Save our Exeter Greenspace!
We urgently need your help to fight an appeal to develop the countryside on the edge of Exeter in Beacon Heath/Mincinglake. We estimate we will need £5000 to begin with to pay planning consultants and other expert witnesses to help us win this battle. Please donate what you can today. Thank you.
If the developers win this appeal, we believe that this car-led development will destroy our precious open green space, create more congestion on our already busy roads and increase carbon emissions - harming biodiversity at a critical time of climate crisis. It may also open the floodgates for more development across the northern hills of Exeter close to our precious Mincinglake Valley Park.
Local residents Samson and baby Atlas don't want to lose their local green space
Campaign background
Back in October last year, our campaign group, with the help of the local community urged our city councillors to refuse the original planning application for 93 houses on fields at the back of Celia Crescent and Spruce Close. We were over the moon when councillors agreed with us and unanimously refused the application!
Prior to this, we began our battle back in June 2020. A determined grassroots community campaign group was created and posters and leaflets were distributed to local residents encouraging people to object. An incredible 400+ objections were sent to the council so we know how much local people do not want their beautiful local nature spaces destroyed.
Angus and Freddie love climbing the tree at the edge of the fields
Why we need to act NOW !
We have requested and been granted Rule 6 Party status in the appeal. This means we can participate as an equal party, and bring our own evidence. But we can’t do it alone!
We urgently need to raise funds to secure the expert advice we need to develop a strong winnable case in time and we don’t have long. The inquiry starts on 5th July 2022 and we need fighting funds to pay experts today.
We believe this case is extremely important as a legal precedent. There are several applications going in at the moment from developers in this area of Exeter. If this one gets through then we believe this will open the floodgates and turn our precious local countryside into a giant housing estate, putting yet more pressure on local services and infrastructure. We are not against houses being built but we urge the developers to use the brownfield sites available first and find other innovative ways of creating housing in the city like freeing up empty homes/second homes and holiday homes for example. Most of the homes already being built in Exeter are not even affordable for local people!
3 year old Remy on one of many adventures across the fields with his packed lunch!
Where will the funding go?
Donations to this crowdfunder will be administered by Transition Exeter, a community organisation supporting local sustainability. Funding will be used to cover the costs of appealing as a Rule Six party including the costs of expert witnesses. If there are any funds unused, they will be re-directed to the next local development appeal or if there is opportunity to buy and/or manage land going forward to protect greenspace in Exeter we would transfer money to that.
We will keep this page updated with our progress and you can follow us and support the campaign on Facebook too - Save Celia Crescent & Pinwood Meadow Fields
Thank you so much - we can do this TOGETHER!
Nuka admiring the incredible view all the way to the sea!