A disused car breakers yard on the edge of Exeter could be transformed into a small cul-de-sac of seven family homes under new plans submitted to the city council.
Applicant James Hill, of 8Homes, is seeking full planning permission to redevelop the former Newbery Car Breakers site at Barley View, Redhills. The 0.33-hectare brownfield plot, described in planning documents as “formerly used as a car breakers yard (scrapyard)”, lies on the western side of the city and is enclosed by mature trees, many protected by Tree Preservation Orders.
According to the Design and Access Statement, the application seeks approval “for seven new dwellings, an access road, and associated parking and landscaping” . The homes would be arranged in a cul-de-sac, using the existing access onto Redhills.
The scheme proposes a mix of two three-bedroom houses, three four-bedroom houses and two five-bedroom houses . Planning documents state that “each plot will have parking provision and a single garage” , alongside private gardens.
In total, three house types are proposed. The Design and Access Statement explains that the layout has been designed “to maximise the space available, without impacting the existing mature trees that border the site” . It adds that the scheme aims to deliver homes that “will meet or exceed the nationally described space standards”.
At the front of the site, a green setback from Redhills is proposed, along with “an informal footpath to the north-west, providing a safe connection to the new development to the north” . Planning permission has already been granted for up to 80 homes on land to the north, where construction is under way.
The site is located within a designated Landscape Setting, just west of a locally designated area of Nature Conservation Interest, but is not within a statutory landscape designation.
Existing trees and hedgerows along the boundaries are to be retained, with opportunities for additional planting within the development . The application includes an ecological appraisal which identifies habitat features on the site and recommends mitigation, including the installation of bat, bird and invertebrate features within the new dwellings.
To address surface water, the proposal includes “an attenuation tank and associated connections”, with new pipes to be laid along Redhills to connect to existing drainage infrastructure at the entrance to St Peter’s Mount.
In terms of appearance, the Design and Access Statement says the development will use “a simple, cohesive material palette” combining red and brown brick, timber cladding and dark tiled roofs, creating homes that “sit comfortably within their wooded setting on the rural edge of the city.”
The site has a lengthy planning history. An outline application for five dwellings was previously approved, while a later proposal for six detached homes was refused and dismissed at appeal.
In the Regulation 19 draft of the Exeter Local Plan, the land is proposed to be allocated for eight homes and “has therefore been identified as suitable for development.”
A separate legal opinion submitted with the application concludes that a 2003 planning permission for three detached dwellings was lawfully implemented and remains extant.
The planning statement also points to the National Planning Policy Framework (2024), which says local authorities should “give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements for homes.”
Given the site’s former use as a scrapyard, contamination has been assessed. The application includes a contaminated land technical memo, and policy EN2 of the Exeter Local Plan requires that where contamination may exist, “practicable and effective measures are to be taken to prevent unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.”
The planning statement argues that the proposal represents “a viable and deliverable reuse of this sustainable brownfield site” and that mitigation and enhancement measures will ensure ecological impacts are minimised.
The application for seven homes at the former Newbery Car Breakers site will now be considered by Exeter City Council. As a full planning application, it will be subject to consultation before a decision is made in accordance with the development plan and other material considerations.
