Success Stories - Exeter City Futures

Delivering the city’s carbon neutral ambition will require collective action from everyone across Exeter.

Here we celebrate and showcase some of the amazing projects being delivered by communities and organisations across our city that are already making a positive impact.

If you have a project that’s tackling one of the four themes of our Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan (Energy, Mobility, Sustainability and Capability) and wish to add yours please download and fill out our Success Stories Template by clicking the button below.

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Net Zero Exeter Themes

Energy

Mobility

Sustainability

Capability

Energy

City District Heating Project

Planned District Energy scheme supplying low carbon heat and electricity to the RD&E, UoE St. Luke’s Campus and City Centre.

Cranbrook District Heating Project

Operational District Energy Scheme supplying low carbon heat and electricity to residential and business premises in Cranbrook, and Skypark.

Monkerton and Pinhoe District Heating Project

Operational District Energy Scheme supplying low carbon heat and electricity to homes and business at Monkerton, Pinhoe and Exeter Science Park.

South West Exeter District Heat Project

Planned District Energy scheme taking heat from the Energy From Waste plant at Marsh Barton to supply residential and business premises.

Exeter Community Energy

Renewable Energy across Exeter, mostly in the form of 8 solar pv projects but also a potential hydro project and a completed LED project.

Local Energy Assessment Fund Project

Transition Exeter ran workshops about practical affordable actions that everyone can do to save costs and carbon.

Low Carbon Exeter Project

Transition Exeter hosted the Low Carbon Exeter Project which undertook practical work to help more people in Exeter cut their energy bills and consider different ways of meeting their energy needs.

Liveable Exeter Garden City Project to Build 12,000 Homes

A bold vision to create 12,000 new homes in Exeter over the next 20 years while maintaining and expanding the city’s green setting has been unveiled by the City Council.

Project Zero – Energy-Neutral Council by 2022

City Council carbon emissions reduced by 29%, energy consumption dropped by 37% and last year (2018) the carbon emissions of the council’s fleet saw a 34% reduction after the introduction of electric vehicles

Exeter City Council – Livestock Centre Solar PV

The building is carbon positive and generates 1.1GW per annum of renewable electricity - equivalent to powering 180 homes

Groundbreaking Solar Canopy Car Park Arrays

Pioneering solar canopy arrays on city centre car parks that broke new ground, not only in the South West, but also nationally.

Climbing Centre Solar PV

The former City of Exeter Light and Power Station which served the City from 1903 is producing energy again, this time renewable energy from the sun.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum Solar Rooftop Array

Exeter City Council worked with Sungift Solar to install a 26kw Solar PV array on top of RAMM.

Exeter City Council – LED Lighting Replacement Projects

LED lighting replacement projects include the Council’s main Civic Centre offices, where energy consumption saw a 60% reduction.

LHC Design: Reducing Carbon Footprint & Sustainable Design

LHC Design Sustainability & Environmental Working Group has been set up to focus on reducing their carbon footprint and ensuring their design projects respond positively to climate change.

Mobility

Road Collision Innovation Challenge

Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Police have set out a challenge to reduce evidential capture time by 50% during a collision investigation while still meeting the requirements of The Coroners Court.

Lightfoot Connected-Car Technology

Lightfoot uses real-time feedback to coach a more efficient driving style, helping users reduce their vehicles’ emissions by as much as 20% and the risk of at-fault collisions by as much as 80%.

Wellfest – Car-free, Community Fun and Wellbeing Day

On Sunday July 7th, Magdalen Rd in St Leonards was closed to hold Exeter’s first ever Car-Free “Wellfest- a Community Fun and Wellbeing Day”.

Transforming Travel with Shared Mobility for All

Co-cars and Co-bikes are transforming travel in Exeter by offering on demand, shared mobility for all.

RD&E Travel Analysis

The Royal Devon & NHS Foundation Trust commissioned City Science to conduct a comprehensive Active Travel analysis.

Electric Vehicle ‘Plug and Park’ Chargepoint Stations

To encourage the use of Electric Vehicles (EV) across Exeter and the surrounding area, EV Chargepoint facilities have been installed in key areas across the City.

Sport England LDP – Exeter Aims to Be Most Active City in England

Exeter will become the most active city in England. The pilot will encourage 10,000 of Exeter and Cranbrook’s least active residents to lead regular active lifestyles.

Learn2Live – Road Safety Information for Students

Learn2Live hold events to provide road safety information for students in Exeter and elsewhere, “saving lives through education”.

Sustrans Active Travel to Schools Project

A 3-year project encouraging school students to actively travel as part of their journey to school by means of either walking, cycling or scooting

Exeter Residential Travel Planning

Area wide travel planning by Devon County Council, promoting sustainable travel options to new housing developments in Exeter.

Bikeability Cycle Training

Devon County Council has provided Bikeability cycle training for over 76,000 children since 2007, as well as helping adults brush up on their cycling skills and improve their confidence.

Exeter E4 Strategic Cycle Route

Devon County Council is designing and constructing the E4 cycle route, connecting Redhayes Bridge to the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus.

Ride On – Cycling for All

Ride On refurbish donated bikes to sell at affordable prices and run maintenance training courses and self service sessions in their workshop.

Sustainability

St Margaret’s – Making Listed Buildings Energy Efficient

St Margaret’s Residences is set to become a sustainable development of 40 luxury homes in St Leonards, Exeter.

Grenadier unveils EPC A+ sustainable development in Exeter

Grenadier funded the development of Emperor House, the company’s first EPC A+ rated office building located in Exeter Business Park, one of the city’s vibrant business hubs.

Binit – Recycling & Rubbish Sorted: Better Value, Hassle-free

binit is a platform which allows businesses to collectively purchase waste management services.

RD&E – Innovative Transport Solutions

The RD&E have a parking challenge for both staff and patients. They are working with Global City futures and City Science to explore options for innovative transport solutions.

Montgomery Primary School – Net Zero Carbon

Completed in 2012, this was the first school in the UK to meet the PassivHaus standard.

Breathe Exeter – Cleaner, Greener Exeter

The initiative hopes to turn Exeter into the first global case study of small, individual actions making a significant difference to air quality.

Exeter Wild City – Protecting the Future of Devon’s Wildlife

A partnership between Devon Wildlife Trust and Exeter City Council to enhance & protect the wildlife value of green space in the city

Food Exeter – Sustainable & Healthy Food For All

Food Exeter is a newly formed charity, (March 2019) working for sustainable and healthy food for all in Exeter.

Local Waste Startup Binit Announce New Contract with UoE

Recycling and general waste from the University of Exeter will now be picked up by the City Council and Binit, it has been announced.

StreetHUBZ Electric Car Charging Points Installation Project

A consortium composed of Devon County Council, ZAPINAMO and Gamma Energy will be delivering 150 electric car charging points in Exeter over the next two years

RD&E’s Sustainable Development Management Plan

This plan identifies that there is a potential for the RD&E to achieve annual savings of £800,000 and reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 2,200 tonnes + more.

Urban Greening – Sowton

A collaborative project that has transformed a bland office site into a wildlife haven, engaging staff to improve the environment and their wellbeing.

Treeconomics: Exeter i-Tree Project

A tree valuation project, conducting a survey of Exeter’s trees and reporting the benefits to both the environment and to local residents.

Capability

Heavitree Community Partnership

Exeter City Futures are working with the University of Exeter and Exeter City Council to deliver an exciting new community project in Heavitree.

Exeter Data Mill – Open City Data

The one-stop-shop for Data on Exeter - Explore your city in numbers.

Exeter Data Information Science Collaborative (E-DISC)

Exeter Data Information Science Collaborative (E-DISC) brings together leading city organisations to develop the city’s technical data analytical skills for the future.

Exeter 2025 Minecraft Challenge

Minecraft has unlocked the power for anyone to create their own world, but can it be used to help shape the future of our cities?

The Environmental Futures & Big Data Impact Lab

A £6.4 million initiative to boost Devon’s expertise in solving future global environmental and big data challenges

Exeter College Opens New Mini Data Hub

Exeter College opens a brand new Mini Data Hub; a state-of-the-art new facility which will provide industry-standard IT resources to the college’s students.

Exeter Culture – Boosting Creative Energies

Exeter Culture aims to embed arts & culture in all aspects of life, by integrating within the city’s broader strategic planning through the implementation of a new place-based Cultural Strategy.

InExeter – Exeter’s Business Improvement District

InExeter is the business improvement district for Exeter city centre. InExeter celebrates the city and supports local business through a range of initiatives, scheme and projects.