The Plymouth Welcome

The city centre is being transformed

The city centre is being transformed into a safer, more welcoming, and vibrant place to attract more visitors and investment and up to 4,000 homes.

With a newly revamped Civic Square, the clean-up of historic buildings and the £17m of improvements to New George Street and Old Town Street almost complete, the vision for a new-look city centre is starting to take shape.

We will rejuvenate our city centre streets and public spaces. We will use the multi-million- pound investment in the city centre as a catalyst for change and improvement.

  • New George Street and Old Town Street

    The £17m improvements in New George Street and Old Town Street are almost complete with new paving, seating, lighting, trees, and landscaping. Former empty units are being snapped up to take advantage of the attractive new look and make use of the outdoor trading spaces.

    Visitor numbers are increasing, drawn by the mix of cafes, bars and retail and leisure offer at Drake Circus, The Barcode and on the high street.

    We are working closely with the council on the design of Old Town Square which will give us a focal point for new events and activities by day and night and all-year round.

  • Armada Way

    Work is now underway on one of the biggest urban design projects in the UK - the transformation of Armada Way, into a tree-lined boulevard with spaces for play, performances, leisure and outdoor seating for cafes and restaurants.

    The Plymouth City Centre Company will make use of these new spaces to put on more events, enliven the streets and restore pride in the city centre.

  • Clean and Green

    We will work closely with the council’s street services team, businesses and other partners to ensure the city centre’s newly improved public spaces are kept clean and fully maintained. The council is committing extra resource to city centre cleansing, litter picking and care of trees and green spaces. This will be monitored via a service level agreement with the council.

    We will work closely with the council on its green initiatives, including more cycling and walking routes, mobility hubs with electric bikes and EV charging points and provide support to businesses seeking to reduce their carbon emissions. We will support a district
    heating scheme for the city centre.

  • The West End

    We have introduced more planting, street art, colourful street furniture and signage to support our independent quarter in the West End in and around Plymouth Market. We will be urging the council to invest more in the

    public realm and Western Approach car park as part of its regeneration of the area, including the new £25m Community Diagnostics Centre now being built in Colin Campbell Court.

  • Cafe Culture

    We will encourage cafes, restaurants and bars to provide high quality outdoor seating areas for their customers
    to help enliven our streets and increase the time visitors spend in the city centre. A new design and style guide will be issued to encourage best practice for shopfront design, signage and street furniture.

  • Access for Everyone

    We will work with disabled and community groups to ensure the city centre and its businesses are as accessible as possible for everyone. We will work with partners and businesses to develop a disability and health strategy for the city centre and to encourage all our businesses to be disabled friendly.