Exeter's Royal Clarence Hotel: What's happening five years on from 'devastating' fire?

  • Watch our coverage of the Royal Clarence Hotel fire in 2016 here.

Five years ago the Royal Clarence Hotel was completely ravaged by a fire, the owner promised it would be rebuilt but was forced to sell it in 2019. So what is happening with the site now?

Once a famous landmark in Exeter City Centre, the hotel was burnt to the ground in October of 2016.

It was expected the blaze caused around £25million worth of damage but the owner, Andrew Brownsford, confirmed he would spend the money to return it to its former glory in the city.

Despite renovation work starting, he revealed in 2019 he was "unable to deliver the new hotel" and would be selling the building.

The fire caused so much damage to the building that it had to be completely demolished. Credit: ITV West Country.

Now just a little over a year since it was sold to South West Lifestyle Brands Limited - a company indirectly-owned by former Plymouth Argyle chairman James Brent and his wife - there are calls from the community to restore it to its former glory.

It was sold with planning permission for the creation of a 74-bedroom hotel.

Since the sale the process of renovation has sped up.

However some traders in the area say the building needs to be renovated quickly to try to improve business in the area.

Ben Mangan, who owns a cafe nearby, said: "We would regularly generate a lot of business in customers from the hotel and we would get people who wanted to be in this historic area.

"Now we have to have an offer that brings people in on its own accord."

Another shop owner Lisa Hosking said: "It really does impact all the businesses out here. Entrepreneurs will look to overcome problems and a lot of shops here have done that and have survived the really tough period we are in.

"We would really love to see the building go back to the state it was pre-fire."

ITV News understands the new owner has been reviewing plans for the hotel and an update could be released in a matter of weeks.

In an official statement the company said: "The historic nature of the building and the considerable damage caused to it by the fire means this is a complex project technically, architecturally and commercially."