Work on £30m Armada Way scheme to start in October

The completion date for the Armada Way scheme is still to be decided

A controversial multimillion-pound scheme to regenerate Plymouth city centre has been signed off with work due to start in October.

Plans to redevelop Armada Way first hit the headlines in March 2023 when the then Conservative-run council ordered more than 100 trees to be cut down at night.

The new Labour administration has put together a £30m scheme, which includes a huge play park, seating areas and a CCTV system to increase security in the area.

Plymouth City Council's cabinet approved the plans at a meeting on Monday.

The council hopes the regeneration of Armada Way will encourage more housing development in the city

Mark Lowry, cabinet member for finance, said Armada Way was "a bit of an ugly duckling" at the moment.

However he said the works planned for the city, along with regeneration work that has taken place in New George Street and Old Town Street, meant businesses were "snapping up" properties.

The council hopes the new plans for Armada Way will encourage more people to come into the city and stay for longer.

The Plymouth City Council report said the scheme was one of the largest public realm projects in the country and "seeks to restore the grand gateway to the city centre".

Councillors said they also hoped the regeneration of Armada Way would make the city centre more attractive to residential property developers.

The report said it would enable the city centre "to deliver significant large scale housing growth" with plans for 5,000 new homes.

The scheme has been backed by Stuart Elford, head of the Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce

Stuart Elford, chief executive of the Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the regeneration at the cabinet meeting.

"This is long overdue and much-needed investment that will attract inward investment and high-value jobs," he said.

"It's desperately needed in order to grow the economy.

"It will create jobs and make the city centre a thriving place."

Mr Elford asked for reassurance businesses would be kept well-informed of how the scheme was developing and how it would affect businesses.

Tudor Evans, leader of the Labour council, told colleagues: "We want to reimagine this part of the city as a modern, vibrant destination."

Mr Evans said he wanted to "recapture the scale and grandeur" of the plans first made in the 1940s to rebuild Plymouth.

Four phases

More than 200 trees will be included in the final scheme and a new surface water drainage scheme introduced.

Work is due to start in October on the first phase of the scheme, from the Copthorne Hotel to Mayflower Street.

The second phase, from Mayflower Street to Place de Brest, would take place from February to October 2025.

The third phase, from Cornwall Street to the Armada Dial sundial, is timetabled for July 2025 to April 2026, with the construction period yet to be decided for the fourth phase in the Armada Way piazza.

The report said timing of the final phase was yet to be decided and would be affected by proposed works on Royal Parade and more discussion was needed with the Environment Agency and South West Water regarding the water drainage system.