Howell Road – Central Growth Area
Site Reference: SA-EX-9
Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) sites included: 7i15yuh
Parish(es): Not applicable
District(s): Exeter City Council
Site size: 0.9 hectares
Number of homes considered in Sustainability Appraisal Report: 72 – 86 homes
Indicative number of homes factoring in sensitivities and requirements (see below): 106 homes
Potential for employment use: No
Relationship with existing allocations and other potential GESP sites: None
Planning status: None
Summary description of the site: Large public surface car park and a housing association hostel, located just north of the city centre in a mixed use area including homes and businesses. The Exeter-London mainline railway runs along the northern site boundary.
Opportunities
This site is identified for consideration in the GESP because:
- It provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a brownfield site
- It has excellent access to public transport and is close to a wide range of job opportunities and facilities, giving the potential for car-free residential development
- It gives an opportunity to significantly enhance the appearance of the area
- A proportion of the site is in public sector ownership, enabling additional influence over design and delivery and the opportunity to reinvest proceeds into city improvements
- Most of the site has been put forward by the landowner for development
Sensitivities
The site has a number of sensitivities which development would need to take into account, including:
- It includes a public car park, a hostel, substantial sewer pipes and an attenuation tank below ground
- It may impact upon the Exe Estuary, which is a Natura 2000 protected wildlife site sensitive to an increase in the number of visitors
- It is affected by air and noise pollution from nearby roads and the railway and may be contaminated
- It is affected by flood risk
Requirements
Planning requirements for the site will aim to create a great place to live and work, providing well designed new neighbourhoods with appropriate and well managed public open space and safe walking/cycling routes. All sites will need to provide a mix of homes (including affordable and custom build), investment in low carbon energy and transport, high speed internet and wildlife enhancements. More detail on these can be found in the policies within Section B of this document. Other emerging requirements include:
- High quality and high density design that provides a healthy living environment for new residents and respects the privacy of existing dwellings located nearby
- A new public park at the western end of the site, above the attenuation tank
- Relocation of sewer pipes along the southern and northern boundaries
- Car-free residential development supported by more sustainable transport measures including a car club and e-bikes, plus significant enhancement of pedestrian/cycle routes (potentially including a new pedestrian link between the site and New North Road)
- Funding of measures to reduce the impact on the Exe Estuary, including provision/contribution towards Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG)
- Financial contributions towards expanded primary and secondary school provision, medical facilities and utilities provision in Exeter