Plymouth’s city centre could see up to 10,000 new homes built over the next decade as part of a new working relationship with Homes England.
The Council and Homes England have produced a new ‘Plymouth City Centre Vision’ which sets out a shared ambition to provide 10,000 new homes in the city centre and surrounding area.
The vision recognises that there will be around £4.4 billion of Government investment in HM Naval Base Devonport over the next 10 years and that this will stimulate the demand for new homes, with Babcock requiring 5,500 new employees and a further 2,000 construction jobs being created in the Dockyard.
It also recognises that Plymouth’s city centre currently has a very low level of housing with only 1,000 homes, compared to 8,000 homes for typical cities of Plymouth’s size.
Council Leader Tudor Evans said:
“This is huge and very, very exciting. We have talked about creating more homes in the city centre for a few years now, but this will help catapult words and plans into bricks, mortar and homes.
“The regeneration of the city centre has a major role to play in supporting the Growth Alliance Plymouth programme to deliver new housing, new skills provision and, through regeneration, to transform perceptions of the city centre.
“We have been working with Homes England to establish Plymouth as a priority place for investment and to bring forward plans to deliver 10,000 new homes as part of a “new town in the city”. We have a memorandum of understanding that describes the strategic objectives of our partnership, including the exploration of a potential joint venture.”
The aim is to establish a new residential core in the city centre to stimulate market activity and maximise public and private investment to deliver transformational change, which will address the current housing shortage as well as deliver new homes for new workers.
Eamonn Boylan, Homes England Chief Executive, said:
“The partnership between Plymouth City Council and Homes England is a brilliant example of how the public sector can unite to promote and accelerate housing delivery. The Agency will work with the council and other key stakeholders in the Growth Alliance Plymouth programme to bring forward ambitious development plans, including a shared a vision for up to 12,000 new homes across a prioritised pipeline of sites.”
Steve Hughes, Chief Executive of the Plymouth City Centre Company, said:
"This is great news and yet another sign of growing confidence in our city centre which is definitely on the up."
The announcement has also been welcomed by members of the Growth Alliance Plymouth (GAP), the partnership established last year between Babcock, The Royal Navy and City Council to work across the city with Government to put in place the infrastructure, workforce and support for the wider business ecosystem to drive inclusive growth and address housing shortages and entice relocation of skilled workforces to the area.
John Gane, Managing Director for Babcock’s Devonport site, said:
“As a core partner of Growth Alliance Plymouth (GAP), Babcock, working alongside the Royal Navy and Plymouth City Council, is helping to optimise the city’s growth potential and drive regeneration, ensuring Plymouth is an attractive and prosperous city for people to live and work in. We are serious about the future of Plymouth and securing bids such as the Homes England investment, it is already clear the extent of influence this GAP partnership can have.”
The Council has a successful track record of working with Homes England on projects including major estate regeneration schemes such as North Prospect and Barne Barton, as well as forward funding of land assembly for projects like Bath Street and the West End. This partnership will bring together the land, funding and expertise of both organisations, as well as seeking private sector partner(s) to deliver residential and commercial projects that build on the many successful projects that the Council has completed, such as the Box, the Barcode and the ongoing investment in Armada Way.
Homes England has identified Plymouth as one of a number of priority places where it will work particularly closely with partners to transform struggling town centres into vibrant neighbourhoods with homes, jobs, leisure facilities and new public realm.
Homes England’s Board and Executive visited Plymouth in November 2024 to see first-hand the scale of investment being made in the Dockyard and the opportunities for housing delivery in the city centre.
Further work will now be carried out by the Council and Homes England on the detail of how and where these homes could be and what infrastructure would be required to support their delivery.
The Council and Homes England have strengthened their partnership in the last 18 months, setting up a strategic regeneration and infrastructure board, and combining resources to produce a delivery plan that aims to deliver up to 12,000 new homes across the city and other parts of the city over a 15-year period. This includes exploring new models of partnership and co-investment that will unlock and accelerate housing delivery.
Homes England and Plymouth City Council are also collaborating on the Civic Centre. The project will see the creation of the new City College Plymouth’s Blue Green Skills Hub within the basement, ground and first floor of the Civic Centre. This will deliver 60 new courses to 2,000 students.
Councillor Tudor Evans said:
“The Civic Centre is an iconic building and its transformation will signal confidence to the wider market that Plymouth is serious about regeneration.
“This is a large and complex project – perhaps the biggest we have delivered and is only possible due to the commitment of some of our key City partners. We are enormously grateful to all who believe in us, believe in this scheme and believe in Plymouth.”
Part of Homes England’s role is to introduce potential development partners who have a track record of delivering high quality residential projects. The Council has already had discussions with a number of these partners about the role that they might play in the delivery of new homes across Plymouth city centre.
Last March, Cabinet agreed to enter into an agreement to lease with City College Plymouth, allocate £8.5m Levelling Up Fund grant and the purchase of the building from Urban Splash for £1.
The project to refurbish the Civic Centre has also benefitted from grant funding from the Future High Streets Fund. Now, subject to approvals, additional grant funding is under consideration by Homes England to help complete the transformation.
The Council and College are progressing design proposals, including workshop space in the basement, teaching space on the ground and first floors of the north and south block and public-facing spaces.
The Civic Centre has planning consent for 144 apartments in the tower and a range of commercial space in the podium, with parking and plant in the basement. The consent includes demolishing some of the 1970s extensions on the west side of the building. City College is looking to take all of the commercial space and the changes to the existing consent means a new planning application will need to be submitted.
Jackie Grubb, Chief Executive of City College Plymouth said:
“This new campus provides a fantastic opportunity to ensure Plymouth’s residents are equipped with the skills needed to support the growth of the defence, marine and other sectors of the economy.
“Almost half of the courses will be linked to the ‘blue and green’ economy – marine, nuclear and net zero, equipping students with the skills to work in sectors such as offshore wind, sustainable construction and environmental science.”
Luke Pollard MP, Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:
"I've been proud to work with the City Council and Government Ministers in securing funding. By working together we are creating a beacon to attract investors to our city, with more demand for shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainment.
"It's a team effort to deliver for Plymouth and convert an eyesore into new homes.
"We promised thousands of new homes will be built in the city centre and this is the start of us delivering on that promise."
Within the building itself, contactors Gwella continue the strip out work that began under Urban Splash. Various concrete repair and strengthening works still need to be carried out, but the extent of this is not yet known. An extensive structural survey will take place to get a clear picture of concrete repairs needed.
The Council will employ a principal contractor for the main refurbishment works, which are expected to start next Spring and will involve removing existing cladding. Re-cladding the building and other refurbishment work would start at the end of 2026 and be completed by May 2028.
Once the ‘shell and core’ of the space to be occupied by City College Plymouth is complete, it will be handed over to the college to fit out. This is programmed to take up to 15 months. The Council has appointed a team of designers, professional advisers and consultants already working on the project, including structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers and planning consultants.