Historic Exeter site could be restored with £1 million apartments and commercial units

The project to restore a much-loved Exeter landmark to its former glory is expected to clear another hurdle next week.

Members of Exeter City Council’s planning committee will consider plans for the Royal Clarence Hotel, which was gutted by a fire in October 2016.

Local company Nooko has been working to prepare the site on Cathedral Green since collecting the keys from previous owners Akkeron in April last year. Permission was granted as long ago as October 2022 for 25 new high-quality apartments on the site, most with views across the green to the cathedral. Prices will be up to £1 million.

There will also be some commercial units, including ‘high-end’ food and drink outlets.

Now Nooko has returned to the council with its latest plans, which are being recommended for approval as long as the developer satisfies a list of conditions, including handing over more than £2 million towards local affordable housing projects.

Council officers say the proposals are acceptable and create substantial public benefits by redeveloping a derelict site in the heart of the city centre.

A report to the meeting says: “The proposal will retain and restore as much of the listed historic fabric as possible and will enhance the setting of the site, surrounding listed buildings, conservation area and Scheduled Monument.

“In addition, it will revitalise this corner of Cathedral Green, within the Tourism Action Area, and support the vitality of the City Centre.”

Officers say that while some demolition will happen on the upper floors of the Well House section of the historic building, this is a more modern addition and the demolition is necessary.

No objections to the plans have been filed on the council’s website, although the Churches Conservation Trust warns that demolition work could damage the 15th-century St Martin’s Church, which is next to the development site and is Grade One listed.

More than 1,000 firefighters used 800,000 litres of water to fight the blaze in 2016, and some of the burnt timbers left over will be kept as a ‘visible, poignant connection’ between old and new as part of the new development.

Nooko is the third company to own the shell of the Royal Clarence since the fire. Andrew Brownsword Hotels owned it at the time of the blaze, and more recently it has been owned by the Akkeron Group.

Nooko director Max Sayers shared updates on the project at a recent public meeting, saying the accent would be on preserving as much of the old building as possible.

“I’ve got a four-year-old daughter, and I want her to be proud that we are building buildings that will still be there in 100 years,” he said. “We’re going to create the best flats in Exeter and we will put our hearts and souls into this.”