Armada Way revamp revealed

Plans 'need to happen soon'

A much-anticipated regeneration of Armada Way in Plymouth can’t come quickly enough, a long-suffering trader says, as new plans for the city centre, including a children’s play area the size of five tennis courts, are unveiled.

The public will have six weeks to give their views on Plymouth City Council’s scheme which its  Labour leader Tudor Evans (Ham) described this week as “awesome” and “a game changer.”

Two hundred trees, 500 places to sit, wildflower areas, extra wide cycle paths and innovative night-time lighting will transform the area which was the site of controversial tree felling by the former Conservative administration in March before it was stopped by a High Court injunction and is now the subject of a judicial review.

For six months, metal fences screening the felled trees blighted the city centre before they were removed in September.

Emma Hookway, who runs the Original Pasty House in Armada Way, said the plans and drawings looked great, but there is no timescale on the project.

“This could be of great benefit to the city,” she said. “There has been a lot of controversy over the trees being cut down, but we can’t go back in time, we are at the point now that something needs to be done about it.

“There is no doubt that Plymouth has been damaged by the state of Armada Way over the last eight months. The numbers of shoppers has dropped and we lost a considerable amount of our outdoor seating because of everything that was left there, and that’s not great, especially in the summer.

“I do have concerns over the disturbance that will be caused by building the new project, but it looks great. The play area will bring families in and that will boost our business. I just hope that it happens soon and corners don’t get cut should the money run out.”

In March, former Conservative leader of the council Richard Bingley signed an executive order to have the trees chopped down in Armada Way, as part of a redevelopment project, but the move caused such an outcry, he didn’t survive as council leader.

Protestors secured a High Court injunction and the work was stopped after 110 trees were felled. The regeneration plans were shelved after Cllr Bingley stepped down and Labour took over from the Conservatives after winning the May elections.

Current council leader Tudor Evans believes the new designs will create a greener, safe, more family friendly city centre, with more trees ever back in Armada Way.

“It’s really exciting. It will have one of the largest children’s playgrounds in any city centre in the country – the size of five tennis courts,” he said.

“There is going to be climbing, running and jumping and fountains for kids to play and splash through. It’s going to be awesome and a real destination so people will come into town for this.

“We have spent a lot of time on trees as we need to increase the biodiversity of Armada Way, there will be 50 more trees than what were there before and 16 different species for different seasons which will be bird and bug friendly.”

When planted, the trees will be between 3.5 metres to 8 metres tall, creating a green canopy and giving immediate environmental benefits, the council claims.

Cllr Evans said the costs would not exceed the £12.7 million intended for Armada Way’s redevelopment. Investment is through the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund and matched by Plymouth City Council.

Costs to council taxpayers so far  from the felling and clean-up operations has been £211,000, with more legal fees to come.

Cllr Evans said there will be no referendum on the new plans, but an extensive consultation will take place. A website will launch, and representatives from consultation company ECF, dressed in purple hoodies, will be out showing the plans to the public and talking to community groups.

“We will get the widest possible view from people who use the city centre and have an interest in it,” he said.

Leader of the Conservative Group Andy Lugger (Southway) said in the spirit of collaboration, the Conservatives want to work with Labour to bring the project forward, but he has concerns over the cost and the lack of timescale.

“The traders and the people of Plymouth want a resolution to this. We must forget about the why and wherefores. That’s in the past, now we need to move forward.

“I want to know how much this effective and competent consultation is adding to the bill as we do not have more money in the budget. The budget has been set for this.”

He said the project did not differ widely from the one that was originally on the table that “everyone loved behind the scenes but rejected in public”.

The designs include:

A new surface water drainage system, powered by solar panels to make it sustainable. It will recycle the water to maintain the plants and trees
The installation of 12 and 15 metre high lighting throughout and feature lighting to up-light plants and create patterns on the ground
An improved CCTV system to help to deter anti-social behaviour
Space for 500 people to sit.
Hard copies of the plans are available from Plymouth’s Central Library.