Hotel developers contribute £360,000 to new homes

The developers rebuilding a historic hotel in Exeter will be contributing a smaller amount for new homes in the city than first estimated.

Developers NooKo began work on the Royal Clarence Hotel, which burnt down in October 2016, in January, with the £17m plans set to take about two years to complete.

The company was expected to provide £2.4m towards new homes but an independent assessor found that target was set too high and the amount would now be £360,000, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

NooKo company director Max Sayers said estimating its contributions in the millions was always "an upper limit" rather than a fixed sum "on a sliding scale".

He said: "Following an independent assessment there was a very real possibility that due to the complexity and heritage of the building, the final contribution could have been nothing at all.

"To come out of that review with £360,000 committed directly towards new and affordable homes in Exeter, is a genuinely positive result for the city.

"We see this contribution as a real and lasting commitment to the people of Exeter from a scheme that, on the numbers alone, could easily have delivered none."

Planning committee chair, councillor Paul Knott said "a potential 20 council houses" had been "reduced to one or two", but councillor Andy Ketchin said although the funding didn't "fit with the expectation we were given four years ago", the council had to be "realistic about the challenges faced by developers".

Sayers said he was "incredibly proud" of the company's contribution to the project while employing "a huge number" of local workers and restoring the Cathedral Green "back to its former glory".

He said: "Restoring the Royal Clarence is deeply personal for us - this is our city and bringing one of its most treasured buildings back to life is something we care enormously about.

"That same commitment runs through everything we do."

With each new planning process, a figure is set for the amount of affordable housing to be provided with any new development but if housing cannot be provided on the site, developers are expected by the council to pay an off-site financial contribution to fund housing elsewhere.

The independent valuer said the £360,000 would also contribute towards the Exe Estuary habitats and GP surgeries at Barnfield Hill, Southernhay House, St Leonard's Practice and St Thomas Health Centre.

The former hotel is creating 25 apartments, along with a pub and restaurant on the ground floor.

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