Cabinet Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda. 

There were no declarations of interest made by members.

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2025.

Cabinet agreed the minutes of 12 May 2025 as a correct record.

To receive questions from the public in accordance with the Constitution.

Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Plymouth City Council, Ballard House, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five clear working days before the date of the meeting.

There was one public question received in accordance with the Constitution.

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s Urgent Business.

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE introduced the Cabinet Appointments 2025/26 report and discussed:

a)    The purpose of the report was to approve the appointments to Joint Committees, Advisory Groups of Cabinet, and external appointment for the 2025/26 municipal year;

b)    Nominations from the Independent Group had been received following publication of the report. The additional details were:

i.              Mount Edgcumbe – Councillor Sally Nicholson

ii.             Child Poverty Working Group – Councillor Carol Ney

iii.            The Corporate Parenting Board remained an Independent Group vacancy

Cabinet agreed the Cabinet Appointments for 2025/26 as amended.

Councillor Sally Haydon (Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Events, Libraries, Cemeteries and Crematoria), supported by Matt Garrett (Service Director for Community Connections) and Tracey Naismith (Head of Community Safety) presented the item to Cabinet and highlighted the following key points: 

a.     Plymouth had a strong process of tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG); 

b.    Since the VAWG strategy was launched three years ago the council had seen; 

c.     Funding had been obtained for the safe bus for the evening and nightime economy and had ensured women and girls felt safe in the evening;  

d.    The Community Fund money had been split with half going to grassroot community funders;  

e.     The VAWG team had launched a citywide strategy; 

f.      1,500 professionals had been trained to better respond to abuse and violence; 

g.     The city had safe nights which utilised the safe bus; 

h.    Plymouth had retained its purple flag status for improving the safety of the nigh time economy; 

i.      The council had helped thousands of people through the domestic support service and expanded safe housing and targeted support for young people; 

j.      A new pilot had been underway to address repeat offenders; 

k.     There was a new strategy and toolkit launched to support children as survivors The citywide campaigns of ‘Enough’, ‘Challenging Harmful Behaviours’ and ‘Man Culture’ provided workshops and raised awareness; 

l.      The Council was the first organisation to hold a conference addressing ‘man culture’; 

m.   Councillor Alison Raynsford would be Plymouth’s new champion for VAWG; 

In response to questions raised it was reported that:  

n.    The communications around the VAWG campaign would be increased;  

o.    VAWG was not a women’s problem and was something that women were the subject of and Cabinet expressed thanks and recognition of the hard work that had been done to address male perpetrators and encourage the Man Culture campaign; 

p.    MATAC was in place which targeted perpetrators of domestic abuse and serial perpetrators who had domestically abused multiple victims and/or survivors; 

q.    Perpetrator work was still in the ‘research stage and the council were working on preventative measures to stop potential serial perpetrators. 

Cabinet agreed to: 

1.    Include the primary prevention of Violence against Women and Girls when agreeing new and updated policies and strategies across all council departments alongside responses to gender-based violence through the report and decision processes, supported by a checklist and officer guidance. 

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE introduced the item to Cabinet and highlighted the following key points:  

a)    Plymouth City Council had over 80 projects linked to the council’s economic plan; 

b)    The Economic team delivered a £1bn pipeline of development over a decade and had secured a further £1bn for the future decade; 

c)    The Economic Development department’s capital programme in 2025 was £155m, supported by over £100m in grants secured by the team; 

d)    In Economic Development they enabled projects, funded projects, invested in projects and directly delivered projects. Those projects transformed the city and made money through rents, council tax and business rates; 

e)    Thanked Matthew Ward (Head of Regeneration and Growth) for all his contributions to the city. 

Matthew Ward (Head of Regeneration and Growth) gave a presentation to Cabinet and highlighted the following key points:  

f)     Plymouth City Council contributed £19 million to the Derriford District Centre, which had provided over 100 new jobs;  

g)    The Foulson park project was making a difference to the local community and the foundations for a new 3G football pitch had been laid. The steel frame for a new pavilion building had also been constructed. Plymouth City Council invested £3 million into the project which was matched by £20 million of funding from Plymouth Argyle and Plymouth Argyle Trust. Plymouth Community Leisure Ltd would take over the stewardship for the community; 

h)    The Community Diagnostics Centre was under construction and was scheduled to open in 2026. The site was designed to help the NHS co-ordinate their non-acute services offsite and would drive footfall into the city centre. 91,000 tests per year were expected to be scheduled at the site when operational;  

i)     The Guildhall modernisation and refurbishment, scheduled for completed in late 2025, aimed to improve acoustics in the great hall and provide better facilities for the public; 

j)     The Civic Centre refurbishment had begun and was scheduled for completion in autumn 2029. The project aimed to provide 144 new homes and 2,000 new students educated in blue and green skills; 

k)    Bath street would see up to 136 new homes in addition to commercial space. The new homes would be 100% affordable and phase one of the project would commence by the end of 2025 subject to funding agreements; 

l)     Oceansgate phases one and two had been delivered, creating 2,600 square metres of office and industrial space and 113 new jobs. Phase three would be starting by the end of 2025 and would see the creation of a further 1,310 square metres of space over eight units; 

m)  Tinside Lido would see a £4.5 million renovation and creation of a multi-use facility, including a new youth facility. The new facilities would encourage youth engagement, community engagement and new commercial opportunities;  

n)    The Mountbatten Water Sports Centre would have over £4 million in redevelopment with new accessible facilities. The Council was undertaking a tender opportunity for improvements to the pontoons;  

o)    Renovations to the Mount Edgcumbe Garden Battery  ...  view the full minutes text for item 153.

Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities presented the report and highlighted the following key points:  

a)    The 41^st National Volunteers week provided an opportunity to recognise, celebrate and thank all the incredible volunteers that Plymouth had;  

b)    Data indicated that that 38% of Plymouth residents volunteered and a further 18% of residents helped their neighbours out on a regular basis and was reported as being much better than comparators;  

c)    The Council facilitated the Plymouth Volunteers Coordinators Network (PVNC) which supported 67 volunteering organisations in the city promoting partnership working, good practice and mutual support; 

d)    The councils own volunteering programme worked with a range of organisations to develop best practice for volunteering opportunities in the city;  

e)    On Course Southwest provided training and induction sessions to new volunteers in the city and in 2024, 114 people participated in those courses;  

f)     The Council had ran workshops for organisations in areas such as safeguarding, recruitment and engagement of ‘minoritiesed’ communities as well as supporting asylum seekers and refugees;  

g)    Volunteering was a key pillar of the councils community empowerment programme, supporting the delivery of community services, whilst enhancing personal wellbeing and creating a sense of belonging cohesion and building skills;  

h)    Staff were encouraged to volunteer and were able to take a day off every year to do that;  

i)     700 people had volunteered for the Council to help deliver things that the council couldn’t otherwise deliver. 

Zoe Sydenham (Community Empowerment and Operational Lead) added: 

j)     Volunteering supported the recognition of everyone as valuable community members;  

k)    It enhanced personal wellbeing whilst offering a wide range of skills, life experiences and fresh perspectives to complement the councils services and staff skills;  

l)     The council developed and supported high quality volunteering opportunities and had 680 active volunteers helping across a range of initiatives;  

m)  The good neighbour volunteer support scheme helped reduce loneliness in the community whilst also helping individuals;  

n)    The Community Digital Volunteer scheme was a volunteer network that helped digitally excluded individuals;  

o)    The Changing Futures Volunteer programme was in place to help people through lived experiences;  

p)    The Ocean City Event programme saw volunteers help with high profile events such as the fireworks championships; 

q)    It was crucial that the council continued to build volunteering opportunities;  

Cabinet agreed to note the report.   

Councillor Jemima Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications) introduced the report to Cabinet and highlighted the following key points:  

a)    Downham house was a bedroom council owned home that provided short breaks for families and children across the city. The home had received a good Ofsted inspection in March 2025. Although there had been a historically unsettled leadership team, the home demonstrated an improved progression with stable and positive foundations, providing a solid future for new children’s homes in the city.  

b)    The work undertaken in the home was thoughtful, inclusive and welcoming with feedback from parents/carers describing their excitement for the home;  

Victoria Whitman (Head of Service for Strategy, Intelligence and Planning) and David Haley (Director of Children’s Services) added:  

a)    The Ofsted inspection result was something to be proud of and was consistently good for eight years;  

b)    There were challenges in the sector but staff at Downham House delivered better outcomes for disadvantaged children and kept them out of Care;  

c)    All parents spoken to during the inspection were equally effusive and positive and had reflected that the opportunity to have overnight breaks allowed them the opportunity to stay together as a family and for their children to prosper;  

d)    The outcome provided the council with a solid foundation in managing its own children’s homes; 

e)    The Council was finding it difficult to find and purchase its first couple of homes but it would continue to work through those challenges, but was the reason for the delay in work within that space;  

f)     There were 68 children in residential children’s homes with the majority of those living at a distance from Plymouth. The council wanted to get the best for those children and bring them closer to home. 

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) made the following announcements:  

a)    Due to attending UK REIT, it was anticipated that Plymouth would have an influx from the developer community. The event made it clear that there was an appetite from private sector companies for what Plymouth was offering in terms of an entrepreneurial planning department and entrepreneurial economic development and property department at a time when people were nervous; 

b)    Announcements from Government and Babcock around future submarines being built meant that they would be maintained in Devonport into the future;  

c)    There would be massive investment from central government over a ten year period which gave Plymouth a stable footing with development companies;  

d)    Councillor Evans OBE attended a civic engagement meeting at Ballard House which was attended by the University of Plymouth, Babcock, Plymouth City Counciland the NHS, regardingmeaningful partnership around procurement and social value. It was the first in the UK to have a range of anchor institutions sign in such a deal.

CouncillorTudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council)provided the following update for Local Government re-organisation: 

e)    The Council’s within the principle areas where the Local Government Re-organisation (LGR) were taking place were awaiting a letter in response to their expressions of interest;  

f)     A meeting took place with Devon County Council and the District Council’s where it was discussed how Plymouth City Council would proceed up until November 2025;  

g)    It was the expectation from Government that a consolidated submission would be given that would take into account the impact on neighbours of the proposals; 

h)    Central government had provided a modest sum of money to help prepare the case for the area of Devon which was split into 11 parts for all the Council’s within that area;  
 

i)     Plymouth City Council was engaged in building key community connections with the different Parish Council’s affected by the LGR. 

Councillor Stephens (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport) highlighted the following: 

a)    Gave thanks to all staff and Councillors who had supported him in his new role as a Cabinet Member; 
 

b)    A38 Manadon interchange schemeconsultation: 

                      i.        Currently within the 6 week period of the consultation; 
 

                     ii.        Gave thanks to staff involved for the way they had worked with stakeholders; 
 

c)    The campaign for better transport bus day was 17 June 2025 with an event for ribbon cutting for the new electric buses and would be attended by public and representatives from the Department for Transport; 
 

d)    A transport marketplace would also be set up to demonstrate all the new sustainable transport opportunities in Plymouth; 
 

e)    Stoke 20mph zones and the improved road crossings would begin to come into effect that week and was expected to extend within two years; 
 

                              i.        Stuart Road primary school to provide street art that was road safety orientated in the scheme area; 
 

                             ii.        The winner of the best art piece would receive a prize; 
 

f)     TheBig Wheel Challenge takes place every March in Plymouth schools and it encourages children to walk, cycle or scoot to school and there had been a significant increase in schools taking part in the challenge; 
 

                              i.        Winning schools would receive a BMX Stunt Show; 
 

                             ii.        Encouraging children to walk, cycle or scoot to school, encourages parents to find other ways to get around; 
 

                            iii.        Thanked the staff involved who facilitated this.  

Councillor Haydon (Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Libraries, Evens, Cemeteries and Crematoria) gave the following updates: 

g)    Summer Sessions were due to take place that week: 
 

                              i.        Plymouth City Council(PCC) and Live Nation had organised an educational walk-around for students in the events industry around the Summer Sessions site on the Hoe with a question and answer session; 
 

                             ii.        Live Nation provided complimentary tickets to foster carers; 
 

                            iii.        They had provided grassroots slots for local artists; 
 

                            iv.        Local crew had been recruited to set up and ‘break down’ the staging; 
 

                             v.        Two local caterers had been booked to trade on the site; 
 

h)    Armed Forces Day flag raising would take place on Monday 23 June 2025 at Plymouth Guildhall and the beginning of Armed Forces Week; 
 

i)     Strength of the spirit games would take place on Thursday 26 June 2025, including 24 schools due to take part in the rowing challenge; 
 

j)     Armed Forces weekend would have the Merlin helicopter, a display from the Black Cat helicopters, a field gun show, poppy display, dive tank and climbing wall; 
 

                              i.        Gave thanks to the Devon County Royal British Legion Branch, for their support and generous sponsorship and Councillor Murphy in her support in securing this; 
 

k)    Plymouth Libraries had grown significantly in attendances, recording 46,500 visits since 1 April 2025 with a range of workshops and events to improve public interaction; 
 

                              i.        2026  ...  view the full minutes text for item 157.

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) provided the following Local Government Association update:  

a)    Councillor Evans OBE attended LGA meeting’s in London in June where concerns from Local Government around SEND issues were acknowledged by national government and the Children’s minister;  

b)    Concerns around scalping by private children’s homes providers was also raised as a matter of concern;  

c)    Issues around disposable vapes were discussed and further insight would be required; 

d)    The LGA were lobbying for a sexual health strategy due to a rise in infection rates amongst a number of different communities.