(a)        To receive announcements from the Lord Mayor, Chief Executive, Service Director for Finance or Head of Legal Services;

 

(b)        To receive announcements from the Leader, Cabinet Members or Committee Chairs.

Councillor Ms Watkin (Lord Mayor) made the following announcements:

 

a)    It was with great sadness that the Council noted the death of former judge William Taylor, who had been an Honorary Recorder of the City of Plymouth since 2004:

 

I.              Judge Taylor had earned the recognition, which followed immediately behind the role of Lord Mayor in order of civic importance;

 

II.            The Lord Mayor thanked him for a lifetime of service to the city and conveyed her condolences to his family.

 

b)    The Finance Department was celebrating two exceptional apprentices that made their mark at a prestigious local government Apprentice of The Year 2025 competition.

 

I.              Anya Stevens had been named runner up in the national competition whilst Lucy Gregory had reached the final stages, demonstrating the outstanding calibre of talent that was being developed within the Plymouth City Council apprenticeship program.

 

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

 

a)    Councillor Evans OBE had the privilege of travelling to Leeds to lead the delegation to the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (REIIF).

 

I.              He referenced Plymouth’s bold ambition, future, potential and readiness for growth;

 

II.            Met investors, developers, government officials and partners from across the UK;

 

III.           Highlighted Plymouth’s strengths, such as marine defence, digital and clean energy;

 

IV.           Mentioned the importance of networking to build relationships and benefits for the city;

 

V.            Mentioned the importance of jobs, homes, innovation and opportunity.

 

b)    Councillor Evans OBE met with Homes England to discuss a plan to deliver up to 10,000 new homes;

 

c)    A letter from MHCLG was received at the end of May 2025 about the growth area proposals for local government reorganisation (LGR).

 

I.              Plymouth received constructive feedback from the government in May for the interim plan;

 

II.            The letter confirmed that flexibility existed around the rule of unitary authorities requiring a population of 500,000 and that they supported the Council’s approach;

 

III.           The letter confirmed that boundary changes to existing district boundaries were possible if there was strong justification;

 

IV.           This aligned with the proposal for the Council to be a continuing authority.

 

d)    The community conversation event, was a public engagement initiative involving a series of events, hosted by Cabinet members and officers.

 

I.              The sessions provided an opportunity for communities to share what made their area great, as well as, identifying challenges and to discuss future opportunities;

 

II.            For those unable to attend the events, there was an online survey available on the Council website until 09 July 2025.

 

e)    Councillor Evans OBE would be announcing engagement sessions for residents living within the current city boundary as he valued their voices from these communities.

 

I.              The proposal needed to truly reflect locals’ needs and aspirations;

 

II.            Those updates would be provided to the Councillors and the LGR team.

 

f)     The Associated British Ports (ABP) at Millbay held a formal opening at the end of May 2025 to showcase the £23 million upgrade to port facilities in Millbay. The investment was made possible by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed two years ago.

 

I.              The upgrades included new passenger facilities, future proofing the port at Millbay for Brittany Ferries and a new set of rower ramps;

 

II.            The new quayside was capable of handling containers, and provided an excellent use for exports through the Freeport.

 

g)    The latest developments of the Freeport at Beaumont Way, Langage included:

 

I.              Industrial units for the marine and defence sectors;

 

II.            Devon Contractors were progressing on the construction of those units, which ranged in size from 750 square meters to over 2,000 square meters;

 

III.           £4 million of seed capital funding was matched by the Council and would create 138 new jobs;

 

h)    The National Marine Park was featured on Countryfile which highlighted the project with the rays which was seen by 6 million people and was a great advert for the city;

 

i)     The Mountbatten Centre refurbishment work began on the 24 March 2025. The works included; opening up the reception area, a ground floor café, outdoor seating area with spectacular waterfront views and new changing facilities;

 

j)     Work would be done to improve the visitor facilities for the Artillery Tower on top of Mount Batten;

 

k)    Tinside improvements were on track, and would open soon. The improvements consisted of a new terrace café, event space and youth hubs;

 

l)     Mr Daniel Zeichner MP (Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs) laid wreaths on Plymouth Hoe at the fisherman’s memorial as a part of National Memorial Day for fishers;

 

I.              Issues with Plymouth’s fishing ports and the need for investment in the area were discussed with the minister;

 

II.            As a result of this connection, support would be provided to the fishers who have had their work disrupted by an invasion of octopuses;

 

III.           A major research project surrounding the emergence of octopuses in Plymouth’s waters was being pursued;

 

Councillor Aspinall (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care) made the following announcements.

 

a)    Councillor Aspinall thanked the Lord Mayor and her consort for attending the Excellence in Care Awards held on Saturday the 31May 2025.

 

I.              More than 400 nominations were received for the awards;

 

II.            Councillor Aspinall remarked on the talent across the sector;

 

III.           The 31 awards included; Innovation in Using Technology, Care Worker of the Year and the People’s Choice;

 

IV.           Councillor Aspinall congratulated the 48 people and teams, who won their awards, as well as those highly commended.

 

b)    Councillor Aspinall thanked the Director of Adult Social Care and his team for helping celebrate the Adult Social Care workforce;

 

c)    Carer’s week would commence on 09 June 2025, an annual campaign that raised awareness of caring and the challenges of unpaid carers and the contribution that they make were highlighted.

 

I.              Councillor Aspinall noted that the theme for Carer’s week was caring about equality;

 

II.            She calls for an equal society where carers were truly valued, recognised and supported;

 

III.           There would be information displayed on the Council’s website.

 

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities) made the following announcements:

 

a)            Councillor Penberthy mentioned the revision of the annual council tax support scheme. The maintenance of the scheme for the next year meant that recipients of legacy benefits currently migrating to universal credit would not face additional uncertainty during the process;

 

b)            Councillor Penberthy mentioned the following events;

 

I.              June Pride Month: Until the start of Armed Forces Week, the Council would be flying pride identity flags outside the Guildhall;

 

II.            Over the summer season, a progress pride flag would be flown alongside the other flags, on the Hoe Promenade;

 

III.           On Saturday the 14 June 2025, the Trans community organised Plymouth Trans Pride. The Council would fly the Trans flag outside the Guildhall, over the weekend;

 

IV.           On Saturday the 12 July 2025, there would be Pride event activities ongoing. The Progress Pride Flag would be flown outside the Guildhall, over the weekend.

 

c)            Councillor Penberthy thanked the LGBTQ+ community groups who were organising events and activities over the coming weeks, as part of International Pride and Plymouth Trans Pride;

 

d)            Refugees Week would take place from the 14 – 20 June 2025 with the theme, Community as Superpower. The week would launch with the Plymouth Hope Festival, which would include sports, music, open days, arts & crafts events, films, food, showcases & more activities;

 

e)            Councillor Penberthy thanked the Hope, Devon and Cornwall Refugee Service, Open Doors, International Language School, The Give Back Project, The Red Cross, Start and Community Builders for organising all the events;

 

f)             Councillor Penberthy noted that 02 June 2025 marked the start of the 41^st National Volunteers Week. The week celebrated an opportunity to recognise, and thank all volunteers within the city for all their contributions to local communities, the voluntary sector and society.

 

I.              Recent data evidenced that 38% of the city’s residents volunteered regularly and 19% of those helped their neighbours on a regular basis. The Council supported volunteering within the city and did this by facilitating the Plymouth Volunteer Coordinators Network, a group of 67 volunteer involving organisations, in order to promote partnership working, good practice and mutual support.

 

g)            Councillor Penberthy thanked The Box, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, and the National Trust for their support to volunteers across the city, by offering free events during the week, for volunteers and their families;

 

h)            Plymouth City Council’s volunteering programme worked with a range of organisations to develop best practice for volunteering opportunities in the city, and to ensure that they were the best quality, they could be.

 

I.              This included providing training and induction sessions to new volunteers;

 

II.            In 2024 114 people participated in the programme, and workshops were run for organisations such as, how best to support asylum seekers and refugees to volunteer, effective safeguarding, and safer recruitment processes.

 

i)             Councillor Penberthy thanked the 700 local residents who volunteered with Plymouth City Council in projects such as our good neighbour support volunteers, communal digital volunteers, changing futures volunteers, the Ocean City Event volunteers, Library Service volunteers, Poole Farm volunteers, the Plymouth Natural Grid volunteers, the Youth Justice Service Restorative Panel volunteers, the Plymouth Information Advice and support for SEND, the Elizabethan House, and the Plymouth Bus User Panels;

 

Councillor Stephens (Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport) made the following announcements.

 

a)    The A38 Manadon Interchange Scheme was planned to provide junction capacity improvements, walking and cycling improvements, bus-service improvements, as well as, a nature hub and outdoor recreation space;

 

b)    The Council was in the middle of a six-week period of extensive consultation, working with ECF, an external agent engagement company who was experienced with local knowledge, and were applying the gunning principles to ensure the consultation was robust, had real scope for influence, and would help understand and incorporate community feedback into the final project;

 

c)    Briefings had been provided at ward level to members of the adjacent wards. Briefings had also been provided to organisations such as: The Police, the NHS and Babcock;

 

d)    Letters were delivered on Tuesday the 29 April 2025 to local residents whose properties were potentially impacted and the letters invited the residents to arrange a confidential meeting at a convenient time and place convenient to them. A follow-up letter would be sent to those who did not respond. Approximately 450 letters were sent to residents and business to arrive by 02 May 2025 and would include a fact sheet with an invitation to take part in the upcoming engagement. A further 12,000 letters were being delivered to residents in the wider area inviting them to get involved in the engagement exercise;

 

e)    Councillor Stephens expresses his gratitude to officers and staff for their sensitive conduct towards the public engagement stages of this consultation, particularly with residents living within the vicinity of Manadon roundabout;

 

f)     The Council had success in the use of velocity spray injection patching to deal with potholes/road surface defects and the method used less resources and produced less carbon. The Carriageway Resurfacing Programme for2025 had an estimated value of £604,000 with eight sites on the following roads:

 

                      I.        Drunken Hill Bridge and Underwood Road in Plympton Earl and Plympton St Marys. Ham Drive in Ham. Fort Austin Avenue in Eggbuckland. Foliot Road in Southway. New Passage Hill in Devonport. Budshead Road in Budshead. Kinterbury Street and Buckwell Street in St Peters and the Waterfront;

 

g)    Following representations made by the elected members in Plymstock Dunstone and Plymstock Radford, a bus shelter will be reinstated opposite Plymstock Library on Horn Cross. This was as a result of a 250% increase in passenger patronage at the stop since 2019;

 

h)    Bus stop shelters were being reinstated at the bottom of Southway Drive and on Clittaford Road adjacent to Langley Crescent. There had been changes to the bus network since the original decision was made to permanently remove the shelters, meaning that they had the patronage to warrant a shelter being replaced;

 

i)     Following a site visit with Councillor Coker, Councillor Stephens and Councillor Poyser, end panels had been added to the Chaddlewood district shelter on Glenn Road to improve weather protection at the location;

 

j)     The park crematorium bus shelters were underway;

 

k)    The cycle and road pedestrian crossing would be progressing in Stoke and St Peter at Millbridge. The Woolwell to the George cycle path was also progressing also.