Seventy per cent of the Council’s commitments aimed at helping Plymouth build back better have now been delivered.
The Cabinet on 8 March heard that 12 more of the commitments outlined by the Council’s administration last year have been achieved, bringing the total to 60 out of 86.
The latest commitments to be delivered cover supporting the fishing industry, improving parking, tackling child poverty, supporting local businesses and making major improvements to Central Park.
Council Leader Nick Kelly said: “It is a major achievement to have already delivered 70 per cent of the commitments for building back better that we made only last May. It has involved a lot of hard work and shows our ongoing commitment to delivering on our promises for Plymouth.
“Our commitments are based on issues that Plymouth residents and businesses said they wanted to see addressed so and I am really pleased that such rapid progress has been made in so many areas – from supporting our fishing industry to improving travel in the city.
“We are by no means planning to rest on our laurels. Work on the remaining commitments is well under way and we will keep up the momentum by delivering them as rapidly as possible.”
The latest commitments to have been delivered include:
- Promoting Plymouth as a major hub for marine industries and activities, with recent progress including securing £9.5 million for the National Marine Park in Plymouth Sound and securing the return of SailGP this year
- Working with partners to improve Plymouth’s fish landing facilities and help local fishers grow and maintain the city’s standing as a top fishing port, with progress including a feasibility study into improvements to Sutton Harbour, extensive consultation with the industry and ongoing work on funding bids
- Consulting people about reducing or abolishing Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry tolls, while also calling the Government to make a financial contribution to the running costs
- Increasing the speed limit on a new improved section of Tavistock Road from 30mph to 40 mph, with a statutory consultation already held
- Commissioning new technology using satellite imagery to inspect the road network and allow potholes to be identified and repaired more quickly and efficiently
- Making further improvements to Central Park, with a £2.4 million third phase of the improvement plan now approved
- Raising awareness of child poverty and providing additional funds for work to tackle it
- Encouraging greater use of the city’s continental ferry service by offering bespoke parking for motorhomes as a stopover
- Encouraging more businesses to benefit from the Kickstart programme, creating job opportunities for 16 to 24 year olds, and now the programme is concluding, ensuring young people ending their placements are supported
- Introducing periods of free parking in council owned car parks, building on concessions at Christmas with periods of free parking during weekend of 3 and 4 April
- Tackling persistent non payers of parking tickets by using our powers to confiscate their vehicles until their debts are cleared
- Addressing shortages of residential parking by creating additional parking spaces by reconfiguring areas to allow diagonal and perpendicular parking, with initial sites now identified.
The Cabinet also received an update on progress in delivering the remaining 26 commitments.