A contract is to be awarded to ensure continued rapid progress on the key city centre regeneration project in Old Town Street and New George Street.
The £1.6 million contract will enable work to continue on the scheme which will deliver significant environmental improvements, including trees, new planting and a sustainable urban drainage system that includes rain gardens.
The project is a major public realm improvement to regenerate the tired and outdated public spaces and will see improved pedestrian and cycling connections between the city centre, Drake Circus and the Barcode, high quality natural stone paving and modern seating and street furniture.
The scheme is part of the Better Places Programme which aims to address years of under-investment in city centre streets and spaces, transform the look and feel of the city centre and support and lever further inward investment in retail, leisure, employment and housing.
It involves the removal of existing surfacing, street furniture and soft landscaping and replacing with new hard and soft landscaping, new street furniture, lighting and attractive features.
It also requires the removal of contaminated material, underground obstructions, pre-war historical city features and old services and utilities systems and construction of new utilities and drainage systems.
The works so far have hit a number of delays due to issues resulting from digging beneath a city centre that was hastily rebuilt after the war. Workers have come across unexpected voids, Blitz rubble, filled-in cellars, the odd tram line and a maze of utility pipes and cables.
Morgan Sindall’s groundworks subcontractor recently went into administration, which further delayed works.
Activity on site has significantly increased recently and there are now around 30 workers within the three work areas behind the hoardings. Rapid progress is now being made in all areas of the scheme but particularly in phase one (outside of House of Fraser) where the aim is to open up some of the completed works in time for the Christmas lights switch-on.
Work first began on site in November 2021 with Mildren Construction Ltd contracted to carry out enabling works for the scheme to prime the site for the major phasing.
The final details for the main contract award for the Old Town Street New George Street works are being worked on and the interim contract award will enable Morgan Sindalls to continue progressing the scheme.
Councillor Mark Lowry, Plymouth City Council’s city centre champion, said: “This is an important project for the city centre and will help deliver the ambition to make it a more attractive place to shop, work and play.
“There’s been a number of delays to the project due to unforeseen circumstances but the Council’s new administration has committed to getting things moving. We all want to see it progress as quickly as possible so shoppers, visitors and retailers can enjoy the benefits.”
For more information about the scheme visit the Old Town Street and New George Street web page.