More of new Armada Way revamp revealed

"It will be marvellous when it is all done"

The front garden of thousands of prospective city centre residents in Plymouth is taking shape as the first zone of the Armada Way regeneration is fully opened to the public.

The £30 million scheme, which aims to transform the half a kilometre, 60 metre wide space into an urban park, is a step closer with new green spaces, 94 trees, bug hotels, wildflower meadows, hedges, borders, lawns, picnic areas and another 150 metres of cycleway linking the train station to the Hoe installed.

In July the amphitheatre and fountain area was opened and now visitors and shoppers can walk through the next part of the regeneration from Mayflower Street to Cornwall Street, which has opened up views to Smeaton’s Tower and the Naval Memorial on the Hoe.

With hundreds of new homes earmarked for the Armada Way area as part of a masterplan for 10,000 properties in the city centre over the next decade, the park will serve as a front garden for tower block living. 

A giant play area, the size of five tennis courts, will be the next stage to be completed in early 2026 and the regeneration will be fully complete by early summer next year.

The project is believed to be one of the largest city centre public realm schemes being constructed in the country, and has involved 80 to 90 people on site each day, seven days a week.

Opening the second phase of what she described as a “key moment in this hugely transformational scheme” deputy leader of Plymouth City Council Jemima Laing said she was “astounded by the scale and pace of the changes”.

“The whole area is dramatically different, it has been reshaped and replanted and revived and I can really see people enjoying it rather than scurrying past in a hurry.”

The trees, which are replacing most those controversially chopped down by the Conservative administration two and a half years ago, have been “carefully chosen” to thrive in the environment.

They will be watered, along with the rest of the planting, with rainwater that has been recycled from underground storage tanks which form part of the sustainable urban drainage system.

While the rill – the wide channel that runs down the middle – won’t see water until the project is complete, it plays a crucial role as it links to the underground tanks and pipes which hold tonnes of rainwater and surface run-off.   

The sustainable urban drainage system is integral to the design and includes reed beds to clean the water and a system of deep gardens, known as rain gardens, which are filled with plants and trees running along on both sides of the scheme.  Road, paving and cycle path surfaces have a slight gradient so that water runs into these rain gardens.

Councillor Tom Briars Delve, cabinet member for the environment and climate change said: “This is the first time in this country that an ornamental water feature of this type has been combined with a sustainable urban drainage system.

“What’s been going on beneath the surface has been hugely important, particularly as we are looking at delivering thousands of new homes in the city centre. 

“The sustainable drainage system helps create more capacity in the combined sewer and will reduce the amount of untreated surface water going into Plymouth Sound substantially as a result.”

Whilst some local residents said they felt there was too much concrete in the design, local resident Trefor Evans said: “It will be marvellous when it is all done. It’s a pity about the surrounding buildings but I think this will be a catalyst for regeneration.

“I quite often sit in the city centre and have missed that whilst the work has been going on. I do think it’s going to be really nice and will be much more attractive for people coming into town from the train station.”

Kerry West, who was one of many parents who enjoyed seeing their children performing songs from their upcoming Wind in the Willows musical with LS Drama Workshops as part of the opening celebrations said: “I can’t remember there ever being anything here before than just a walkway through to the subway so it’s a big improvement.”

Ray Vincent said he hoped the area would be regularly maintained when it was finished and suggested each section of green space could be looked after by different schools and groups and then the “best cared for patch” judged by the Lord Mayor each year.

Regeneration manager for the city council Martin Ivatt said there were still a few snagging issues to sort out but the scheme was on target and on budget and next spring and summer people would be able to start seeing the benefit of all the mixed herbaceous planting, ground cover, hedges and trees.