[4] Sowton has an old village centre but serves as a major Exeter suburb, with a large industrial estate, park and ride site and modern housing developments.
The area is located next to the M5 motorway between junctions 29 and 30, the opposite side from the village and is served by Digby and Sowton railway station.
Most of the industrial estate is covered with large retailers, warehousing and distributing, as well as a small number of manufacturers.
There is also a Park and Ride location for bus services to Exeter city centre.
For a number of years there has been an office development on the main road which was left incomplete as the economy took a downturn during construction.