City centre redevelopment plan approved

There will be a coffee shop, business hub and luxury apartments

Plans to redevelop a recognisable Exeter city centre building and the run-down, empty shops underneath have been given the go ahead.

The former home of famed outfitters Cornish’s, and more recently home to Store Twenty One and Snappy Snaps, is part of a plan approved this week to create a brand new coffee shop, a business tech hub and 24 luxury apartments.

Unveiled back in May 2019, Exeter City Council planners under delegated powers granted planning permission for the scheme for Paternoster House this week.

Paternoster House, which withstood the Blitz, sits on the corner of Fore Street and North Street was snapped up by Grenadier Estates in late 2017.

The tech hub, which could be operated by the University of Exeter and Exeter City Futures, mirrors proposals for a ‘social business accelerator’ type venue for city workers proposed for the neighbouring BHS unit after the retail giant collapsed, but the space was instead snapped up by a budget retail chain and a gym.

Statement with the application had said that “against the background of struggling retailers in city centres generally”, the business accelerator would “only be beneficial to the city centre.”

The statements added: “The proposed scheme is for a highly sustainable residential development that will bring this redundant and poorly maintained building at the heart of one of Exeter’s conservation areas back into life.

“The proposals show a building that will engage with the city at street level and provide high quality whole life apartments. The proposals that are planned around the building’s architectural significance to ensure that its character is retained and the building sustained for the future.

“The existing courtyard to the rear of the building will be given over to bicycle and refuse storage, to facilitate easy access for cycling at street level. At the front of the building, the coffee shop frontage is shown with timber framed folding glazed doors to enable the building to be opened up during the summer months so that the coffee shop may spill out onto the adjacent pavement.”

They added that the coffee shop scheme would complement the proposed improvement works to the public landscaping to the square at the top of South Street that Exeter City Council put forward in 2018.

Where possible balconies or terraces have been incorporated into the apartment layouts, with eight of the 24 apartments proposed have access to a balcony, while the roof terrace would have views across the city centre and beyond. There would be seven one bed apartments and 17 two beds apartments.

The social business acceleration would be located on the ground floor, and is described as being: “A space designed to give Social and business entrepreneurs access to the training, networks, financial capital and most importantly an environment where people can develop successful enterprises and organisations.

“The aim is to generate investment, provide experience and work for the common good in a reimagined economy where all people are recognised for their essential role in accelerating economic development and cultural expansion.

“We also seek to cultivate a community of mission-driven, for-profit and not for profit social enterprises who are creating and discovering markets that help wider society.”

The scheme should enhance the wider social, economic and cultural nature of Exeter and enliven people’s interaction with the city, the application says.

Paternoster House has a rich history which dates back to the late 1800s, with Cornish & Co trading for 100 years until it closed in 1991.

Planning permission for the scheme was granted under delegated powers by Exeter City Council this week.