With a surge in population of an estimated 7,000 since the 2011 census, it’s clear why housebuilders are busy across Devon’s administrative capital Exeter in order to try to keep up with demand for new homes.
The cathedral city’s Core Strategy calls for 12,000 new homes between 2006 and 2026, with current completions and planning consents indicating that that may well be exceeded by up to 25%. The town has already undergone some other regeneration, with two of its shopping areas overhauled around a decade ago.
New homes will have to be complemented by suitable improvements to local amenities and infrastructure. Very recently, a deal was done at Tithebarn Green to provide 248 homes (of which 62 are designated ‘affordable’) as well as a new 18-acre country park for residents to enjoy. Some £3m will also be contributed to updating highways and providing more classrooms for primary and secondary schools.
Exeter is a well-connected city, with the M5 putting it at the south-western corner of the country’s motorway network and the A30 and A38 linking west through Devon and Cornwall. The town’s St David’s station is also served by routes across the country, including Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London.
Devon is renowned for its extensive coastlines and verdant countryside, and this part of the world has a number of designated parks and areas protected for their natural beauty and wildlife. Exmoor, Dartmoor and East Devon are all within easy reach of Exeter, adding to the quality of life homebuyers can expected when purchasing there.
New homes currently for sale in Exeter:
Just a few homes remain for sale at David Wilson Homes’ Rougemont Park, with prices starting from £299,950. The development is providing a range of three-, four- and five-bedroom homes within easy reach of local schools and respected regional employer, the Met Office. The current ‘featured home’ is a three-bedroom townhouse where the housebuilder is paying £2,500 stamp duty and £500 towards legal fees.
David Wilson is also offering four- and five-bedroom homes in Pinhoe, just four miles from the city centre, at Hillside Gardens, priced from £367,000, and other family and executive homes at Rydon Lawns, close to Newcourt station, starting at £425,000.
Pinn Brook is a development coming soon to the hamlet of Monkerton, where Barratt Homes will be offering a selection of properties with two, three or four bedrooms. Prices are to be announced.
Close by, the housebuilder is sharing the site with its sister company at Hillside Gardens with another selection of two, three- and four-bedroom new builds priced from £219,995 that combine proximity to the city with pleasant rural surroundings.
First-time buyers and families alike will find something attractive at Redrow Homes’ The Harringtons, where the house types combine traditional architecture with thoroughly modern interior layouts and specification, with the current availability costing from £423,995.
The same company is also working on the eastern edge of the city, with a further collection of homes at Bishops Court, where prices start at £412,995.
A new show homes is now open at Rockbeare Briar, just a few miles east of Exeter, where regional housebuilder Cavanna Homes is building 19 properties, a range of six three- and four-bedroom options. Outside, they are styled to fir the local village vernacular, but have a good modern specification internally. Prices start at £275,000.
Built to zero-carbon standards as part of the company’s Platinum Plus range, Holland Park has an array of contemporary-styled properties with from two to five bedrooms courtesy of Heritage New Homes. Located on the edge of a golf course, there’s a mix of apartments and houses. Prices start at £350,000.
For older buyers looking to downsize to a development with excellent communal facilities, Millbrook Village may be the answer. Renaissance Villages is provising luxurious surroundings to the well-specified homes, with a restaurant, pool and fitness centre for residents to enjoy. Prices on application.