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West Park Student Residences Project

The view from B Block from the hill

Birdseye view of bridge and courtyard

Entrance for C2

View from D block

The spine entrance

West Park Student Residences Project

The University is seeking to increase student accommodation on Streatham Campus by building new and refurbished, student living facilities that provide an excellent on-campus living experience and reduces pressure on the University seeking third party accommodation providers in the city.

The West Park Student Residences project is looking at creating a new accommodation in the Clydesdale and Nash area and converting accommodation in the Birks Grange Village area from catered to self-catered.

This will include redeveloping the reception, catered dining halls and the Market Place Village Shop (Birks Grange Central Block) into further accommodation and amenity space including study, social and in-house commercial space. The catered Birks Grange blocks A-E will undergo a refurbishment and will provide modern self-catered accommodation once completed.

UPP has been appointed as the development partner to design, build, fund and operate the new accommodation.

Enhancing biodiversity and ecology in the area is an important aspect of the project. We are working with our development partners UPP to retain much of the mature woodland, plant double the amount of hedgerow that is currently in the area and plant over 200 trees. The new planting will include a mix of seasonal species to enhance biodiversity, and wildlife habitats will be greatly improved, including the installation of bat, bird and hedgehog boxes, and wood and stone piles to provide further habitats. The enhancements will provide an overall biodiversity net gain of 14%, creating more and better quality natural habitats than before the development.

The project is subject to final University Council approval before construction will start on site.

The Reserved Matters Planning Application for the project (ref: 22/1746/RES) was approved by Exeter City Council at a planning committee meeting in June 2023. This follows the scheme being granted Outline Planning consent (20/1684/OUT) in September 2021.

Following the Reserved Matters Planning Application approval, the University and UPP have been considering minor amendments to the plans, which is common before construction can start on site.

The minor amendments relate to the student accommodation planned for location on Birks Grange Central Block (Block CB), an improved accessible route through West Park (Block LP), and an updated phasing plan. The minor amendments are detailed in the tab below.

You can view and comment on the Minor Material Amendment planning application on Exeter City Council’s website, visit: https://publicaccess.exeter.gov.uk/online-applications/

The West Park Minor Material Amendment application reference is: 24/0184/VOC

West Park Information sessions

The University and UPP hold public information sessions for local residents to find out more the project.

The last information session took place on Thursday 7 March 2024. You can view a copy of the presentation here - West Park - MMA public information event slides.

If you would like to come along to the next session and be kept up-to-date on the project, please sign up to our mailing list via the registration form here.

Project update

Next steps

The project is subject to final University Council approval before construction will start on site in summer 2024. The University and UPP have begun preparation works in the Clydesdale, Nash and Birks area, which have been approved by Exeter City Council as part of the Reserved Matters Planning Application for the project. These works will include creating trenches to connect services within the Birks Grange and Clydesdale areas. The works will involve intermittent use of smaller diggers and vacuum excavators which will create ongoing noise in the area. This will take place in normal working hours, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.There may be some weekend work on Saturdays between 8am and 1pm.  

The University and UPP have submitted a Minor Material Amendment planning application to Exeter City Council. The details can be found on the 'Minor Material Amendment' Tab.

The relocation of the Grounds Compound to the top of Rennes Drive is currently under review. We will share details when we have a future plan and programme for these sites.

If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch with the project team at WestPark@exeter.ac.uk

University colleagues can take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions, or alternatively speak to your line manager.

Minor Material Amendment Application

Following the Reserved Matters Planning Application approval, the University and UPP have been considering minor amendments to the plans, which is common before construction can start on site. The minor amendments are detailed below.

Block CB

We are proposing minor amendments to the approved design of Block CB, which is planned for location on the site of Birks Grange Central Block. The demolition of the existing building and construction of Block CB have been approved by Exeter City Council.

The minor amendments to Block CB are summarised as follows:

Lowering of the overall height of the building by 825mm
Improved main entrance to align with key pedestrian routes
Improved courtyard, landscaping and cycle storage near the new main entrance and side of the block
Larger central courtyard in the middle of the block
Reduced internal ground floor plant rooms
Repositioning of study/social space and multi-faith areas
Increase of 21 bedrooms on the ground floor
Removal of the large service yard and replaced with better landscaping
Improved location of the shop to make it more visible and reduced shop floor area (93sqm total) The new shop will be approximately twice the size of the existing one and similar in size to the Morrisons Daily at Cowley Bridge Road, to provide students with convenience and choice.

Block LP

The minor amendments to Block LP relate to external changes to improve the accessibility of the site. An accessible platform lift is proposed to allow access from the central pathway to the upper levels of the site. The level access has also been extended across the entire frontage of the building compared to the approved arrangements.

Phasing

We are proposing to construct the West Park Student Residences project in three phases (subject to Exeter City Council approval and University Council approval).

Phase 1 – The development of West Park in the Clydesdale and Nash area.
Phase 2 – The refurbishment of Birks Grange Block A- E and the new Block CB on the site of Birks Grange Central Block.
Phase 3 – The development of accommodation blocks on the Grounds Compound site and Nash Grove (block E and F). Future development on this site is subject to viability and timing to be confirmed.

Work on Phases 1 and 2 are due to commence in summer 2024. Phase 1 is expected to be delivered over three years, and Phase 2 over two years.

If you have any quries or questions about the project please email WestPark@exeter.ac.uk and we will get back to you.