The long-awaited new designs proposed for Armada Way have been published – showing a greener, safer, more family friendly city centre – a space designed to bring life back to the heart of Plymouth.
The six-week consultation on the plans for Armada Way will end on November 28.
The proposed designs aim to:
• Recapture the scale and grandeur of Armada Way – providing a gateway to the city centre, linking the train station to The Hoe.
• Include more trees and greenery – 50 more trees than there were previously on Armada Way (before the felling). The new trees will all be 3.5 to 8 metres high when planted, to give immediate environmental benefits and a canopy to provide cover.
• Include a huge destination play village for families – that will be the size of five tennis courts, full of spaces to run, splash, balance, swing, climb, relax and sit, for children of all ages and their carers/parents to enjoy.
• Help wildlife and nature – there will be a variety of trees providing a range of habitats, shrubs, wildflowers and reed beds, as well as bug hotels and bird boxes.
• Work smartly to deal with the city’s rainwater – includes a new surface water drainage system, powered by solar panels to make it sustainable. It will recycle the water to maintain the plants and trees.
• Provide improved safety for all – the installation of 12 and 15 metre high lighting throughout and feature lighting to up-light plants and create patterns on the ground. A much-improved CCTV system will help to deter anti-social behaviour.
• Provide more places to sit, relax and eat – there will be space for 500 people to sit.
• Includes a new cycling path for people of all abilities – anew cycle path is proposed to cater for cyclists of all abilities, with cycle racks and Beryl Bike hubs.
• Create plenty of pop-up spaces with water and power – pop-up spaces for retail, arts and entertainment.
Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said:
“Our city deserves to have a better city centre, a city centre that rivals others across the country and one where people want to live, work, visit, shop and do business in.
“We have worked really hard on these proposals. We have not started with a blank sheet of paper, but have scrutinised the feedback from previous consultations to try and incorporate as much as possible.
“These new designs have the environment, families, business and safety at the very heart of the proposals.
“We are proposing 202 trees from a wide range of species that will give cover and shade. Trees that will thrive in an urban environment and become part of a spectacular new look and feel for the city centre.
“We have included the innovative water drainage system powered by new solar canopies, which will not only help water the trees and planting but will also protect the Sound from pollution. And most exciting, for anyone with children, we have included a new huge play area – enticing families to come to the city centre and spend their time.
“We have thought long and hard about what we think the city centre needs to bring
people and life back and I believe that these proposals have got what it takes. However, I want to hear from the people who live and work in our city and understand their views.
“We have a robust consultation process, delivered by an independent company called ECF. You can tell them your views online, in person or by picking up a hard copy of the survey.
“I would like Plymouth to look forward, work together to help shape the final designs positively and constructively. This is our city centre and it is incumbent on us all to create a space that will be vibrant, green, economically sound and most importantly be a fantastic place to be.”
To see the proposals and conment online, go to: http://letstalkarmadaway.co.uk
To ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to have their say, there will be:
• A display of the proposals in various places along Armada Way, including on the hoardings around the northern compound.
• Hard copies of the survey available from Central Library for people to complete and be posted in a secure box
• An opportunity to talk to one of the ECF team who will be out and about on Armada Way wearing purple hoodies at stages throughout the consultation
For more information on Armada Way, go to: www.plymouth.gov.uk/armada-way
