Plymouth is trying hard to reinvent itself, but will the recession hold things back? Christian Annesley reports on a city with big plans.
Perhaps more than anywhere else in the South West, Plymouth is at a crossroads this year.
With its extensive deepwater harbour and important location as the region’s westernmost large city, most experts agree it holds more potential to reinvent itself than anywhere else in the South West. But some argue it also has further to travel.
Its naval history and massive dockyards helped define the city for generations, but these days Plymouth is marching to the beat of a different drum. It’s more than five years since planners first unveiled what Plymouth’s future may look like on the ground. It was all contained in the ‘Mackay vision’ spatial strategy document unveiled in 2003. The report offered “a review of strengths and weaknesses, an assessment of direction, a pointer to opportunity and an invitation to aspire”.
Five years down the line that strategic vision, which identified four main regeneration areas, is already having a big impact on development. But these days it sits alongside ambitious job creation and economic plans, being drawn up by bodies including the South West RDA, the local council and a new urban regeneration company backed by the key public and private-sector stakeholders, the Plymouth City Development Company (CDC).
In September 2008 chairman James Brent set out the CDC’s vision and priorities, singling out the city’s “exceptional strengths” – its university, arts and culture, lifestyle, location, size, history, industries and people – as the basis for a big economic push.
The CDC’s long-term goals are ambitious: 42,000 high-earning jobs, an increase in population of 100,000 (there are about a quarter of a million people in the city now), and an increase in gross value added to lift Plymouth’s economic performance into line with the national average by 2016 – up from 90 per cent today.
But just as the CDC has got up and running the global economy has nose-dived, casting a shadow over Plymouth’s transformation agenda.
A report from the Department for Communities and Local Government sets out the scale of the challenge. Professor Michael Parkinson of Liverpool’s European Institute of Urban Affairs, author of the report, says the financial crisis is starting to undermine the regeneration model.
“Regeneration has had a very good ten years,” he says. “But the credit crunch has shaken the sector. And if the regeneration pipeline dries up – the investment, confidence, momentum, skills and capacity – the pressure could really mount.”
Against this backdrop, Plymouth and its enterprise and regeneration leaders are trying hard to stay positive and keep the momentum going.
Michael Leece, chair of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, says the city tends to be hit by downturns later than other places but then takes longer to recover. He says resources will be tight in the months ahead, but argues the downturn could be an opportunity for companies to focus on upskilling.
“For Plymouth to achieve its growth potential the businesses in the city need more skills across the board. Plymouth’s universities, colleges and private-sector training providers can really help employers improve the skills of their workforces.”
Leece also sees the downturn as a chance for companies to cut costs and, for those in the services sector, to up their game and help boost the city’s reputation as a welcoming place.
But, while it remains crucial to address the challenges posed here and now, holding on to the bigger vision of bringing about lasting transformation is something everyone involved wants. Ian Thompson, the South West RDA’s area director covering Plymouth, says getting the balance right is the agency’s top priority, not just in the city but across the region.
“The RDA needs to devote time and resources to aiding economic recovery – and helping businesses survive. But we are also aware that we can’t turn our backs on Plymouth’s physical regeneration. Wherever there is a strategic need, we want to cut deals in the private sector to keep things moving.”
The city centre and waterfront areas have already seen substantial works, but Thompson says the RDA knows there’s still a lot to do.
“The West End is awaiting redevelopment; the remainder of the waterfront; Millbay and Millbay docks – the list goes on. Then there’s Devonport and the dockyards, which are being released for redevelopment in phases.”
One development moving more slowly, though still on track, is at Royal William Yard, a 16-acre former navy victualling yard on the waterfront at Stonehouse. The RDA originally put money into the site, but since 2002 the developer, Urban Splash, has been involved, transforming the public spaces and buildings bit by bit for residential and commercial use.
Jason Collard, who heads Urban Splash in the South West, says Royal William Yard is part of Plymouth’s physical transformation, but is also an important part of the city’s efforts to create a new economy.
“We have sold lots of residential flats since we started, but drawing in businesses is also crucial. So far we have mostly attracted the creative sector, raising the prospect of this becoming a creatives hub in time.”
Plymouth University’s art department has taken space, as have various galleries, and they are soon to be joined by an architectural practice, and possibly a design company further down the line. This kind of clustering of businesses in key sectors is seen as crucial to Plymouth’s successful reinvention.
“There are a diverse range of businesses in Plymouth, but that is as much a weakness as a strength,” says David Armstrong, an assistant director at Ernst & Young Exeter, who has worked in and around Plymouth for 20 years.
“There are plenty of strong, owner-managed or small businesses, but developing some of the city’s specialisms probably holds the key to growth,” he says.
Those specialisms still include pleasure boats – Princess Yachts is a very prominent local employer – but, as Mel Holsten, regional director of insurance brokers Bluefin says, other industries, such as engineering have virtually disappeared, leaving a hole that’s been filled by newer enterprises that can piggyback on the skills base left behind.
One area where this is already happening is in science and technology. Plymouth is home to Tamar Science Park – the region’s only major science park. It is now more than 13 years old, making it one of the more established science parks on the national stage, and is still growing with three phases of building completed and a fourth under way.
Nigel Halford, Tamar’s chief executive, says the science park model has proved to work well in Plymouth.
“We have more than 50 knowledge-based businesses, employing 800 people, and the park is clearly helping to drive Plymouth’s evolution in some key sectors such as marine technologies and advanced manufacturing.”
Halford says the park’s success is a good example of Plymouth’s potential to play to its strengths, but adds that setting out your stall for the long term is important.
“We still turn away enquiries today from company that wouldn’t fit on a science park. It’s crucial to stick to the rigid entry criteria we have set and maintain standards because that is at the root of our success.”
Halford, like others, is also optimistic that what previously held the city back – the lack of a joined-up appraoach to tackling the city’s challenges – can potentially be put right by the CDC, but he is not alone in thinking that Plymouth has so far sold itself a little short.
“Nationally Plymouth is still off the radar and that needs to change. We need to shout about our successes more and trumpet what we have.”
Ian Potts, managing director of Architects Design Group, agrees, saying the lack of a recognisable Plymouth brand has cost the city dear: “We should be seen as the clean, green, marine city of the UK. We’ve all the credentials, but it’s never happened.”
But the hope is that, so long as the recession doesn’t kill the momentum, the CDC and others can start to deliver that transformation. And there is more riding on it than just Plymouth’s prospects because of the city’s sub-regional significance.
“Bristol’s proximity to London and Birmingham is in its favour; Exeter has its centrality in the South West as its calling card; but Plymouth is the gateway to Cornwall and that county looks to it in a big way,” says Ifan Rhys-Jones of King Sturge.
Thompson adds: “Regenerating Plymouth is about more than the city. It’s a priority because of its importance to the far end of the region. Its success helps Cornwall and Devon. It has an impact beyond its boundaries as a city.
“We know that if we get it right in Plymouth it will have a wider benefit across the whole sub-region – that’s a prize worth fighting for.”
Also in: March 2009
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