Help us Save Bramdean Field
On 6th July Exeter Council’s planning committee meeting met and voted against McCarthy Stone’s planning application. This is a huge victory for the Heavitree Community.
We are so grateful to every single person who has supported this campaign. Whether you completed the survey, signed the petition, wrote to councillors, shared our posts, volunteered your time, donated, attended meetings, or stood with us at the planning meeting—you have all played a part in this incredible result. It may not be over yet as McCarthy Stone have six months to appeal the decision, so we wait in anticipation.
Thank you to everybody
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We are a group of locals who are committed to preserving Bramdean Field as a green space for all to enjoy.
We are campaigning to protect Bramdean Field from a proposed 36-dwelling development and preserve it as a permanent public green space for the whole community. We believe this land should remain accessible to local people, providing space for nature, recreation, outdoor learning, and community wellbeing, while being protected from large-scale development for current and future generations to enjoy.
Our Story So far…
In 2020 Bramdean School closed and the field has remained closed to the public after the headmistress and owner Diane Stoneman passed away in 2023. The land fell to her distant relatives and they signed an agreement with McCarthy Stone in 2024 giving them the right to purchase the land should they receive planning permission.
McCarthy Stone submitted planning for a three storey retirement complex of 36 dwellings in August 2025, and the community responded with over 130 objections. One member accurately compared the design to an American roadside motel. Due to the number of objections received the council took the decision to a Planning Committee Meeting which was held on 27th April 2026.
To give the community the best chance possible we created Bramdean Field Community Interest Company (C.I.C.) and through the company applied for the field to become an “Asset of Community Value” (ACV). Charlotte Corden, a director of Bramdean Field C.I.C., spoke at the Planning Committee Meeting in April and asked for the decision on planning to be delayed whilst the ACV nomination is being decided. The committee agreed by vote to delay the decision giving us up to 8 weeks from 27th April to strengthen our position and wait for the ACV status to be determined.
Disappointingly our ACV application was denied. If we had received ACV status it would have given the community huge sway in the next planning meeting. An ACV acts as a planning tool to protect local amenities by delaying potential sales and adding a "material consideration" to the planning application process. Exeter Council’s website explains what an ACV is in more detail here.
The final planning committee meeting was held on 6th July, with more than 50 local residents coming to the Civic Centre in support of our campaign, banners held high!
We were particularly grateful that Exeter’s five-year housing land supply figures were published just in time for the meeting. This significantly shifted the balance of the planning decision, giving us a much stronger legal argument against developing this greenfield site. Councillors also expressed serious concerns about a number of issues raised in the planning application, including the potential loss of biodiversity in the area.
In the end, councillors voted unanimously to refuse the planning application.
McCarthy Stone now has six months in which to appeal the decision. During this period, we are doing everything we can to prepare should an appeal be lodged. If they do not appeal, we will turn our attention to how we can make the most of this precious green space for the benefit of our local community.
The Vision
What do you dream of in this space? A community garden, a play area, a small community farm, outdoor education for local primary schools, or keep part of it as a sports field?
Lots of people have proposed different ideas, and because there are so many possibilities we want the community fully involved in deciding its future. We also hope to partner with local schools to ensure the space remains a valuable educational resource for the community.
If you would like to get in touch about your dreams or concerns for the future of the field please click the link below, or email charlotte@bramdeanfield.org
The Challenge
If we get to the position of having ACV status on the land and if we are able to purchase the field we will have a wonderful challenge ahead.
We are fortunate to already have access to initial funding that could secure the purchase of the land — an exciting first step towards protecting the site for the community. We will then focus on community fundraising to help repay those funds and support the long-term care, improvement, and sustainable management of the space.
Looking ahead, we’re dreaming up community fundraising events, land maintenance days, and hosting events for locals to pitch their creative ideas for the space— we’d love for you to be part of it. Whether you're keen to help with litter picking, or have professional skills (like legal, surveying, or tree surgery experience), we’d love to hear from you. We need your help to make this happen!
We also acknowledge that the field has had trouble in the past with keeping its boundary safe and experiencing anti-social behaviour. Whatever is decided we will tackle this issue and keep the space secure and safe.
The History
Bramdean School was founded in 1901 and closed in 2020 and prior to 1901 there is no record of the field ever being built on. The North East boundary wall is made up of large red Heavitree Stone, and we know from the Heavitree Quarry Trail project that these stone boundary walls are often markers for important medieval sites.
Many locals know that there is a covenant on the field from its sale in 1894, but unfortunately it holds no weight in the planning permission process. The community must take legal action to enforce it against developers if it comes to that.
During its time as a playing field it hosted football, rugby, and cricket matches against schools like St Peter’s, Ladysmith, and West Exe, along with county cricket fixtures. Locals will remember the games master’s cricket workshops open to all, and each summer their annual school fete attracted many people from the surrounding area.
Over the years it has functioned as a place where neighbours meet, parents talk while children play, and residents encounter one another, strengthening everyday social ties.
The field is part of the area’s historic and social fabric, valued by residents as one of the few remaining open green spaces in the neighbourhood and as a place associated with shared local memory and community life.
Our hope is that this vibrant legacy lives on for future generations.
