Future of Matford offices site at County Hall in Exeter has sparked debate
The Matford offices site is at Devon’s County Hall (Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
The future of a controversial site on a Devon council’s land could take a significant step forward with the potential for affordable housing to be located there.
The Matford offices site at County Hall, on Exeter’s Topsham Road, has previously been declared as surplus land, but residents have been opposed to its potential development for housing.
But now the site will be discussed at Devon County Council’s cabinet meeting next week, which will be asked to agree a recommendation to “consider the opportunity for the provision of affordable homes, care leaver housing and key worker housing”.
There had also been fears about the removal of well-established trees, and concerns that the sale of the site would mean existing walking routes through it would be shut off.
But the cabinet paper appears to put those fears at rest, stating that there would be no significant tree removal and that any land disposal would “allow for the retention of routes frequently used by walkers and dog walkers”.
The council’s land and property committee agreed in January this year that the land was surplus to requirements, but at that meeting, officers were asked to look at the potential for any development to bolster some of the council’s strategic objectives.
As such, the cabinet will decide whether to “prioritise an innovative approach for the site development that contributes to the council’s strategic plan ambitions and considers the opportunity for the provision of affordable homes, care leaver housing and key worker housing”.
Officers had previously stated that targeting the development for such uses could be tricky, but that requiring a certain proportion to be affordable was more realistic.
Although the land is owned by Devon County Council, any potential developer would need to submit their plans to Exeter City Council, which is the planning authority for the city.
Furthermore, the matter is also coming back to cabinet because officers had stated that the parcel of land represented less than 5 per cent of the existing public open space on the County Hall site, but it actually equates to a larger 7.4 per cent, which, the cabinet report states “requires correction”.
A total of 10 complaints were made after the decision by the land and property committee in January, but the decision to discuss the site further at cabinet had been made before those queries were lodged.
The cabinet will discuss the future of the site on Wednesday (11 March).
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