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 (ref: 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 (ref: 24/0184/VOC) 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 were approved by Exeter City Council in May 2024 and are detailed in the tab below.

As with all University estate projects, mitigation measures are put in place to minimise dust and noise from a construction site where possible. We work with contractors that are part of the Considerate Constructors scheme, to ensure 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.