{"id":68973,"date":"2026-03-04T06:35:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=68973"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:06:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:06:32","slug":"devon-county-council-address-housing-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/devon-county-council-address-housing-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Devon County Council to address housing need"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devon County Council Cabinet members will be asked to give the green light to exploring innovative housing solutions for people who need it most.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Matford Offices site at County Hall, Exeter, which has been declared surplus, was formerly used as council offices and includes a small area of public open space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recommendation being put to Cabinet is that development of the site to support the Council\u2019s strategic Priorities is agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The recommendations also include safeguards to protect trees and a green corridor between the site and Matford Lane and retain key walking routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aligned to the Housing Position statement endorsed by Cabinet in December 2025, which highlighted the serious shortage of affordable, good quality housing in Devon, this proposal seeks to use the Council\u2019s assets for the provision of much needed housing, aligned with the Council\u2019s Strategic Priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_acf-block-69a7d2b82eb4d\" class=\"councillor-quote align-right dcc grid-x\">\r\n\t<blockquote class=\"councillor-quote-blockquote medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n                    <div class=\"councillor-quote-title\"><p>Councillor Julian Brazil, Leader of the Council, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n        \t\t<div class=\"councillor-quote-text\"><p>\u201cThis decision is about using council land in a way that supports people who need housing the most. By prioritising care leaver housing, key worker accommodation (including for teachers and nurses) and affordable homes, we are aligning our assets with our wider responsibilities and strategic priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n        <div class=\"councillor-quote-aside medium-auto small-12 cell\">\r\n\t<figure class=\"councillor-quote-image grid-x\">\r\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"small-6 cell medium-12\" src=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/UserData\/7\/1\/1\/Info00000117\/bigpic.jpg\" alt=\"Councillor Julian Brazil\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\r\n        <figcaption class=\"councillor-quote-description small-6 cell medium-12\" >\r\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/democracy.devon.gov.uk\/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=117\" rel=\"noopener\">Councillor Julian Brazil, Leader of the Council<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n            <\/figure>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    \r\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any future development would be subject to the full planning process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":68974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,34,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children-families-and-education","category-community","category-dcc-homepage"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":68974,"title":"Resizing pics for News Centre (25)","alt":"Councillors stood on the site where the Matford Offices used to be at County Hall, Exeter","description":"","caption":"L to R: Councillor Richard Jefferies, Councillor Julian Brazil, Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Councillor Denise Bickley, standing on the site where the Matford Offices used to be at County Hall, Exeter.","url":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-400x270.jpg","thumbnail_width":400,"thumbnail_height":270,"medium":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-600x338.jpg","medium_width":600,"medium_height":338,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-768x432.jpg","medium_large_width":768,"medium_large_height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-800x450.jpg","large_width":800,"large_height":450,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25.jpg","1536x1536_width":1200,"1536x1536_height":675,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25.jpg","2048x2048_width":1200,"2048x2048_height":675,"thumbnail_featured":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-770x450.jpg","thumbnail_featured_width":770,"thumbnail_featured_height":450,"thumbnail_sidebar":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-200x135.jpg","thumbnail_sidebar_width":200,"thumbnail_sidebar_height":135,"banner-block":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-440x440.jpg","banner-block_width":440,"banner-block_height":440,"small-banner":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-640x360.jpg","small-banner_width":640,"small-banner_height":360,"medium-banner":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-1024x576.jpg","medium-banner_width":1024,"medium-banner_height":576,"small-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-640x480.jpg","small-thumb_width":640,"small-thumb_height":480,"medium-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-320x240.jpg","medium-thumb_width":320,"medium-thumb_height":240,"large-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-420x315.jpg","large-thumb_width":420,"large-thumb_height":315,"slideshow-preview":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-300x200.jpg","slideshow-preview_width":300,"slideshow-preview_height":200,"slideshow":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2026\/03\/Resizing-pics-for-News-Centre-25-800x533.jpg","slideshow_width":800,"slideshow_height":533}},"category_priority":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2028-03-04 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