For journalists

Media contact

Email contact@stopexmo20.co.uk, or use our contact form. The campaign is run by the Stop Exmo_20 Action Group, a group of local residents (see our newsletters).

In brief

EXMO20 (written Exmo_20 in council documents) is an allocation in East Devon District Council's draft Local Plan for about 700 homes on farmland at St John's, on the north-east edge of Exmouth, between Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton. It sits next to the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, which are protected as a Special Area of Conservation, a Special Protection Area and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The main road access would come from the B3179. Residents want EXMO20 removed from the plan before it is submitted for examination.

Key facts

The council's own assessment rejected it. EXMO20 failed the council's HELAA site assessment, and the officers' report of August 2024 recommended "No" to allocating the whole site. Members of the Strategic Planning Committee voted to include it on 3 September 2024. (the documents)
More responses than any other site. About 1,110 of 3,510 responses in the first consultation, and 1,672 of 3,114 in the second, were about EXMO20. (source)
Harm to the Heaths not ruled out. The council's Habitats Regulations Assessment (November 2025) says there is "not yet sufficient certainty to rule out adverse effects" from air quality on the Heaths. Natural England says the plan "remains unsound until this uncertainty is resolved". (source)
Traffic beside the Heaths. Devon County Council forecasts 2,536 more vehicles a day on the B3179, "of which 2235 would be due to the Exmo_20 site", on the assumption that its main access is from the B3179. (source)
Objections from public bodies. Natural England, the RSPB, Devon Wildlife Trust, Historic England, the Environment Agency and Budleigh Salterton Town Council have objected or raised serious concerns. (the evidence)
"Likely to have significant effects on the environment". In July 2026 the council decided that a planning application for the site will need a full Environmental Impact Assessment (ref. 26/0005/EIA). (source)
Petition. The residents' petition was approaching 1,500 signatures on 10 November 2026 (openPetition).

Key dates

Tuesday 1 December 2026, 10am: Strategic Planning Committee, Blackdown House, Honiton.
Wednesday 9 December 2026, 6pm: full Council, Blackdown House, Honiton. Expected to vote on the Local Plan, which must be submitted in 2026 to go ahead under the current rules.

The full timeline since 2022 is on the evidence page.

Documents

Councillor briefing (PDF, 1 page): the nine reasons, each with a quote from a council meeting.
Evidence pack (PDF, 31 pages): the case, the evidence, and the council's arguments with our answers.
Leaflet (PDF, 1 page).
Searchable transcripts of 28 recordings of 19 council meetings since September 2024, with links to the council's recordings.

Images

You're welcome to use these images in coverage of EXMO20. Please credit "Stop EXMO20".

Aerial photo of the EXMO20 site today: fields, hedgerows and woodland around the church of St John in the Wilderness, with Exmouth and the sea beyond — **The site today.** Aerial photo of the land at St John's, with the church of St John in the Wilderness. Download (996 × 664)

Illustration: the same aerial photo with the EXMO20 allocation outlined in red and filled with about 700 house symbols, and the line of the access road — **Illustration, not the developer's layout.** The allocated area outlined in red, with one symbol for each of the "around 700 homes" in the draft plan and the approximate line of the access road. The symbols are spread across the whole allocation to show its extent; homes would not be allowed in the northern part nearest the Heaths (the 400 m zone). Please describe it as an illustration. Download (996 × 664)

Campaign banner. Download (1200 × 630)

The council's position

For balance: the council says decisions on the Local Plan were made in public after considering the evidence, that it has to plan for the housing numbers the government sets, and that objectors can be heard at the examination. We set out the council's view in its own words, and its main arguments with our answers on Their arguments, our answers.

Quotes on this site come from machine transcripts of the council's YouTube recordings, and each links to the moment it was said. Please play the clip before quoting. Nothing on this site is legal advice.