A new bid has been lodged to transform the former Wonford Inn in Exeter into a single dwelling, less than two years after councillors blocked controversial proposals to demolish the building and replace it with flats.
The latest application seeks permission for the “change of use of the ground floor from Public House to Residential” at the Wonford Inn, 17 Wonford Street. According to the Design and Access Statement, the proposal relates solely to internal alterations within the existing building.
The document states: “Works are limited to internal reconfiguration to provide appropriate living accommodation and associated facilities.”
It adds: “No extensions, external alterations, or changes to access arrangements are proposed.”
The site, which measures approximately 908sqm, is located on Wonford Street, close to the RD&E Hospital and around 1.4 miles from the city centre, with bus connections across Exeter and Devon . The only access is from Wonford Street along the western boundary, with residential terraced houses to the north and south and a retaining wall forming the eastern boundary.
The building, originally constructed in 1790 as a private house known as Oakbear Cottage, became a public house in 1866. It closed in September 2023 after what the statement describes as the final owner struggling to keep it afloat. The document says that when it was put up for sale “there was no further interest from purchasers to keep it open as a public house.”
The application notes that the site is currently a “derelict pub” and refers to a number of “poorly built extensions” added over the years.
The new submission follows two refused schemes that proposed demolishing the existing buildings and constructing apartment blocks.
In July 2024, councillors rejected plans for a three-storey block of flats after mass objections. Planners described the scheme as “harmful” and an “overdevelopment” of the site and said it would lead to the loss of a valued community asset.
The refusal notice stated: “It has not been demonstrated that the continued use of the building as a community facility is no longer viable or required, including for alternative uses that would meet Exeter’s community, social, health, welfare, education, spiritual, cultural, leisure and recreation needs.
“As a result, the council cannot grant consent for this scheme and be certain that it has fulfilled its duty to guard against the unnecessary loss of a valued facility/ service.”
Other reasons for refusal included the “harmful” impact of the size, massing, position and layout, as well as “poor” design. The decision notice added: “The proposed building would present an unsympathetic form of development that would be detrimental to the character, appearance and overall quality of the local townscape.”
By contrast, the current proposal does not seek to alter the building’s footprint or height. The statement says: “The development does not increase the building’s footprint or height. It represents the re-use of existing floorspace, supporting efficient use of the built environment in line with sustainable development principles.”
It also emphasises that there would be “no changes to the scale or massing of the building” and that the “existing architectural character and materials are retained”.
Existing access arrangements would remain in place, with pedestrian access via the current entrance from Wonford Street. No additional landscaping is proposed and there are no areas of vegetation on the site.
On sustainability, the statement concludes: “The proposal reuses an existing building and requires no additional land take. The re-use of previously developed floorspace supports sustainable development objectives by reducing construction impacts and supporting efficient use of existing infrastructure.”
