Until 2003 the intact Georgian buildings of the castle remained the seat of royal power in the county and served as home to Exeter's Crown and County Courts. As a result, the castle was one of the least known and accessible parts of the city, and few local residents had set foot beyond its gates; it had never been accessible to tourists. However difficulties over disabled access on the steep castle site had become a major problem, and new courts were built in Exeter's legal quarter in 2004. Following the failure of a scheme for Exeter City Council to purchase the site, it was sold by Her Majesty's Courts Service in early 2007 to GL50 Properties, whose managing director said "Rougemont Castle is an amazing building which we will transform into the Covent Garden of the South West of England."