Block Management in Exmouth
A finished sea defence, but conversions and surface water still shape every block.
Exmouth is 53 miles from Plymouth, and as managing agent we cover block, estate and leasehold management for RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders there. The town's flat stock is unusually conversion-heavy, especially in Exmouth Town ward. The £12 million tidal scheme cut the annual tidal flood chance to 0.5 per cent, but river and surface water risk remains.
Proposals are for developments of 50 or more units. Smaller building? Talk to our team.
Compartmentation, Surface Water and Terrace Consents
Review Compartmentation in Converted Terraces
1,141 of Exmouth's 3,829 flats are in converted or shared houses, and Exmouth Town ward is 19.6 per cent converted or shared. We would commission fire risk assessments that examine shared demises and compartmentation, and keep findings on the compliance record.
Fire risk assessmentsPlan for Surface Water Behind the Defence
The 2022 scheme cut the annual tidal flood chance from 4 per cent to 0.5, but the Environment Agency states river and surface water risk remains. For ground-floor and basement flats we would plan surface water measures and brief insurers.
InsuranceCoordinate Consents Across Terrace List Entries
134 listed buildings in the conservation areas sit under only 60 list entries, so one entry often covers a whole terrace. We would obtain consent before specifying works and coordinate the Section 20 process across the affected flats.
Major works and Section 20Include Basement Garden Flats in Inspections
The council's appraisal records basement garden flats behind the Beacon terrace, reached separately from Beacon Place. For a block of that kind we would include rear access routes and basement areas in every scheduled inspection.
InspectionsEast Devon Council Where the Exe Meets the Sea
- Local authority
- East Devon District Council
- Authority type
- District, under the county council
- Building control
- East Devon District Council Building Control
- County
- Devon
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- From our Plymouth office
- Approx. 53 miles by road
- Setting
- Coastal
Page last updated . Sources: ONS Census 2021, accommodation type (TS044); Environment Agency long term flood risk; Environment Agency flood map for planning; Historic England, National Heritage List for England; UKHSA UK radon map; GOV.UK council tax premiums guidance.
Exmouth Start-Up Fees by Block Size
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and changing your managing agent.
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Exmouth Sits Where the Exe Estuary Meets the Channel
Exmouth sits at the mouth of the Exe estuary, where the estuary meets the English Channel. For a seafront block, salt air shortens the life of external paintwork, railings and fixings, which should be allowed for in maintenance cycles and the reserve fund.
Nearly a Third of Exmouth's Flats Are Conversions
Exmouth's flat stock is unusually conversion-heavy. Across the five Exmouth wards at the 2021 Census, 3,829 of 15,998 households were in flats, and 1,141 of those, nearly a third, were part of a converted or shared house. Across 16,002 households in the built-up area, 14.6 per cent are in purpose-built blocks and 7.1 per cent in a converted or shared house, the latter being 2.2 times the East Devon average. The concentration within the town is sharp. Exmouth Town ward is 19.6 per cent converted or shared house, nearly one household in five, against 0.6 per cent in Exmouth Brixington, while Exmouth Littleham is 30.7 per cent purpose-built flats.
The council's appraisal notes that the Beacon and Louisa Terrace contain hotels and holiday flats alongside private dwellings, with garden flats at basement level to the rear reached from Beacon Place. It also records that several former nineteenth and early twentieth century villas have been demolished and replaced with large apartment blocks on an increased footprint. It notes a significant cumulative impact on prominent skylines and intimate streetscapes. For a converted building, fire separation between flats and the extent of each demise need checking at handover.
The Sea Defence Leaves River and Surface Water Risk
A £12 million Environment Agency tidal defence scheme completed in 2022 cut the annual chance of tidal flooding from 4 per cent to 0.5 per cent for over 1,400 homes and 400 businesses. The Environment Agency is explicit that the scheme reduces the chance of flooding from the sea, but river and surface water risk remains. The South Devon coast at Exmouth warning area lies mostly within the town.
It names the docks, Camperdown Terrace, Victoria Road, Marine Way, Exeter Road, the Strand, the Parade and the Esplanade. Exmouth lies outside the Lower Exe fluvial alert area, so its flood warnings are tidal and coastal. For a block on those streets, ground-floor and basement flats still need a surface water plan, and the remaining exposure should be disclosed to insurers.
Exmouth's Conservation Areas and Their 134 Listed Buildings
East Devon has 33 conservation areas. Exmouth's designation, first made in March 1973, covers 38.9 hectares almost entirely within the town, and the council's appraisal treats it as three conservation areas: Louisa Terrace and The Beacon and Bicton Street, both designated in 1973, and Albion Street and Windsor Square, designated in 1986. The appraisal records 134 individual listed buildings within them, appearing as 60 separate list entries.
That is 41 buildings in Louisa Terrace and The Beacon, 41 in Bicton Street and 52 in Albion Street and Windsor Square. East Devon also publishes mapped guidance for five named character areas, covering historic building character, important features, detracting features and roof and wall materials, 25 mapped documents in all. For a block in these areas, the roof and wall materials guidance is the starting point for any repair specification.
In Exmouth a single list entry frequently covers a whole terrace, so any flat within it is part of a listed building, and works that affect the building's character need listed building consent. Under most leases the flat owner also needs the landlord's licence to alter. 117 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area, one Grade I and three Grade II*. Exmouth's only Grade I building, A La Ronde, is inside the town but outside the conservation area.
So are two of the three Grade II* buildings, the parish church of St Margaret and St Andrew and The Barn. Only Holy Trinity is inside it, so the conservation area and the highest-graded heritage barely overlap here.
Radon Measurement Is Not Advised Across Almost All of the Town
Exmouth sits in the lowest radon band. The lowest band, band 1 of 6, covers 99.9 per cent of the built-up area, and in it under 1 per cent of homes are at or above the action level. UKHSA's stated advice for this band is that radon measurement is not advised except in basements and other below-ground spaces, so for almost every block in the town radon testing of communal areas is not needed unless it has a basement or other below-ground space.
That is national advice about the ground, not about the building. The same map excludes basements, cellars and underground spaces at every band, so an enclosed plant room, undercroft or lower-ground flat is still worth a look even here, and whatever is found belongs with the compliance record.
Planning in Exmouth Runs on the East Devon Local Plan 2013 to 2031
Planning decisions are made under the East Devon Local Plan 2013 to 2031, adopted on 28 January 2016, which includes two Exmouth-specific proposals maps. A replacement for 2020 to 2042 has been through two publication consultations. The Exmouth Neighbourhood Plan was made on 11 April 2019. It followed a referendum on 21 March 2019. It records that the town does not have the disproportionate growth in second homes seen in other seaside towns. It commits only to monitoring the question and imposes no principal residence requirement.
Conversion is governed instead by policy H3 of the adopted local plan. It allows existing dwellings and other buildings to be converted to flats inside a built-up area boundary, provided character and amenity are not materially harmed and parking, cycle storage and refuse storage are adequate. For a block, the neighbourhood plan adds no principal residence restriction to check on sales, and any proposal to create further flats is judged against policy H3.
A 100 Per Cent Second Homes Premium Since 2025
East Devon has charged a 100 per cent second homes premium since 1 April 2025 and a long-term empty premium since 1 April 2024, at 100 per cent from one to five years, 200 per cent from five to ten and 300 per cent beyond ten. Limited exceptions became available from 1 April 2025 for property being actively marketed, undergoing major repair, or recently subject to probate, any of which can apply to a flat in a block.
A New Unitary Council Is Due by April 2028
East Devon District Council keeps planning decisions for Exmouth until the new Devon unitary councils take over, an April 2028 target that still needs Parliament's approval.
Exmouth Questions on Conversions and the Sea Defence
Does the Exmouth Tidal Defence Remove the Flood Risk for Our Block?
It reduces the risk from the sea. The £12 million scheme completed in 2022 cut the annual chance of tidal flooding from 4 per cent to 0.5 per cent for over 1,400 homes and 400 businesses. The Environment Agency is explicit that river and surface water risk remains, so ground-floor and basement flats still need a surface water plan.
Is Radon Measurement Needed for an Exmouth Block?
The national advice is that it is not. The lowest band covers 99.9 per cent of the built-up area, with under 1 per cent of homes at or above the action level. UKHSA's stated advice for that band is that radon measurement is not advised except in basements and other below-ground spaces.
Along the Exe Estuary
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