The Plymouth Chronicle is excited to announce a collaboration with Argyle Life to provide regular Plymouth Argyle content from the perspective of the fans. 

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As the transfer window slams shut, Argyle’s season so far has been undeniably a whirlwind to experience. We’ve veered from shock, to hope, to misery, briefly back to hope, firmly at misery again before the briefest flickering of hope once again started to emerge.

A project which explores the lives of Tamar Bridge toll booth workers has received a major grant from Everyday Heritage.

Crossing Lives is one of five projects in the South West to receive Historic England funding under its Everyday Heritage scheme. It has received a grant of £19,200.

Elfordleigh Golf Club captain Neil Wharton has spearheaded a year of fundraising for a charity that was specially close to his heart.

Neil said: “After becoming captain of the golf club at the start of 2024, I knew immediately which charity I would choose. My grandson was stillborn on July 27 2011 and SANDS – Stillborn and Neonatal Death Charity – helped my family with our loss so it was an easy decision to make as to which charity I would choose to support for my year as captain.”

Litter pickers from Plympton, Plymstock, Keyham, Devonport and the South Hams teamed up with Clean our Patch to converge on Plymstock for a massive clean up of litter on Saturday February 1.

A total of 25 people each spent around four hours carrying out the early spring clean of the area. In total 235 bags of litter were picked during the pick and three litter pickers collected a further three bags on their way home, bringing the final total to a whopping 238 bags!

A spokesperson for Clean our Patch said:

“It was a heart-warming example of an amazing group of people coming together to make a real difference to the community. There were many great and joyful conversations and friendships being built.

It was an amazing day and everyone involved should be so proud of the time, effort and heart they have put into making this area better for the community and environment.”

(Story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast)

Nearly 20,000 children across Plymouth to benefit from the Government’s free breakfast clubs, so every child can get the best start to the day, giving working families more flexibility and saving parents up to £450 per year.

Families in Plymouth will soon be able to access quality before-school childcare as the government pushes forward with the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill to roll out free breakfast clubs across the country.

City College Plymouth’s Skills Builder project, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, continues to make a significant impact on individuals and the local economy.

The transformative programme has not only exceeded key targets but has also demonstrated the positive impact of tailored skills development and workforce training.

Since its launch, Skills Builder has supported 180 participants, with 142 individuals who were socially excluded. It has also enabled 158 participants to access basic skills and helped 112 to engage in job-searching activities.

A new Cabinet champion has been appointed to support work to address poverty and raise the living standards of people in Plymouth.

Councillor Maria Lawson, who represents Plymstock Dunstone, is the council’s new Building Bridges to Opportunity champion and is supporting Cllr Chris Penberthy, Cabinet member for Housing, Cooperative Development and Communities in work that builds on partnership work to address poverty across the city.

Twenty-one sixth form students from Plympton Academy had the fantastic opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament as part of the ’Learn with the Lords’ day.

They were among 400 other pupils from across the UK who took part in the event.

After an insightful tour – including standing in the House of Lords and observing a session in the Commons – students took part in a unique Q&A with six Lords.

There has been a double dose of positive news for Plympton bus travellers, both in terms of new routes and new vehicles, with Plymstock residents also set to benefit from some of the changes.

After lengthy campaigning by residents and politicians calling for the reinstatement of direct bus connectivity between Plympton and Plymstock and to incorporate bus travel to the new Park Crematorium at Saltram, funding has been secured to provide just that.

Rebecca Smith MP for South West Devon and Ward Councillor for Plymstock Radford with updates on supporting constituents

“We have seen big wins for South West Devon in the past month. The Government have finally honoured their manifesto commitment to build Derriford’s new Emergency Care Unit after a hard-fought campaign.”

“Representations to Plymouth City Council have helped secure a new bus service to Plympton and Plymstock, linking to the new crematorium.”

“And whilst Lloyds have dealt a blow to the Broadway in Plymstock with the closure of their branch, it may unblock the option for a new banking hub/post office, something I’ve been fighting for for years. I will be working hard in the weeks and months ahead to see each of these key projects delivered.”

The community has reacted with sadness to the closure of the b.kinda coffee shop in St Stephen’s Place which was operated by St Luke’s Hospice.

The coffee shop opened in October 2023 as a new type of venture for St Luke’s and was part of the charity’s mission to establish additional, sustainable income streams alongside their retail shops and fundraising, with profits from the coffee shop going to support St Luke’s end of life care work. This project followed on from the b.kinda mystery online clothing box enterprise launched a year previously.

Just over fifteen months on from the coffee shop’s launch, time has been called on the venture and the premises has now permanently closed as a coffee shop.

Update from Cllr John Stephens for Plymstock Dunstone

There has been lots of good news concerning moving about in the Plymstock Dunstone and Radford wards recently, topped by the announcement that new bus services will soon run between Plymstock Broadway, Sherford and Plympton Ridgeway.

Update from Cllr Stefan Krizanac for Plymstock Dunstone

I am being kept very busy as usual with the day-to-day work of councillors – potholes, street lights, planning and many other issues are just a sample of things we deal with on our residents’ behalf on a regular basis.

Update from Cllr Daniel Steel for Plymstock Radford

There is a worrying increase in the number of young people in Plymouth vaping and addicted to nicotine.

Update from Cllr Maria Lawson for Plymstock Dunstone

I feel passionately that as elected councillors, we should strive to make a difference in the ward in which we serve and to the city of Plymouth. We have been fortunate recently that some of our aspirations and hopes have come to fruition.

Thousands of children in Plymouth will once again enjoy healthy lunches and activities at free ‘Fit and Fed’ holiday clubs this year.

Plymouth City Council has welcomed the confirmation of funding from the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for 2025, which means the popular Fit and Fed programme will return during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.

Plymouth City Council is looking for an organisation or individual to give the Merchant’s House – one of the city’s oldest buildings – a new lease of life.

The property, which dates back to the 16th Century, was once a museum but has been closed for almost a decade.

Now the council is hoping to hear from companies, organisations or individuals who are keen to see this incredible Grade II building come alive once more.