Plans submitted to convert derelict Exeter property into nine flats

A derelict property on one of Exeter's main arterial roads could be transformed into nine flats under plans submitted to Exeter City Council.

The application proposes the change of use, refurbishment and extension of the former commercial property at 83 Heavitree Road, along with associated works.

The application was received in January and validated in March 2026, and is currently pending consideration.

The building is understood to have been the former home and laboratory of Edward Braxton Reynolds, a well-known forensic scientist, who died in 2023 at the age of 83.

The property is listed under Tickle and Reynolds Limited, a company incorporated in January 2014 and dissolved in January 2024 following Mr Reynolds' death.

The building has long been a concern for those living and working nearby.

One resident, who has worked and lived directly opposite the property for more than 25 years, submitted a comment in support of the proposals via the council's planning portal.

"It has always been in a very poor state of repair, and in recent times, a danger to passers-by," they wrote, adding that the scheme offered "a tastefully designed residential solution."