Property of the Month

Mount Wise is a historic estate situated within the historic parish and manor of Devonport and situated about one mile west of the historic centre of the city of Plymouth, Devon. It occupies “a striking waterfront location” with views across Plymouth Sound to Mount Edgcumbe and the English Channel. Until 2004 it was a headquarters for senior Admiralty staff and was inaccessible to the public.

In 2011 the estate of Mount Wise comprising 28 acres of land started its phase one development as “The Village by the Sea”, a residential area with 469 new houses, Admiralty House converted into a 21-bed “boutique hotel”, 32,000 sq ft of offices, a 4,500 sq ft convenience store, the restoration of the former naval cricket pitch and pavilion and the nuclear bunker converted to a 50,000 sq ft data storage centre. The development advisor stated: “We are not trying to build a city centre development; we will be creating a waterside village”. The new buildings were planned to have a “Georgian-inspired feel” with Admiralty House retained “as the figurehead of the scheme”. Phase one ended in 2012, but sales of the new properties were slow due to the continued effects of the 2008 global recession.

The second phase of the development was due for completion in September 2015. Mount Wise House has been turned into offices, not the hotel as planned in phase one.