Council Leader, says tough decisions are made in the best interests of Exeter

Council Leader Phil Bialyk said decisions made by its ruling Executive will always be taken in the best interests of the city.

Speaking after this weeks Executive meeting, Cllr Bialyk said he wanted to highlight a number of important issues for Exeter and the city’s priorities going forward. 

A statement at the start of Executive revealed agreement has been reached with a partner to create residential housing at Mary Arches Street car park in the city centre.

Cllr Bialyk said a lot of interest had been expressed in the site which was put on the market for redevelopment as residential housing.

Last year the Council’s development company Exeter City Living, which had planned to redevelop the site, ceased operations. Its sale for housing would end any outstanding financial responsibilities for the Council.

Cllr Bialyk said: “I am pleased to say we have now found a partner and agreed terms, we had a lot of bids and that demonstrates the interest that organisations, businesses and firms have in Exeter because we are a go-ahead place. This will be for residential development which will go through a proper planning consultation at the appropriate time.”

Cllr Bialyk said he wanted to address inaccurate claims that the Council was planning to create a permanent car park at the site of the former bus station.

“We knocked the bus station down some time ago, and now it’s just an open space next to our wonderful leisure centre and the new bus station,” he said.

“We are in discussions and a paper will come forward to the next Executive about the long-term use of the site around the former bus station called City Point, and we want to bring forward a development for the city. It’s a big area and we need partners.

“We want to bring forward a scheme which will include residential built to rent homes, community space, public realm areas, some shops – a real mixed development, and that is the long-term plan.

“I’ve heard some nonsense that we are turning it into a car park permanently – we are not. What we are doing is advertising parking changes and consulting on that, in case we need temporary car parking spaces on the site. At the moment it is empty – a prime spot in the middle of town.

“Before redevelopment takes place, we are consulting with businesses and looking at a “meanwhile use” like small businesses popping up, cafes, restaurants and businesses as we’ve seen in places like Bristol.

“Part of that might include some parking space while the long-term plans progress, and we are consulting on an order to allow us to do that. We are not going to have a permanent car park there. We have plans to regenerate the city centre. Exeter is not just about car parks it is about a thriving city centre that we intend to maintain.” 

Cllr Bialyk said Executive took the difficult decision not to proceed with the current bid to decarbonise the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Riverside Leisure Centre – two of the Council’s high energy use facilities – because it could not be delivered on time and on budget.

He said the Council had allocated a budget of £871,000 for the project which has not been spent, and not a penny has been lost.

“This was a clear, practical business decision. From the many reports I was receiving from officers, who I trust implicitly on this matter, the scheme was not able to be delivered. We care about the city’s finances and the officers care about the city’s finances,” he said.

“All is not lost. There’s going to be another public sector decarbonisation fund soon, and we’ll be ahead of the game with our feasibility study already done. We still have the £871,000, and I’d like to think our scheme will be acceptable to central government and I’m confident we will be successful.

“I’m confident we have taken all the right decisions, all in the right order.”

Executive heard that the Council would continue to support residents struggling with the high cost of living. Cllr Bialyk said: “I speak to a lot of residents who tell me that the difficult times are still there.

“The Household Support Fund has been extended for another six months, it will look similar but and some rules have been refined. There will be help for pensioners who are struggling with bills.

“We’re also seeing more claimants for pensioner credit. The Council is committed to supporting people - we’ve helped a lot of people over the years and we will continue to do that.”

Members of the Executive also backed plans to make recently retired former councillor Richard Branson an Alderman of the city.

Cllr Bialyk said: “Richard has been a fantastic councillor for Newtown and St Leonard’s for 24 years. He’s always represented his constituents with dedication, and he’s been re-elected many times with huge majorities, which tells you something.

“We plan to bestow Aldermanship on him at the full Council meeting, and it’s richly deserved.”