Plans for a transformation of parts of Exmouth have been given a lukewarm response from key people in the town.

The Exmouth placemaking plan curates ideas in five areas, including Queen’s Drive and the Beach Gardens car park, with 13 potential projects suggested for phase one with a total value of £6 million.

The vision, which is being spearheaded by East Devon District Council, is to improve the East Devon town over the next 10 years and has been subject to various consultations over the past two years.

Some of the more controversial ideas – which are not cast-iron plans – include a potential multi-storey car park as part of development of the existing Imperial Road car park, and a new leisure centre.

Inside Exmouth's existing leisure centre.Inside Exmouth's existing leisure centre. (Image: Simon Horn)

However, the potential for a park and ride system has been more warmly received, as has the notion of creating a space for events north of Queen’s Drive Space, which houses some of the town’s replica dinosaurs.

But Exmouth’s mayor, councillor Joe Whibley (Independent, Exmouth Town), doesn’t think the town council is fully behind the plan as it stands.

“Collaboration has been spoken about, with hopes that the town, district and county council would have their logos on documents [thus endorsing the plans], but in terms of the town council, there is quite a long way to go,” he told an East Devon group called ‘placemaking in Exmouth town and seafront’.

“They see the placemaking plan, and some of its specific projects in specific places, and they feel like they have come from nowhere with no link to what is going on in the town, using places that are currently used for other things.”

He suggested the district council speaks explains the plan to the town council once more.

His comments were endorsed by fellow town councillor Graham Deasy, who felt the latest consultation was presented as a ‘fait accompli’.

He said: “We’re spending time criticising it or trying to make further suggestions instead of being involved at the development stage.”

Others councillors felt the consultation questions were inadequate, and that some residents felt the district council is “looking to do things to Exmouth, rather than for it”.

But Gerry Mills, East Devon’s project manager for place and prosperity in Exmouth, said the most recent consultation was the third in two years.

He acknowledged, though, that councillors had not had time to refine the plan before this year’s consultation, and that this might be contributing to the mixed response.

This year’s consultation, in the first two weeks of March, received 712 responses and around 26 emailed comments.

Mr Mills also defended the write-up of the consultation’s findings, and urged councillors to be bold.

“There have been comments about the content of the consultation report, but we have only removed two comments as they were offensive, and we couldn’t publish them, but beyond that we haven’t filtered it and have published the responses, warts and all,” he said.

“And in terms of ideas such as the Exmouth Pavilion and multi-storey car park, these are aspirational and there will be an opportunity to refine specific projects.

“But before we subject the placemaking plan to austerity cuts, bear in mind that when governments come and ask whether we have projects ready to go or approved plans, they will be looking for aspirational schemes.”

He acknowledged some of the so-called big ticket ideas would be “highly costly”, but that if the town said “we’re never doing that, then it I potentially self-defeating”.

The placemaking group agreed £40,000 to commission consultants WSP to help progress the plan to the next stage.