Mr Mark Thomas introduced the petition which said -

“Plymouth City Council is regenerating Armada Way and in doing so will be chopping down virtually all the beautiful and well-established trees which make the city such a nice place to be.
If you would rather they change their plans to incorporate a bit more of what we already have rather than bulldozing it flat then get behind our campaign to save the trees! They are more important than a glimpse of a view of the war memorial on the Hoe.
The council say they want more trees, so why not just plant more trees?”

The meeting was adjourned at 3.25pm for 15 minutes to allow everyone to read the copy of the response.

Councillor Jonathan Drean (Cabinet Member for Transport) provided a response to the petition. This was seconded by Councillor Mark Shayer (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Economy).

Councillor Murphy joined the meeting at 4.21pm.

Councillor Tom Briars-Delve proposed an amendment which was seconded by Councillor Mark Coker. Following a discussion with contributions from Councillors Nicholson, Goslin, Reilly, Drean, Singh, Hulme, Mrs Bridgeman, Kelly, Penberthy, Holloway, Poyser and Wheeler the Council agreed to accept the amendment -

For (48)

Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Briars-Delve, Dr Cree, Coker, Cresswell, Evans OBE, Goslin, Haydon, Hendy, Holloway, McDonald, Murphy, Noble, Penberthy, Reilly, Rennie, Stevens, Tippetts, Tuohy, Bingley, Carlyle, Churchill, Drean, Harrison, Finn, Mrs Loveridge, Lugger, Dr Mahony, Patel, Partridge, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Smith, Stoneman, Tofan, Ms Watkin, Wakeham, McLay, Poyser, Wheeler, Mrs Beer, Mrs Bridgeman, Hulme, Kelly, Nicholson and Singh.

Against (0)

Abstain (1)

Councillor Dann.

Absent/Did Not Vote (0)

Councillor Wheeler proposed an amendment that was seconded by Councillor Ian Poyser. Following a discussion with contributions from Councillor Coker, Churchill and Drean the Council agreed to accept the amendment –

For (48)

Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Briars-Delve, Dr Cree, Coker, Cresswell, Evans OBE, Goslin, Haydon, Hendy, Holloway, McDonald, Murphy, Noble, Penberthy, Reilly, Rennie, Stevens, Tippetts, Tuohy, Bingley, Carlyle, Churchill, Drean, Harrison, Finn, Mrs Loveridge, Lugger, Dr Mahony, Patel, Partridge, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Smith, Stoneman, Tofan, Ms Watkin, Wakeham, McLay, Poyser, Wheeler, Mrs Beer, Mrs Bridgeman, Hulme, Kelly, Nicholson and Singh.

Against (0)

Abstain (1)

Councillor Dann.

Absent/Did Not Vote (0)

Following a further discussion with contributions from Councillors Singh, Smith, Hulme, Nicholson, Kelly, Briars-Delve, Mrs Bridgeman and Penberthy the Council agreed the amended substantive motion –

Plymouth City Council firmly believes that the residents and businesses of Plymouth deserve a thriving and prosperous city centre to deliver high quality jobs and places to live.

We recognise that the strategic policies set out in the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan adopted in March 2019 commits us to delivering a vibrant mixed-use regional shopping centre and attractive visitor destination. We remain committed to delivering Policy PLY6 of the adopted Joint Local Plan (‘Improving Plymouth’s City Centre’) which, amongst other things, specifically supports respecting and celebrating the centre’s mid-twentieth built heritage, a coordinated programme of investment in public realm, and improvements to surface water drainage systems.

We note the substantial support that has been expressed for the Armada Way scheme by local residents, many city centre businesses, the City Centre Company, the Environment Agency, South West Water, Homes England, Historic England, the Twentieth Century Society and others.

We recognise the concerns that have been expressed regarding the engagement arrangements for the scheme, the tight funding deadlines for the project to be delivered, and the potential for funding to be lost if the scheme is not implemented. We therefore call on the Cabinet Member for Transport to undertake a comprehensive review of the engagement arrangements for the scheme and commit to publishing the results of this review to inform this and delivery of future city centre schemes. We also call on the Cabinet Member for Transport to publish a detailed statement regarding the maintenance costs of the Better Places Programme projects.

Plymouth City Council recognises the concerns expressed in the petition regarding the loss of existing trees but agrees that a balance has to be struck with the achievement of other regeneration and environmental objectives for the city centre, including the city’s climate change commitments.  We note that the scheme has many environmental benefits, for example the creation of new walking and cycling infrastructure, a sustainable urban drainage scheme, and provision for future district heating initiatives. We call on the Cabinet Member for Transport to set these out in detail for the benefit of local businesses and the public.

Plymouth City Council welcomes the pause to the Armada Way scheme announced by the Cabinet Member for Transport on 21^st November 2022. We note that the modified scheme that has been published seeks to directly respond to the request in the petition to ‘incorporate a bit more of what we already have’.

Plymouth City Council calls upon the Cabinet Member for Transport to note its dissatisfaction with the lack of public engagement and suspend tree felling whilst undertaking a meaningful community engagement process [in February, which considers the natural environmental and climate resilience] before finalising the designs for Armada Way. The Council further acts that no work be carried out that could prejudice the survival of the existing trees until the design is finalised. Having undertaken this process and published the results, the Council supports and requests that the Cabinet Member implements that final design quickly to avoid on-going disruption to city centre businesses from the construction works.

For (18)

Bingley, Carlyle, Churchill, Drean, Harrison, Finn, Lugger, Dr Mahony, Patel, Partridge, Riley, Salmon, Shayer, Smith, Stoneman, Tofan, Ms Watkin and Wakeham.

Abstain (22)

Councillors Allen, Mrs Aspinall, Briars-Delve, Dr Cree, Coker, Cresswell, Dann, Evans OBE, Goslin, Haydon, Hendy, Holloway, McDonald, Murphy, Noble, Penberthy, Rennie, Stevens, Tippetts, Mrs Bridgeman, McLay and Wheeler.

Against (5)

Councillors Mrs Beer, Hulme, Kelly, Nicholson and Singh.

Absent/Did Not Vote (4)

Councillors Mrs Loveridge, Poyser, Reilly and Tuohy.

The meeting was adjourned for 30 minutes at 5.25pm.

Councillors Briars-Delve, Coker, Rennie and Poyser left the meeting at 5.25pm.

Councillor Dr Cree left the meeting at 5.25pm and did not return to the meeting.