Exeter's Royal Clarence hotel to be restored

'Progress is moving fast'

A green light from the city council planning committee has cleared the way for the long-awaited restoration of an Exeter landmark.

Councillors voted to back local company Nooko’s latest plans for the Royal Clarence Hotel, which was gutted by a fire in October 2016.

The site has been fenced off since then, and one councillor described it as the ‘missing tooth in Exeter’s smile’. Now Nooko can press on with plans which director Max Sayers says will create ‘the best flats in Exeter’.

In a social media post, Nooko has shared the latest photographs from the site on Cathedral Green. They show the ‘skeleton’ of the building held in place by temporary steelwork, with the complex network of interior scaffolding now removed.

“It’s a complex bit of engineering, but it’s done its job perfectly,” says the post on Facebook. “We’ve also cleared the scaffolding down St Martin’s Lane, which we know will be a welcome sight for the neighbours! We anticipate the lane will stay clear until late spring or early summer.

“Progress is moving fast!”

Permission was granted as long ago as October 2022 to the previous owners of the site for 25 new high-quality apartments, most with views of the cathedral and some costing up to £1million.

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

Planners were asked to consider the latest proposals, which come with a set of conditions including handing over more than £2million towards local affordable housing projects.

Council officers said the proposals created substantial public benefits by redeveloping a derelict site in the heart of the city centre.

A report to the meeting said: “The proposal will revitalise this corner of Cathedral Green.”

More than 1,000 firefighters fought the 2016 blaze, and some of the burnt timbers left over will be kept as a reminder of the hotel’s history.