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Learn about the Armada Way regeneration plans

Armada Way

People are being invited to an event next week to get the low down on one of the biggest and boldest city centre investment projects – the regeneration of Armada Way.

Plymouth City Council has unveiled exciting plans to revive and renew this key route into the city centre and are currently finalising the designs that will see 1980s piecemeal landscaping replaced with a new linear park over a kilometre long, lined on either side by an avenue of trees.

The aim is to create a more impressive route from North Cross roundabout through the city centre and a clear visual link to the sea, which was the original ambition of Armada Way. The project is part of an ongoing programme designed to address years of under-investment in city centre streets and spaces.

The information event takes place on Thursday 29 September on the third floor of Drake Circus shopping mall. Council officers along with the design team for the project will be on hand to discuss the proposal and answer any queries. It will run from 12 noon until 6pm

The £12.7 million investment project is being funded through the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund and matched by Plymouth City Council.

As well as restoring the view to create a more impressive and grand welcome into the city centre, new features planned include play and mixed use games areas for all ages, water-based play space and water fountain jets, dramatically improved café seating areas, attractive places to stop and rest, refurbished Braille Garden and Phoenix fountain and a new stepped amphitheatre space, a new running water feature, and linear tree pits.

The Sundial and its settings will also be refurbished, a mobility hub is on the cards as well as an improved crossing on Mayflower Street to enhance north-south connectivity.

The new look will take into account climate change, with the planting of plants and trees that are more resilient to an urban environment. A sustainable urban drainage system, integrated into a new stream feature, will form part of a wider strategic network in the city centre. The system includes features such as reed beds, which integrate the drainage system with the new planting to make the best use of surface water.

Cabinet Member for Transport Councillor Jonathan Drean said: “This is one of the most significant investments in public space in the country at the moment and we are doing it because we want to transform our city centre and make it more attractive to visitors, business and to investors.

“The plans have changed considerably since the public last saw them in a consultation event in 2018, so we wanted to give people the opportunity to see what’s changed – including taking a more sustainable approach. This event is a chance for residents and businesses to see what’s new and talk to the team behind the scheme.”

The work will be carried out in stages in an effort to minimise disruption to the city centre.