2.2% of working-age people.
Business
Beefy Boys Exeter Opens in Old BrewDog: Hours and Booking
The Beefy Boys is open seven days a week in the former BrewDog unit on Queen Street, walk-ins welcome. Opening hours, booking, menu and the almost 50 new jobs.
Council
Exeter Unitary Plan Paused: City Election On in May 2027
Exeter's promised unitary status is on hold after the government paused reorganisation on 7 September. City council elections go ahead as usual in May 2027.
Housing
Rennes House Demolition Begins: 32 Weeks to Take It Down
Demolition of Whipton's 11-storey Rennes House started on 7 September and will take about 32 weeks. Its 61 flats are to be replaced by 36 Passivhaus homes.
Wonford
Wonford Community Hub Shrinks 160 sqm to Fit £6m Budget
The café shrinks and about 160 sqm goes from the new extension: Exeter's £6m Wonford hub is redesigned to fit its budget. Comments close 27 September.
Education
St Wilfrid's School Exeter Owed Its Staff £249,380
Staff are owed £249,380 of the £316,335 St Wilfrid's School owed when it wound up. The statement of affairs leaves it £175,373 short of its creditors.
Pinhoe
Home Farm Pinhoe: Land Given Up, 91 Households Told
Liquidators gave up freehold land on the Home Farm estate in Pinhoe and served notice on 91 homes. Creditors owed £266,294 must claim by 25 September.
Queen Street
Flight Club Exeter: Darts Bar Planned at Revolution Site
Two applications say 79 to 82 Queen Street will become a Flight Club venue. Comments close 27 September, with a council decision due by 21 October.
Housing
Exeter Student Accommodation Full: Defer by 31 August
The university says every room is allocated and none will free up before term. Offer-holders without housing have until 31 August to ask to defer to 2027.
Recycling
Exeter Bin Lorry Fire: Printer Battery Shut Pinhoe Road
A lithium battery hidden in a printer cartridge caught fire inside a recycling lorry, closing Pinhoe Road in the rush hour. Where batteries can go in Exeter.
Roads
Exeter Bridge Road: lane reopens, swing bridge still shut
The bascule bridge lane reopened on 15 September after 29 days. The swing bridge beside it is now down to one lane, with overnight repairs on 23 September.
What's On
Exeter Walking Festival: 12-20 Sept, walks and how to book
Exeter's first walking festival runs 12 to 20 September. A bat walk, a sound walk and a 14-mile Green Circle finish, with start points and booking.
Council
RAMM Exeter: £260k Approved to Chase a £2.4m Grant
Councillors backed £260,000 of match funding on 25 August, behind a £2.4m Arts Council bid to replace RAMM's failed boiler and reopen the Roman Wall Bridge.
Community
Whipton and Heavitree Festival: 29 Aug, times and line-up
Free ice cream for the first 400, from noon on Saturday 29 August at Hamlin Lane. It launches a £20m, 10-year plan for Heavitree East and Whipton South.
House prices
Exeter house prices fall to £280,982, lowest since 2024
The average Exeter home sold for £280,982 in June, down £4,919 in a year and the lowest since May 2024. Only South Hams fell further across Devon.
Environment
Mincinglake Valley Park: what is open after the wildfire
Unburnt parts of Mincinglake Valley Park are open, but Devon Wildlife Trust asks visitors to keep off the badly burnt ground. 700 metres of fencing was lost.
Environment
Mincinglake Valley Park fire: 50 acres burnt, stay away plea
About 50 acres of Mincinglake Valley Park burned on 11 August in a major incident that drew 20 fire engines from 23 stations. Devon Wildlife Trust asks people to keep away while it assesses the damage.
Sport
King George V Playing Fields: £4.09m work starts 17 August
Fencing goes up at King George V Playing Fields on Monday 17 August for a floodlit 3G pitch and two PlayZones, due by spring 2027. What closes, what stays open, and who is paying the £4.09m.
Education
St Wilfrid's School Exeter: company goes into liquidation
The company behind St Wilfrid's School on St David's Hill entered liquidation on 30 July, weeks after the DfE register recorded its closure. What the record shows.
Planning
67 homes proposed off Chudleigh Road in Alphington
A full application would demolish 72 Silverlands and build 67 homes on land off Chudleigh Road in Alphington. Validated 29 July, it is open for comments now.