Council puts off land sale opposed by celebrity

A decision on selling off land at the headquarters of Devon County Council has been postponed after complaints from opponents including Exeter resident and comedian Josh Widdicombe.

The council's executive said it wanted to see measures in place to make sure the site would provide affordable housing and homes for key workers and care leavers.

Residents who opposed the sale said the site would now be "wrangled over for years" when it should be protected as a green space.

The council's executive asked officers to come back with clear plans for legal covenants and/or contractual obligations to ensure any development would include social housing, care leaver accommodation or key worker housing.

A report prepared for Devon County Council's cabinet said the land was "declared surplus" in 2023.

During the meeting of the council's executive on Wednesday Andy Ketchin, Green Party member for St David's and Haven Banks, said the County Hall site was "one of the jewels in Exeter's crown".

Ketchin said a covenant was "required" because the "best intentions are known to unravel in the hands of developers".

The executive voted unanimously in favour of coming back to the issue when new plans have been drawn up to guarantee the site would not be developed for the open market.

Widdicombe said he was going to the meeting "as a local resident" but did not want to comment further.

Speaking after the meeting resident Will Duffin said: "What essentially is going to happen is this site is now destined to be wrangled over for years to come.

"It's going to remain fenced off, it's not going to be used by the local community, it's not going to benefit care leavers or people needing social housing."

Julian Brazil, the Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said there was a consensus in the cabinet among councillors who wanted to see social housing, housing for care leavers and key workers.

He said: "We think we can deliver that through legal covenants or contractual agreements - whether it's the county that does it or whether it's a private developer we need to absolutely guarantee that's the kind of housing we will get there."

The matter is due to come back to the council's executive on a date to be decided.

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