st.mary steps, exeter

this small square at the foot of west st. and the steps should be as vibrant and attractive as the architecture deserves, instead it is a run down car park surrounded by empty shops with a major carriageway cutting across it, impossible for pedestrians and cut off from both quayside and city centre; a major planning mistake for post war exeter and in dire need of an imaginative rethink . as one of the first sights for visitors it spells depressed city when it could so easily become a positive asset.
the c14 church, its c16 clock and the enticing steps to its east along with the half timbered houses are gems that most towns would cherish.