Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner once dismissed it as “a rather tatty effort in a belated Festival of Britain spirit”.
The current building opened in 1960 as St George’s Hall, replacing the Lower Market, which first opened in 1836 and was later demolished after being badly damaged in German bombing during World War Two.
Designed by the city architect Harold Rowe, the modernist structure sits inside Exeter’s central conservation area, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
A report submitted with the application explains the aim of covering the windows is safety: “The proposal to encapsulate the windows in a timber frame is to prevent possible failing concrete from the window surrounds from injuring members of the public.”
It added: “This proposal, we feel, would be preferable to boarding up the windows and leaving them unfinished. The unfinished ply board would give a feeling of dereliction and encourage further anti-social behaviour and break ins.”
The Corn Exchange is set to continue to run a programme of live music and comedy throughout the year.
