Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted:

a)    Plymouth had four ports: Cattedown, Sutton Harbour, Millbay and Devonport;

b)    Plymouth employed more people in the maritime sector than any other local authority in the country, more than 20,000 people which made up 18% of the city’s workforce;

c)    Devonport Dockyard was the largest naval base in western Europe and was the largest land-user in the city, covering 650 hectares with 14 dry docks, 25 tidal births and four miles of docks;

d)    There were 1,400 gold anchor births and 12 cruise ships had visited Plymouth in the past year;

e)    The ports were at the forefront of maritime technology and innovation including research organisations and companies who were working on autonomous vessels and support to floating offshore wind;

f)     Plymouth Sound was part of the National Marine Park and was home to over 1,000 species over 6,000 hectares, as well as being an area of special scientific interest;

g)    Plymouth’s ports underpinned wider growth in the wider marine economy which had the potential to create an additional 2,600 jobs by 2030;

h)    Whilst the Council didn’t play a direct role in port operations, it had commissioned a study because it believed that the ports had an important role to play in supporting future development of the city, and the Council would create a positive policy environment.

Iain Mackelworth (Principal Surveyor) added:

i)     The Council secured Shared Prosperity funding to undertake the research into understanding Plymouth’s ports economic contribution to the city in detail and their potential to attract future investment, particularly in green jobs;

j)     Mott MacDonald had undertaken work elsewhere in the country on ports and were well positioned to give an insight in how Plymouth’s ports compared to others across the country;

k)    An extensive review had been carried out with Port Operators and a variety of stakeholders;

l)     The ports were thriving, and whilst Devonport received most of the recognition because of its scale of operations, there was so much more going on in Plymouth’s ports;

m)  The review had fed into the strategy which identified six areas of opportunities that aligned with the economic strategy;

n)    Ports were global operations and all had to continually invest to maintain a competitive advantage, especially with recent innovations in areas such as fuelling ships.

Ben Mason (Mott Macdonald) added:

o)    Aims of the study were to better understand the ecosystem of Plymouth’s Ports, to identify opportunities to maximise their economic contribution to Plymouth, to support their transition to Net Zero and support creation of green jobs, as well as understanding theirs strengths, weaknesses and how the ports interacted with each other;

p)    A strategic vision statement had been included alongside some opportunities and initiatives that could help achieve it;

q)    There had been considerable stakeholder engagement to gain understanding;

r)    Plymouth is unique in the breadth of things it does well across its ports and the diversity was notable in the research;

s)     The core skills Plymouth was known for included vessel engineering, manufacturing, freight, technology, research and innovation with Plymouth University and training;

t)     Ports were nearing capacity in different ways;

u)    Nationally ports were seen as areas of opportunity for energy transition;

v)    Sustainability and inclusivity was central;

w)   Improvement initiatives underway had been mapped to demonstrate the activity already underway.

In response to questions, supported by Matt Ward (Head of Regeneration and Growth), it was further explained:

x)    Shore power at Millbay would go ahead in a timely manner because the French Government had introduced policies to only accept vessels in France that were able to be powered by green energy when they dock;

                      i.        There would be considerable investment from ABP (Associated British Ports) into this project, and into decarbonising the port support services;

y)    Conversations were ongoing with the national grid in relation to upgrades and being prepared for changes to achieve net zero;

z)    Cattewater Harbour Commissioners were very keen to have shore power available as well and had already invested in electrification of their operations at Victoria Wharf;

aa)  Waterfront land needed to remain available to ports for use and expansion rather than being lost to use such as housing and dockside land would be protected by the Council as the planning authority;

bb)Thematic partnerships had been built between different port authorities and the Council to work to find solutions to issues. Mott MacDonald highlighted this as a positive in their study and more should be done, but other stakeholders in the city should be engaged with this process, not just larger companies;

cc)  Bathing water quality remained a high priority and the water in Plymouth Sound needed to work for all users;

dd)Projects, such as offshore wind, engaged places across the South West, and what Plymouth would be able to offer, would complement the offer of the wider South West;

                      i.        The team had engaged with various stakeholder groups on offshore wind and other projects to ensure the city showcased to the Government and investors what it was able to do, but would complement what others were doing;

                     ii.        Plymouth worked with others across the South West to market the region nationally and internationally;

ee)It was important to know what South West Water’s plans were for the future to ensure the infrastructure was there to support future plans.

The Panel agreed to support the Plymouth Ports Strategy.