The Exeter Plan and Liveable Exeter

The Exeter Plan will be the blueprint that shapes the future development of our city.

Woven throughout the Plan is the city’s ambitious Vision 2040 and its seven, place-based outcomes which are the golden threads that will drive the entire Exeter Plan. These are:

1. An innovative and analytical city
2. A healthy and inclusive city
3. The most active city in the UK
4. Accessible world class education
5. A liveable and connected city
6. A leading sustainable city
7. A city of culture

As such Liveable Exeter, with its shared vision and dedication to ensuring quality of life and wellbeing, anchors the Exeter Plan.

Liveable Exeter is about building a future for Exeter that is sustainable and resilient. Exeter needs new housing stock, and is mandated to deliver this by central Government, so one of the main objectives of the initiative will be the construction of at least 12,000 new homes.

12,000 new homes, even over 20 years, is a lot of new homes and people, services, vehicles and space. To achieve its ambitious vision, Liveable Exeter will do things differently.

The eight Liveable Exeter sites are all brownfield sites. This is as an alternative to developing more of the city’s surrounding greenspace with the aim of protecting Exeter’s surrounding hills.

Building within the city, on brownfield sites, will mean higher density development. But the benefit of housing people within the city, will:

- Reduce the need to commute 
- Allow people who live in the city to walk, cycle or take public transport to their jobs, schools and services - Help us all to become more active day to day.

Each of the Liveable Exeter sites will be created as sustainable new communities helping to achieve the city’s net zero 2030 ambition, but also:

- Enable nature recovery
- Develop our cultural offer
- Enhance Exeter’s rich heritage
- Support a healthy and inclusive city

The sites will be a mix of uses, which means space will be made for places for people to work, go to school or college to continue Exeter’s economic success. There will be play space, accessible space, green space, and creative space, doctor’s surgeries and shops. Each site will consider all of the various infrastructure needed to build inclusive and cohesive communities.

Which is why Liveable Exeter are working with stakeholders across the city to bring this vision together. At a recent meeting of the Liveable Exeter Place Board (10th October 2022), the Exeter Plan team presented the Plan to Members asking them to think about how their organisations can support the issues set out in the document.

Dinah Cox, Chair of Devon Community Foundation and member of the Liveable Exeter Place Board said:

“The Exeter Plan is really important. To be able to have that look at the future and give everyone the opportunity to be around the table is really, really key.

I’ve had the opportunity to look at the Plan online and it's a really easy way to understand the different aspects of the vision for the city, and how they all fit together.

I'm going to be filling in and I would absolutely encourage other people to have their voice heard at this stage, while it's draft, to help shape the Plans. So for 2040, Exeter is a place where we're all happy to live.”

Liveable Exeter, is about community. Which is why we want to encourage as many of you as possible to have your say on the Exeter Plan. It is a document which will touch the lives of all of us in the city over the next 20 years.

Everyone in Exeter is encouraged to have their say on the Exeter Plan: getting involved now is the best way to have your say on how we shape Exeter of the future.

Visit https://exeterplan.commonplace.is/ to find out more and have you say.