Council in Homes England tie-up for major city centre regeneration
Plymouth’s ambitions to provide thousands of homes in the city centre are expected to be given a huge boost, thanks to a new partnership with Homes England.
The Government’s Housing and Regeneration Agency is joining forces with the council to create a bespoke regeneration partnership to enable the delivery of significant regeneration opportunities.
The agency’s board members were in the city last week to look at the opportunities and challenges Plymouth faces and to discuss future plans with top council officials and politicians.
They toured the city centre, to look at the latest public realm investments in Old Town Street, New George Street and Armada Way as well as key projects such as the Civic Centre.
They also visited Devonport naval base, where a £4.5bn Government investment is expected over the next 10 years and they heard about Plymouth’s growth agenda, including the Freeport, the growth of marine sciences and offshore wind opportunities and the universities’ ongoing successes.
Council leader Tudor Evans said: “This is exciting stuff. Homes England share our vision of changing the city centre and creating more homes within this key part of Plymouth.
“We have made huge inroads and investment in our city centre, which is paying off, with increased interest from business and more footfall.
“We know that Plymouth is being talked about in Whitehall – Plymouth has enormous potential and we are delighted to welcome the board here to see for themselves what makes Plymouth special.
“We have been working with Homes England on our vision for the city centre for a while now and we look forward to this positive relationship continuing.”
The partnership will aim to deliver the transformation of the oversized retail core into a mixed-use city centre.
Chair of Homes England, Peter Freeman, added: “It was fantastic to be in Plymouth to see the latest public realm investments first hand and how plans to regenerate Plymouth’s city centre are taking shape. It is clear that the council has recognised the opportunity here to provide much needed new homes and bring more people to the heart of the city.
“We look forward to continuing our relationship with Plymouth City Council to help achieve their ambitious plans for the city’s place-based approach to regeneration, creating a community people can be proud to call home.”
Plymouth’s city centre is unusual in that has a significantly lower number of people living there, with only 1,000 homes, compared to an average of 8,000 in other cities of a similar size.
Other very particular issues the city centre faces are the conditions beneath the ground, which was essentially filled in and built over at speed after the war. Initial work on sites is therefore expensive before buildings rise up above the ground.
There are also long-term regeneration plans for the area around the railway station, as well as the West End, where the Community Diagnostic Centre is being delivered in partnership with University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.
