Plymouth City Council’s new administration has hit the ground running in delivering its commitments to the city, a progress report to Cabinet shows.
A new Corporate Plan setting out the Council’s new priorities for Plymouth was agreed by the Full Council but work to deliver them has been under way throughout the six weeks the new administration has been at the helm.
For example, activities to ensure there are fewer potholes, cleaner, greener streets have seen a new machine that repairs potholes more quickly and efficiently being put into action, while plans are being put in place to create a new Clean Team to clamp down on fly-tipping, litter and graffiti, working alongside our committed volunteer ‘litter pickers’ and Clean Our Patch.
Work to deliver more affordable homes for social rent and affordable ownership has seen a review of Council owned sites begin with a view to see which ones can be released to maximise opportunities to accelerate housing delivery.
Work is also beginning on a redesigned Plan for Homes that will aim to address the challenge of delivering more and greener affordable homes in the city.
The new administration has also already announced that a new task force is being set up to tackle the city’s growing dental crisis as part of the priority to work with the NHS to provide better access to health, care and dentistry.
And following work with the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, a new community diagnostics facility has been secured for the vacant Colin Campbell Court site. The facility will provide outpatient diagnostic tests including MRI, CT, x-ray, ultrasound, audiology, ECG, point of care and blood tests, as well as lung cancer screening.
The Cabinet has also renewed the Council’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030 by committing to UK100, a network of ambitious local leaders who have pledged to lead a rapid transition to net zero – with clean air in their communities – ahead of the government’s legal target of 2050.
There are also ambitious plans to deliver green investment, jobs, skills and better education in the pipeline, including developing an innovation offer at South Yard to support areas such as renewable technologies aligned to the marine sector and maximising the opportunity of the ‘Celtic Array’.
Work will also be taking place with city business parks to develop a cluster of businesses that could capitalise on the growth in green technologies.
Working with the Police to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour is another of the Council’s top priorities and Council Leader Tudor Evans has already met with Chief Constable Will Kerr, with further meetings planned to discuss opportunities for reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
Council Leader Tudor Evans OBE said “Plymouth faces a number of significant challenges and we have not wasted any time in getting stuck into addressing them through the renewed priorities for the city. We have made great progress in just six weeks of being in charge and with so much to do, we have no intention of slackening the pace.
“We are making progress on issues such as cleaning up Armada Way and getting to grips with how the Council can best support the city during the Cost of Living crisis which is severely impacting on so many residents.
“We look forward to reporting on tangible progress as we deliver the priorities that will build a better Plymouth.”