Seafront tower block plan backed

Plans to build an eight-storey tower block on Exmouth seafront should be given the go-ahead, according to district planning officers.

Developers have applied to build the tower, containing 14 apartments and three shops, at Pier Head near Exmouth Marina.

More than 100 residents, businesses and community groups have submitted formal objections, and town councillors have previously branded the plan “a carbuncle” and “a grotesque desecration of Exmouth seafront”.

However, district planning officers have now come out in favour of the plan, producing a report which will be considered by district councillors.

In the report, officers say the design complies with the Exmouth masterplan’s aim of providing a “landmark building” for the site.

According to the report, having seen further amended plans, “Officers are now satisfied that the development has the potential to form an attractive feature that would enhance the Pierhead part of the seafront.

“The [proposed] curvature of the seaward face of the building forms a particularly attractive feature while its tall but slender form means that it would appear prominent, but not intrusive.”

Officers also address concerns about the flood risk at the site, saying that an exception can be made to the usual development guidelines on flooding, because the building forms “part of a wider regeneration initiative for the town”.

The final decision on the plans will be made by members of EDDC’s development management committee on Tuesday.