A planning application for The Fleece Hotel is being prepared which could see this historic building transformed into a mix of restaurants, cafes and shops designed around a series of small courtyards. The rest of the site would be suited to either housing or a small hotel.
Esther Croft, development manager at the South West RDA, which owns the Fleece, said: “The designs have been drawn up by award winning architects Feilden Clegg Bradley and we expect the planning application to be submitted in the summer.
“There are contractors on site at the moment, carrying out works to provide details about the construction of the building that will inform our application.”
This has been endorsed by the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC) Steering Group for Blackfriars.
Chris Oldershaw, Chief Executive at the GHURC, said: “The Fleece is one of the two internationally-important historic assets located in Blackfriars, the other being Blackfriars Priory. The work currently being undertaken is part of the comprehensive plans for regeneration within Blackfriars, one of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ sites driving the City’s regeneration.”
The architects’ work has researched the history of the complex providing data on the relative ages of parts of the complex and how it developed over the years. This work gives potential developers a wider understanding of what development will be possible.
The work has also produced a valuable resource on the way in which one of the most historic building complexes in the city developed: parts of the Fleece go back to the 12th century (the masonry undercroft), which makes it even older than Blackfriars Priory and the half timbered ‘Great Inn’ above the undercroft is 15th Century.