Ten years after the Cathedral Yard fire, the Royal Clarence rebuild has full permission for 25 flats, a pub and a restaurant. Here is what happens next.
Ten years to the day after fire gutted the Royal Clarence Hotel, the scheme to rebuild it finally has full planning permission. Exeter City Council issued the decision on 5 October 2026. It allows 25 homes on the upper floors, with a pub and a restaurant on the ground floor and in the basement.
The developer has already gone back to the council with the next step. On 21 October it applied to sign off the construction details the council needs to see before building can continue.
What has been approved
The permission is 25/0895/FUL, with listed building consent 25/0896/LBC. Both were issued on 5 October 2026. The applicant is Nooko Developments Ltd.
The decision notice sets 26 conditions. They include:
- a works phasing plan, approved before any further work continues on site
- details of how the new concrete frame meets the surviving historic walls, before it goes in
- details of how the Well House’s new steel frame works with the old spine wall
- samples of the outside materials and roof, before work on the main structure
- full archaeology recording, written up before anyone moves in
- council approval before any heat pumps or solar panels are fitted
- noise limits on the pub and restaurant, and odour controls on the kitchens
The Well House was the pub next to the hotel. The fire spread through it into the Royal Clarence.
The fire, ten years ago today
The fire started at 18 Cathedral Yard in the early hours of Friday 28 October 2016. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service took the first 999 call at 5.11am and declared a major incident at 5.42am.
The service’s figures from its own account:
- 54 emergency calls to Fire Control
- 95 different fire engines at the scene at some point
- about 150 firefighters actively fighting the fire at its height
- 207 firefighters on scene at once during one shift change
- crews at the scene for more than a week
The service said the fire spread through voids between old, timber-built buildings. That carried it through the Well House and into the Royal Clarence, which it dates to 1791. No one was hurt.
Why it has taken so long
This is the third scheme to win permission on the site. The two before it were never built:
- 2017: a 74-bedroom hotel, 17/1360/FUL, permitted on 5 December 2017
- 2023: food and drink units with flats above, 22/0236/FUL, permitted on 25 August 2023
- 2026: the current scheme of 25 homes, a pub and a restaurant, permitted on 5 October 2026
The current scheme went to the planning committee twice. Councillors first backed it on 19 January 2026. It returned on 3 August 2026, after an independent viability assessment found the scheme could not pay the full affordable housing contribution.
The affordable housing money
Exeter’s policy asks for 35% affordable housing. On this site that was worked out as an off-site payment of £2,394,258.82.
The August committee report says the independent valuer’s report arrived on 15 June 2026. It concluded the scheme was viable with a total contribution of £360,720.
The update sheet for the 3 August meeting set the final sums:
| What the money is for | Amount | When it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Off-site affordable housing | £344,637 | Before 90% of the homes are occupied |
| Exe Estuary wildlife mitigation | £32,118 | Before the first home is occupied |
| GP surgeries in the city | £16,083 | Before 90% of the homes are occupied |
The affordable housing payment is therefore 86% lower than the policy figure of £2,394,258.82.
The GP money goes towards Barnfield Hill, Southernhay House, St Leonards Practice and St Thomas Health Centre. A signed section 106 agreement was added to the council’s file on 5 October.
The developer had asked for the money to fall due only when 90% of the flats were sold, not occupied. Its agent said some or all of the flats might be rented at first. Officers refused. The report says that would have let the homes be rented without the contributions ever being paid.
Building had already started
Council officers visited the site on 10 July 2026. The report says work to stop the listed remains collapsing had been agreed. But officers found concrete piling done and service pipes being laid, which stabilisation did not need.
They decided the development had therefore begun. They told the developer to stop any work beyond stabilisation until permission was granted and the conditions were met. Several conditions were reworded to fit a site already under way.
What happens next
The developer’s new application, 26/1580/DIS, was validated on 21 October. It asks the council to approve:
- the works phasing plan
- how the concrete frame meets the historic fabric
- how the Well House steel frame works with the spine wall
- temporary protection for the Well House while work goes on
The council’s target date for a decision is 16 November 2026.
The phasing programme filed with it is headed “initial phasing plans”. It shows the concrete frame rising floor by floor until 29 January 2027. Its last task, finishing the Well House’s outer walls and bay windows, ends on 5 March 2027.
Treat those dates with care. Several tasks in the programme carry start dates that have already passed, and the council has not yet approved it. It covers the structure only. It does not say when the flats, the pub or the restaurant will open.
What it means for you
- If you live or work near Cathedral Yard, expect construction to continue once the council signs off the conditions. The approved construction method statement governs how it is run.
- If you want to see the plans or comment, search 25/0895/FUL or 26/1580/DIS on the council’s planning register. Condition applications do not usually go to committee.
- If you are waiting for a new pub on Cathedral Yard, there is no opening date yet. We will report one when the developer or the council publishes it.
You can follow other city centre schemes on our Exeter planning news page.
Sources
- Exeter Cathedral Yard fire, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, for the times, calls, fire engines and firefighters.
- 25/0895/FUL decision notice, Exeter City Council, for the conditions.
- Planning Committee report, 3 August 2026, for the viability review, the payment trigger and the 10 July site visit.
- Planning Committee update sheet, 3 August 2026, for the final contributions.
- 26/1580/DIS phasing programme, for the construction dates.
- Exeter City Council planning register, for the dates of 17/1360/FUL, 22/0236/FUL and 26/1580/DIS.
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