Exeter wins significant cash boost to explore ways of regenerating land around St David's Station
A vision to regenerate land around Exeter’s St David’s Station has won a significant boost today with the government injecting thousands of pounds into the initiative. The news comes a week after the area was featured in the Council's bold new vision to create 12,000 homes in the city over the next 20 years.
A new gateway to the city, including plans to create new homes, offices and retail in St David’s, is part of £505,000 coming to the south west for projects in Devon and Torbay.
The money is part of the government’s One Public Estate programme, which was launched in 2013 to make better use of public sector sites and free up space for new homes and create jobs.
The City Council today welcomed the cash boost which will give momentum to the work of local stakeholders including Devon County Council, Network Rail, Great Western Railway, the University of Exeter, Exeter College, to turn the vision into reality.
The stakeholders will explore ways of creating a great public space and developing the area for office use and housing, as well as meeting the day-to-day transport needs of the station and users.
Cllr Rachel Sutton, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for Economy: “This is great news for Exeter. This money will go a long way towards exploring possibilities of how this land - a key gateway into the city – can be transformed and provide much needed homes for the people of Exeter.”
The Minister for Implementation, Oliver Dowden, said: “Getting the best use out of publicly owned land can help to regenerate our towns and cities and give people improved access to the services they need.
“This programme shows that when Government works smarter, with public authorities coming together, taxpayers get better value for money, new jobs are created and space is freed up for vitally needed new homes.
“I am delighted that this funding will help bring forward the exciting proposals being created around St David’s Station in Exeter and I look forward to seeing the project deliver the community services and new housing the community needs.”
Image shows how the area around St David’s Station could look in years to come and is taken from Exeter’s vision document Liveable Exeter announced last week to create 12,000 homes in Exeter over the next 20 years
