Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications), supported by Emma Wilson (Head of Regeneration and Growth), Victoria Pomery (CEO of The Box) and James McKenzie-Blackman (Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Plymouth) introduced the item and highlighted:

a)    Regeneration work focused on linking physical redevelopment with cultural placemaking;

b)    Signed a new long-term partnership with Homes England with two large strategic investments in Bath Street and the Civic Centre valued at over £33 million;

c)    Homes England made numerous strategic acquisitions in the city centre from north of Armada Way and around Mayflower Street;

d)    The Council had taken the Civic Centre back as a direct development assembling over £36 million external grants;

e)    Shortlisted by the Governments new towns task force to create over 10,000 new homes;

f)     Appointed WSP to undertake 12-month process of establishing a new city centre living framework who had world class expertise;

g)    There was a bid to become the City of Culture;

h)    There was a long track record of delivery in the city centre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Drake Circus, the Barcode, the Box, and the Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC);

i)     Reintroducing city living back into Plymouth City Centre for the first time since Abercrombie zoned it out;

j)     Plan would remain the same for a new town plan if not acquired the new town designation;

k)    How culture had been the driving force for what make Plymouth a great place to live and work.

l)     The economic impact from the Theatre Royal Plymouth;

                             i.                Had contributed £53.3 million to the local economy;

                            ii.                Over 15,000 people a week attended the theatre and contributed to economic growth through hotels, restaurants and nighttime economy;

m)  The Box had an economic and social impact in Plymouth:

                            i.                More than 1.1 million had visited The Box;

                           ii.                £240 million contribution to the local economy;

                          iii.                13% of the audience had never been to The Box or any other form of cultural organisation;

                          iv.                It had hosted exhibitions like Beryl Cook, which had been very popular;

                           v.                Interest from BBC do a One Show segment on the Beryl Cook exhibition, as well as other national news coverage;

                          vi.                Had worked with TR2 and Cast locally on the development of the Beryl sculptures that had appeared in the city.

n)    An update on the Civic Centre:

                             i.                144 homes would be delivered in the main tower;

                            ii.                The basement and podium of the building would include a new blue green skills hub for the city college and would have 60 courses and support around 2,000 learners every year;

                           iii.                A £36 million grant funding package had been secured;

                           iv.                £18.4 million from investment funding from government partners like Palmes England;

                            v.                The Civic Centre had undergone the removal of all asbestos and over 30 surveys had been carried out on the buildings structure;

                           vi.                The next step would be the upcoming submission of the planning application;

o)    Assurance on capability, governance, and deliverability through the following:

i)             WSP had been appointed through a competitive process, they would lead the commission. With national expertise and local expertise;

ii)            Governance and program structure would have three distinct phases. Phase one was a discovery phase that included covering the city’s current performance, challenges, opportunities, and development capacity. Public consultation would also begin during this phase;

iii)           Phase two would be the defining phase that would test options to refine the spatial options for the city’s framework. There would be an engagement plan which would allow the public and stakeholders to scrutinise and comment on proposals before they were finalised;

iv)           Phase three would be the delivery process that produced the full reports from a detailed report, 3D models, sustainability appraisals  and an engagement summary;

v)            There would be a transparent ‘you said, we did’ report to show how public engagement had helped shape the project;

vi)           On assurance and risk management, there was a formal governance structure that included a monthly program board and a quarterly strategic investment and regeneration board;

vii)          The Government structure would bring together key stakeholders and oversight from Homes England;

viii)         Risk management would be included in all phases from viability, deliverability, environmental compliance, infrastructure capacity, and social value;

ix)           Early identification of constraints such as utilities, transport capacity, and market conditions would be included in the program to prevent delays.

p)    The proposal would bring opportunities through job creation alongside the  investment of £4.4 billion in Devonport Naval base.

In response to questions, supported by Stuart Wingfield (City Centre Programme Director) and David Draffan (Service Director for Economic Development), the Panel discussed:

q)     It was not just about the numbers but the deep and meaningful impact that developments would make and enhance existing assets in the city;

r)    The City of Culture bid would be at the centre of projects;

s)     The new town utilised mechanisms from the Government that created the opportunity to accelerate the project to create 10,000 new homes;

t)     Significant effort had been made to embed thought leadership into the approach, recognising that the true purpose was to shape meaningful places;

u)    Collaboration remained central to The Box work, with recent national and international partnerships. Continued learning from major programmes like Beryl Cook to stay ahead of cultural trends and create impactful experiences for communities across and beyond the city;

v)    The infrastructure workstream would include social and community infrastructure, including what was needed in education provision and healthcare, with baseline analysis looking at where the pressure points were now and what investment was needed with the projected population increase;

w)   Although costs remained high at Theatre Royal Plymouth, after the energy contract expiration at the height of the increase, they were fortunate that people continued to come, and James was going to London to advocate for bringing shows to Plymouth;

x)    The use of multiple engagement methods to gather public insight;

y)    A future plan to create a creative and family friendly city centre. To be able to have a cultural, creative and liveability at the centre of the community. It would have a built-in community that would be able to last for years;

z)    The need to ensure retail, hospitality, and nightlife continued to thrive alongside housing;

aa)  Design quality should remain ambitious, but city centre developments would require realistic expectations and public sector funding, with new design standards feeding into evidence for the emerging local plan;

bb) Empty shop numbers had fallen in 2025, renewed investment in Plymouth, though ongoing pressures in hospitality highlight the need to support struggling existed businesses;

cc)  A video about the Civic Centre development was shown.

The Panel agreed to note the report and the continued focus on Civic Pride and Regeneration as a key element of the Plymouth Economic Strategy.