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 increasing 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 creating 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 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 (ref: 20/1684/OUT) in September 2021. A Minor Material Amendment to the planning application was approved in May 2024 (24/0184/VOC), the details of the amendment are in the tab below.
We have made adjustments to the design of Birks Block (A-E) and a new planning application for this Block was approved by Exeter City Council’s (24/1534/FUL).
We are working closely with UPP and their contractors Bouygues UK to plan the works and to minimise disruption to colleagues, students and visitors where possible. Bouygues UK are part of the Considerate Constructors scheme, which ensures they have high standards in managing risks, protecting the environment and positive relationships with the local community. This project will be registered with the Considerate Constructors scheme and monitored in accordance with the scheme's code of considerate practice.
Construction work has begun in the Clydesdale, Nash and Birks Grange Village area of Streatham Campus this summer 2025.
We expect students to move in to Phase One of the new accommodation by September 2027, and Phase 2 by September 2028.
West Park Public Information Sessions
The University and UPP hold public information sessions for local residents to find out more the project.
West Park residents information August 2025
West Park Student Drop-in Sessions
The University and UPP are holding regular student drop-in sessions to provide information on the project and to answer queries about the construction work.
Project update
Next steps
Construction work has begun in the Clydesdale, Nash and Birks Grange Village area of Streatham Campus on the West Park Student Residences project
UPP and their contractors Bouygues UK have started the demolition of the buildings in the Clydesdale and Nash area and they will begin in the Birks Grange Village area soon. They are continuing to install hoarding around the site and complete service diversions. A number of footpaths and roads in the area will be closed or diverted.
Holland Hall car park and the majority of the car parking in the Clydesdale and Nash area, on Clydesdale Avenue and in front of Birks Grange A-E are now closed for the duration of the project . Alternative staff permitted car park spaces on Streatham Campus can be found here. Accessible car park spaces will continue to be available at the back of Mardon Hall, and cycle parking will be unaffected in the area.
Clydesdale Avenue, from Clydesdale House to Grafton Road, is now closed to vehicles. Please find an alternative route and follow footpath diversions for your safety. A new footpath is being created below Clydesdale Avenue in the arboretum area in the coming weeks.
On-street parking on Streatham Drive is closed to construct a new footpath. Some of the on-street car parking bays will reopen once the footpath is complete and some parking bays will remain closed to support safety in the area during the project.
Barriers and signage will be in place throughout the works. Please follow all health and safety signage in the area. Below is a map of the West Park development area.
If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch with the project team at WestPark@exeter.ac.uk
Construction lookahead
Below are details of the construction work taking place for the next two weeks:
Please note, the dates and information are updated regularly but are subject to change at short notice, due to weather conditions and working with external contractors.
The construction work is taking place during normal working hours, Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, and may also occur on Saturdays between 8am and 1pm.
|
Date |
Details |
Noise levels |
|
Thursday 9 to Friday 10 October |
Service diversions, road closures and footpath diversions are taking place in the Holland Hall area, in between the building and Mardon Hall and behind the building on Mardon Hill (near the Holland Hall quad) until the end of October. This may require some digging into the road/path which will create intermittent medium to high noise. Pedestrian access will be maintained. Small deliveries will need to stop before the road closure to be collected or walked through the footpath diversion to the quad for delivery. Please follow footpath and road diversions in the area, these will change regularly. Demolition of the buildings is ongoing in the Clydesdale area. This is creating on going medium noise and dust is being dampened down to reduce it spreading to nearby areas. Hoarding is continuing to be installed around Birks Central Block and Birks Block A-E. Please continue to follow temporary footpath diversions in the area. A handrail is being installed on the new footpaths in the Clydesdale Avenue area. |
Medium to High |
|
Sat 11 and Sun 12 October |
New piping is expected to be installed in the Holland Hall car park area to complete service diversions. This will create low to medium noise. |
Low to Medium |
|
Monday 13 to Friday 17 October |
The works detailed above will continue. The team will begin excavating the tennis court area in front of Mardon Hall. This will create medium noise. At Birks Grange Central Block stone will be placed around the building to create level access. Asbestos material is being removed safely from the building, ahead of demolition. Service diversions may begin on the footpath in front of Reed Hall and Reed Mews (Health Centre), dates to be confirmed. This may require some digging into the path which will create intermittent medium to high noise. Please follow footpath diversions. |
Medium |
|
From Tuesday 21 October to the end of October |
Service diversions, road closures and footpath diversions are taking place in the Holland Hall area, in front of the building. This may require some digging into the road/path which will create intermittent medium to high noise. Pedestrian access will be maintained. Small deliveries will be able to access the Mardon Hall service delivery area and will have normal access out of working hours. |
Medium to High |
We thank you for your patience and cooperation during the construction of the new student accommodation on campus.
Contact us
If you have any queries or questions about the project please email WestPark@exeter.ac.uk and we will get back to you.