You are browsing the Blog for St James.
St James “Have Your Say” Meeting
At the latest ‘Have Your Say’ meeting on 22nd February, Mike Roach gave a short presentation on the ‘Senior Reds’. They are a social organisation based at Exeter City Football Club’s St James’ Park ground, although they welcome ‘seniors’ from all over Exeter, whether they are interested in football or not. They aim to provide
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St James Neigbourhood Plan- It’s Time to Vote!
Residents of St James will shortly be able to vote on whether or not they approve of the Neighbourhood Plan which the Exeter St James Forum has compiled after many months of hard work and consultation. The referendum will be held on 2nd May, simultaneously with the County Council elections.
Double Bonus for St James!
Subject to approval by the Council’s Executive Committee, two of St James residents’ associations have been successful with their applications for grants from the City Council’s New Homes Bonus Fund. This was against stiff competition, with twice as much money being applied for as was available in this round of grants. Bury Meadow Residents’ Association
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Update on Local Refuse Issues- St James
Refuse bins left out on the pavements are a continuing problem in St James. Despite the best efforts of City Council staff and University street wardens, there are still too many bins being left out after refuse collection day, which can cause problems for pedestrians in addition to looking unsightly. Ward councillor Keith Owen says:
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St James ‘Have Your Say’ meeting
The next St James ‘Have Your Say’ meeting will be held at St Sidwell’s School in York Road on Friday 22 February 2013 between 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm. These meetings give residents an opportunity to air their views and ask questions of the local police, councillors, council officers and university representatives. If you are
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St James Local Planning Applications
Three recent planning applications have been causing concern for St James residents. In each case local city councillor Keith Owen has raised them with planning officers at the City Council. Residents were surprised recently to see a ‘portacabin’ placed at the front of the Bishop Blackall student accommodation in Pennsylvania Road. This was installed without permission
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‘Have Your Say’ by Torchlight
The ‘Have your say’ meeting on 30 November must have been a first for St James in that it was held under torchlight – two police torches to be precise. Due to problems gaining entry to the booked venue, approximately 30 hardy residents braved the cold to hold the meeting in Queen’s Crescent gardens. At the meeting
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‘Part Night’ Street Lighting
Devon County Council’s plans to turn off some of Exeter’s street lights between midnight and 5 am have caused concern to some residents, particularly students who make up a significant proportion of St James residency. What has especially annoyed residents and local councillors has been the County Council’s failure to carry out proper consultations on its proposals. At a meeting of the Exeter Board in
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St James Local Traffic Update Feb 2013
In late November a meeting was held of the local councillors working group looking at the traffic in St James and neighbouring wards. Traffic monitoring data shows that the opening of the John Lewis store did not increase traffic from its levels immediately before the opening, although congestion still occurs at certain times of the day.
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St James Community Grants Feb 2013
Since our last newsletter, your St James city councillors have approved further grants from out of their community budgets to the following organisations: Sidwell Methodist Church – for a notice board to publicise local events. Whizz Kidz – to support an activity for a group of young disabled people. Devon United Women – to encourage hard
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‘To Let’ Signs
Residents at the ‘Have your say’ meeting complained about the number of ‘To let’ signs cluttering up St James and the length of time that some of them are left up. Keith Owen took this up with the City Council, who explained the regulations on such signs. These include one which stipulates that a sign must
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Speeding in St James
Although one issue in the ward in recent months has been that of traffic congestion, residents have also complained to both Keith Owen and local police about motorists speeding in both Longbrook Street and Howell Road. The police have therefore agreed to carry out speed checks in both roads to deter motorists. These checks may
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St James February ‘Have Your Say’ meeting
The next St James ‘Have Your Say’ meeting will be held at St Sidwell’s School inYork Road on Friday 22 February 2013 between 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm. These meetings give residents an opportunity to air their views and ask questions of the local police, councillors, council officers and university representatives. If you are unable
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St James November ‘Have Your Say’ meeting
The St James ‘Have your say’ meeting on 30 November was held by torchlight, almost certainly a first for such a meeting. Due to the intended venue (St Sidwell’s School) being found locked up, 35 hearty residents, councillors and representatives from the police, university and City Council crossed over to Queen’s Crescent and held a
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St James Local Traffic Meeting
City and County councillors from St James, St David’s and Newtown had a meeting on 29 November with highways officers to review local traffic following the opening of the new John Lewis store.Traffic monitoring data has shown that the opening of John Lewis did not in fact increase the traffic from its levels immediately before the
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Clock Tower Planning Application Concerns
A recent planning application for a site by the Clock Tower has caused concern for residents of St James, St David’s and further afield. The site is the old Job Centre building (known as National House) on the corner of New North Road and Queen Street. An application has been submitted to the City Council
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Local Traffic Update
A meeting of the councillors’ working party, looking at the effects of the recent traffic changes in the city centre, will take place on 29 November. Local city and county councillors will receive an update on traffic flows through the city following the opening of John Lewis, with a particular focus on Longbrook Street and
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St James Community Grants Update – Nov 2012
Since our September newsletter, your St James city councillors have made two further grants to local organisations from out of their community budgets. Both organisations operate from the St Sidwell’s Centre. One grant was to Young at Heart, a social club for older people, which meets on Friday afternoons. The other was to Wren Music,
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Mind Your Step
With less money available for road and pavement repairs, due to the coalition government’s austerity measures, pedestrians should take particular care. Following recent falls in Longbrook Street, the slabs in a section of the pavement are to be replaced with a bituminous surface, but sadly not until next year at the earliest. In addition, Keith
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Next St James ‘Have your say’ meeting
The next St James ‘Have your say ‘ meeting will be held on Friday 30th November 2012 at St Sidwell’s School in York Road from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. This is a great opportunity for residents to raise any local concerns they may have with local councillors, the police and representatives of the University. Do come along
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The Wrong Notice Board
There was an error in our last newsletter where it stated that Exeter City Council had made a grant for the Residents’ Association notice board in Prospect Park. This should have read Devonshire Place. It was Exeter University that funded the notice board in Prospect Park. We apologise to all parties concerned.
King Stephen Close Sign
Residents contacted Keith Owen recently about the sign at the entrance to King Stephen Close, which had been kicked in by vandals. Also of concern was that an increasing number of vehicles were turning into the Close, finding it is a cul de sac, turning round and exiting. Keith has arranged for a new sign
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St James Traffic Update
A meeting of county and city councillors is to be held shortly to review the effects of the recent traffic changes in the city centre. These have resulted in increased traffic in the St James ward, particularly in York Road and Longbrook Street. The group of councillors will look to see what steps can be
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St James traffic meeting
A public meeting took place at the St Sidwell’s Centre in July to discuss the effects so far of the recent traffic changes in St James. The two roads most discussed were York Road and Long brook Street, which have borne the biggest brunt of the increased traffic. Officers from the County and City Councils
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St James June ‘Have your say’ meeting
The latest meeting giving St James residents an opportunity to air their views on a range of subjects was held at St Sidwell’s School on 26 June. In attendance were representatives of the police, the University, officers of the City and County Councils and also local councillors. The subject discussed most was late night student
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St James Neighbourhood Plan
Following the consultation that ended in June, the electoral ward of St James has been approved as the area to be covered by the proposed Neighbourhood Plan. The next stage is for Exeter St James Forum to be agreed as an appropriate body to prepare a neighbourhood plan for the area. This was subject to
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London Inn Square Traffic Changes
By the time this newsletter goes out, New North Road should have been closed to southbound traffic between the junction with Longbrook Street and High Street/Sidwell Street (by the new John Lewis store). In advance of this, signage will have been put in place at Cowley Bridge Road directing through traffic and traffic heading to
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Your Neighbourhood Plan – Come to the Forum’s Open Day
As mentioned in our previous newsletter, the next meeting of the Exeter St James Forum will take place at St Sidwell’s School in York Road on Saturday 9th June between 2 pm and 5 pm. The afternoon will comprise the Forum’s first AGM, plus an ‘Open Day’ to present and discuss the first draft of
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St James “Have Your Say” Meeting
There is a ‘Have your say’ (formerly PACT) meeting will be held at St Sidwell’s School in York Road on Tuesday 26th June between 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm. The meeting will give local residents a chance to raise issues with local police officers, councillors and representatives of the university. Do come along and have your
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Drains/Gullies in St James
During the recent election campaign, Keith Owen was asked by a resident of Edgerton Park Road for help in getting action to tackle a blocked drain (or gully as councils tend to call them). The problem was caused by muddy water running down from nearby building work during the heavy rain in April. Devon County
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First “Get Baking” Event 2012
On 13th May Hillside Avenue hosted a hugely successful tea party attended by an estimated 120 adults and children. They feasted on 50 home made cakes and delights and were blessed with glorious weather. The afternoon included a Junior Master Baker Competition with the 15 children taking part producing entries of a very high standard.
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More Residents Have Their Say
There was an excellent turnout of local residents at the latest St James ‘Have your say’ meeting at St Sidwell’s School on 14 March. They were given an opportunity to raise areas of concern with representatives from the police, Exeter University, Exeter City Council and Devon County Council. Rory Cunningham from the University addressed the
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York Road and Other Works
Work in York Road began in early April and the County Council estimates that this will take between 6 to 8 weeks. The work includes widening the pavement on the east side of York Road, relocating the pedestrian crossing, resurfacing the road and removing the double height kerb at the junction with Acland Road, installing
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Exeter St James Forum
The Forum’s meeting on 17th April was arranged to enable residents to hear about the work that been done by the various task groups on the initial stages of the neighbourhood plan. One of the aims of the plan is to create a more balanced community in St James. The next meeting of the Forum
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Parking Issues Tackled
Following representations by Labour county councillor Jill Owen, it has now been confirmed that parking on verges and pavements in Exeter is a civil parking offence. Motorists who do this will now face a fixed-penalty notice. This will be welcomed by pedestrians, particularly disabled people and parents with buggies, who have complained about being forced
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Speeding in St James
One issue raised at last December’s St James ‘Have your say’ meeting was speeding motorists in Longbrook Street. As a response to this, the local police were (at the time of writing) preparing to carry out a speed check in Longbrook Street. When Keith Owen called on residents of Howell Road recently, separate complaints were
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Exeter St James Forum Update
Good progress is being made on the formulation of a neighbourhood plan for St James. It is hoped that by November the Forum will have involved residents in discussing and agreeing a draft plan, secured the go-ahead from an independent inspector, and publicised the draft plan to residents and asked them to approve it in
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A Message from PCSO Helen Harvey
Hello St James! I have recently joined the St James neighbourhood policing team. I will be working alongside Neighbourhood beat officer PC Alex Kennedy. Prior to becoming the Police Community Support Officer for St James I worked in the control room for 3½ years. I hope to use that experience in my new role. So
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Traffic Count in St James
On 7 February Devon County Council was carrying out a traffic count in Blackall Road and Longbrook Street, in advance of the ‘London Inn Square’ traffic changes being implemented later this year. Keith Owen, Labour’s candidate for St James, says: ‘It is very important that the effects of the traffic changes are closely monitored. If
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Bishop Blackall Update
Residents of Thornton Hill and nearby streets must be getting tired of yet further applications being submitted for the development of this site, about which we reported in the autumn 2011 issue of St James Ward News. At the time of going to print, we understand that the latest application has now been withdrawn as
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London Inn Square – Proposed traffic Changes
The proposed changes to traffic movements in St James, as a result of the London Inn Square (John Lewis) improvements, were approved by the Cabinet of Devon County Council at their meeting on 14 December 2011. The work, which will include improvements to the York Road area, will be jointly funded by the County Council
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Feedback – St James ‘Have your say’ Meeting
The latest meeting at St Sidwell’s School on 15 December attracted a good number of local residents, given the wet weather and the rival attraction of late night Christmas shopping. PCSO Anthony Keller and Rory Cunningham, the University community liaison offer, reported on what had been done to tackle the three priority areas agreed by
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Thank You Anthony!
St James ward Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), Anthony Keller, is leaving St James and moving to the St Loyes area of the city. At the latest St James ‘Have your say’ meeting (see below), local residents warmly thanked Anthony for the three years of hard work that he has carried out in the ward
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St James ‘Have Your Say’ meeting: 15 December 2011
The next St James ‘Have Your Say’ meeting will be held on Thursday 15th December at St Sidwells School, York Road starting at 6.30pm. Local residents will have an opportunity to meet the Local Policing Team, City and County Councillors and University and Student representatives, to discuss their concerns and community issues. The current priority
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Cricket club development?
Devon County Cricket Club has had a rent-free lease on the County Cricket Ground since 1902. The present lease expires in 2014. The club is presently in discussions with the owners of the land about the renewal of the lease and the future of the site. One option being considered would involve development of part
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Bishop Blackall
The refurbishment of the old Bishop Blackall school building has now been completed and from all accounts has been very successful. The owners, Campbell Properties, have been listening to local residents’ feedback about issues such as toning down the brightness of the external security lights. At present the student accommodation is approximately 60% occupied. The
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