A FORMER fire-ravaged Exeter dry cleaners could be replaced by student flats.

Johnsons, the Cleaners, on Cowley Bridge Road was destroyed in a blaze back in January 2020, after which its buildings were later demolished.

Under plans recently submitted to Exeter City Council, the proposed development would feature 350 beds of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) consisting of 151 studio and 199 cluster bedrooms.

There would be five blocks on the site, situated next to the railway line, ranging from three to six storeys in height.

A statement submitted with the application states: “The site sits in close proximity to the University of Exeter which lies to the east along Cowley Bridge Road. Directly opposite the site is student accommodation with several buildings used for educational purposes by the university.

“This application offers a full redevelopment of a vacant site following a devastating fire of former laundry buildings. The location on Cowley Bridge Road offers a sustainable location for a proposed PBSA residential use, close to the university and the city centre.”

It adds that a three-metre-wide footway along the front of the site frontage is proposed to “improve the pedestrian experience,” while the integration of co-bikes for use by all will “offer community benefits and encourage cycling”.

The statement concludes: “Overall, the proposal offers a highly sustainable development of purpose-built student accommodation on a brownfield site, in an appropriate location, close to the university and the city centre.”

However, of the 12 public comments so far made on the application, all are in objection.

It comes after the city council recently approved an application to convert the vacant Beaufort House office block on New North Road, next to the iconic Old Firehouse pub, into student flats.

But its planning committee rejected major plans for student and co-living blocks at Exeter’s former Heavitree Road police station in February, criticising the scale and impact of the proposals.

Members will likely consider the Cowley Bridge Road plan later in the year.