Share Your Views.Transform Your City.

Better Places Plymouth will transform the very heart of the city centre, renewing and rejuvenating its open spaces and pedestrian areas in the lead up to the Mayflower 400 celebrations and beyond.

Vibrant streetscapes and inviting public spaces will bring life, activity and commerce back to the city centre, making the area look and feel more attractive to shoppers and visitors – supporting improved trading and encouraging inward investment.

Better Places Plymouth is a long-term programme of investment in Plymouth’s streets and spaces. This programme has been developed to deliver on the policies and ambition for the City Centre set out in our Joint Local Plan and City Centre and Waterfront Masterplans.

A £27m commitment from Plymouth City Council has been made to turn these plans into reality and to deliver real change on the ground. This investment from the City Council will be used to lever in other investment in terms of grants and private sector investment in adjacent buildings including new uses.

This programme is a direct response to challenges facing the City Centre now and into the future including the impact of online retailing, competition from other centres and economic uncertainty. The reason to visit city centres is changing too. In addition to shopping, people increasingly visit city centres for leisure, arts and culture, as a place in which to live and as a place in which to work. Our streets and spaces need to respond to this change and capitalise on the opportunity.

Better Places Plymouth is about making our streets and spaces places that people choose to visit and spend their leisure time in; where retail, leisure and hotel brands want to be; where businesses want to locate their offices and workspaces; and where people want to live. It is also about ensuring our streets and spaces are attractive and accessible for all, support healthy and active lifestyles and are equipped with modern infrastructure and technology.

The Better Places Plymouth Programme should:

1. Raise the bar in quality to support and enhance the retail, leisure and cultural offer and ‘experience’ of the city centre.

2. Provide for a diversification of uses to attract and support new residential, office and evening economy uses into the city centre – providing high quality environments, creating addresses to be proud of and providing outdoor amenity space including children’s play space

3. Connect up and show off the city’s best assets, connecting the principal gateways or points of arrival to the retail core, major leisure and cultural destinations and the waterfront.

4. Be built to last, reduce maintenance costs and generate revenue by removing maintenance liabilities, reducing long-term maintenance costs, generate income and host bigger and better events.

5. Create environmental gains by helping to deliver a sustainable urban drainage system and taking opportunities to green the city centre with new trees and planting.

6. De-clutter and enhance pedestrian and cycle movement for people of all abilities, consolidate signage, remove barriers to people with disabilities and manage conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists to allow for the free-flowing movement of people.

7. Resolve pedestrian and vehicle conflicts and promote safety and security by helping to manage vehicle movements, access to car parks and location of taxi ranks and drop-off and protecting our busiest streets and spaces.

This exhibition outlines the Better Places Framework – the long-term vision for all streets and spaces within the city centre as well as emerging concept designs for three parts of the city centre’s streetscape – New George Street and Old Town Street, Armada Way and The West End.

The programme will be brought forward in a series of phases in order to manage disruption to your city centre.

Initial phases for delivery are proposed to be:

1. New George Street and Old Town Street. This project could be planned and delivered to coincide with the opening of Drake Circus Leisure at Bretonside, be completed for the Mayflower 400 celebrations in 2020 and support major investment taking place in the area.

2. Armada Way South from Royal Parade to the Hoe. This project could be planned and delivered to support the renovation of the Civic Centre, restore and refurbish the Civic Square and support major events on the Hoe.

Emerging designs for Armada Way North from Royal Parade to North Cross and the West End are presented as early ideas for change. The details and phasing of these projects will be worked up in tandem with emerging development opportunities.

We welcome your views.

Proposed phase 1 projectNew George Street & Old Town Street Proposed phase 1 project Armada Way SouthEmerging Design IdeasArmada Way NorthEmerging Design Ideas The West End

Mayflower Street Mayflower Street

Cornwall Street Cornwall Street

New George Street

FrankfortGate

Raleigh St

Am

arda Way

Am

arda Way

New George Street

Royal Parade

Union Street

Notte Street

Princess StreetPrincess Street

Notte Street

Citadel RoadCitadel Road

Exeter Stre

et

Charles Street

Charles

Cross

DerrysCross

St AndrewsCross

JigsawPark

Cobourg Street

Wester

n Appro

ach

Old Tow

n St

New taxi rank

Additional taxi space

New taxi rank

Plymouth’s City Centre Masterplan sets out an ambitious vision for renewal.

It looks to a future where the city centre intensifies with many more people living and working within it, and where it offers a much broader and more varied experience than at present – a place to live, a place to work, a place to shop, a place in which to play, and a place to visit.

The Better Places Framework takes the visions and principles outlined in the City Centre Masterplan and Joint Local Plan and turns these into projects that could be delivered on the ground. The Framework focuses on the streets and spaces between the buildings, providing a strategic vision for how these should look and function. The Better Places Framework also provides the context within which to identify and deliver a programme of projects in order to maximise the benefits for the city.

The Better Places Framework diagram provides a complete picture of how a totally transformed City Centre could look. Delivering this vision will take time and require significant additional funding, but there will be some early win projects undertaken to coincide with the Mayflower 400 celebrations. The Framework sets out to create exciting and distinctive spaces where there is always something to see and do.

BETTER PLACES PLYMOUTH FRAMEWORK - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

01 Framework

Improved connection to The Box and Tavistock Place

Improvements to Mayflower Street pedestrian environment

Cornwall Street improved to make an exciting retail environment

Improved connection to railway station

A new destination space, ‘Old Town Square’(see New George Street and Old Town Street proposals)

Improved connection to Drake Circus Leisure at Bretonside

New taxi rank

New George Street and Old Town Street to become premier retail streets (see New George Street and Old Town Street proposals)

Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe’s Civic Square restored (see Armada Way proposals)

New central promenade to the Hoe(see Armada Way proposals)

Modernised San Sebastian Square (see Armada Way south proposals)

Royal Parade to remain as an attractive avenue

Improvements to the Piazza (see Armada Way proposals)

New residential neighbourhood at Colin Campbell CourtMajor improvements to Frankfort Gate (see West End proposals)The West End becomes branded as

the City’s ‘Independent Quarter’ (see West End proposals)

Armada Way becomes a grand boulevard, with views to the Hoe opened up and a variety of

attractions and spaces along its length (see Armada Way proposals)

New George Street and Old Town Street will both become high quality modern retail streets.

The improvements will deliver:

• Improved connection between Drake Circus and Drake Circus Leisure as part of the wider link between The Box and the Barbican

• Concentrated footfall alongside shopfronts to support retail

• Space for on-street retail to reinforce the space as Plymouth’s premier shopping street

• An improved identity making the area a more attractive place in which to shop, live and work

• Attractive places to stop and rest for everyone • Replacement of single-use Christmas light columns with

multi-functional ‘smart’ columns• ‘Rain gardens’ improving the attractiveness of the

street, increasing biodiversity, and providing an essential sustainable drainage function

• The creation of two new attractive destination spaces to encourage dwell time

• High quality children’s play integrated into the street environment

• A more attractive setting for existing retail• New ‘portal’ structures to reinforce the important retail

function of the street and provide shade and shelter• New tree planting carefully arranged to allow clear

sightlines to shopfronts• Taxis relocated to St Andrews Cross and Eastlake Street,

removing conflicts between pedestrians and carsNEW GEORGE STREET AND OLD TOWN STREET - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

* pavilion buildings will be delivered by others and subject to planning permission.

02 Proposed phase 1 projectNew George Street & Old Town Street

New taxi rank on St. Andrew’s Crosswith further taxi space on Eastlake Street and Wimple Street

New Portland Stone ‘gateway’

Children’s play

Rain garden

On-street retail pavilions

On-street retail pavilions*

Broad promenade spaces

New lighting

New destination space ‘Old Town Square’

NEW GEORGE STREET - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

* pavilion buildings will be delivered by others and subject to planning permission.

Broad promenade space

New lighting

Children’s playLayout allows service access

New on-street retail pavilions*

Rain garden

High quality paving

New tree planting

New Portland Stone ‘gateway’

OLD TOWN STREET - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

** works to buildings will be delivered by others and subject to planning permission.

Glazed retail frontage**

High quality paving

New destination space ‘Old Town Square’

New tree planting

On-street retail pavilions

New lighting

High quality paving

New taxi rank (additional new taxi ranks provided on Eastlake Street

and to the south of St. Andrew’s Cross)

‘OLD TOWN SQUARE’

‘GATEWAY’ TO NEW GEORGE STREET

PREMIER RETAILING

NEW GEORGE STREET AFTER DARK

Armada Way will become an extraordinary boulevard that rivals any of the great European public spaces.

A vision is proposed for the full route of Armada Way but its scale dictates that it will be delivered in a number of phases. The initial phase for development is proposed to be Armada Way South from Royal Parade to the Hoe.

The improvements for the full length will deliver:

• A new avenue and axis structure that opens the vista up and creates spaces that feel safe and inviting

• Fitness stations to encourage outdoor exercise• Destination play and games areas to attract young

and old• Space for new café pavilions to increase dwell time• Fountain jets to encourage summer play and to animate

the spaces• Better facilities for events and markets• Covered bike parking to support and promote cycling

in the city centre• Improved pedestrian crossings at Mayflower Street,

Princess Street and Notte Street• An improved identity making the area a more attractive

place in which to shop, live and work• Dramatically improved café seating areas• Attractive places to stop and rest for everyone• Refurbished historic gardens

03Proposed phase 1 project Armada Way South

ARMADA WAY - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

Central walkway

New path

New path from Crowne Plaza to Register Office

Restored 1950s Garden

Improved Crossing at Notte Street

Modernised San Sebastian Square with interactive water feature

Improved crossing at Princess Street

New cafe pavilion

Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe’s Civic Square restored

Ceremonial flagpole relocated to be on-axis as it was originally

MODERNISED SAN SEBASTIAN SQUARE

CEREMONIAL FLAGPOLE RESTORED TO ORIGINAL LOCATION

CENTRAL WALKWAY FROM THE NAVAL MEMORIAL

RESTORED SIR GEOFFREY JELLICOE CIVIC SQUARE

ARMADA WAY SOUTH OF ROYAL PARADE - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

Emerging Design IdeasArmada Way North03

This image shows the emerging concept design for Armada Way between North Cross and Royal Parade. The proposals open up the view to the Hoe and reveal the ‘great vista’ originally envisaged by Abercrombie and Watson. The proposals feature a series of different spaces and experiences and feature gardens, fitness stations, table tennis, and boules, a destination play space, fountains, cycle parking and new lighting.

Improved Place de Brest

Destination play space

Lawns with fitness stations, table tennis and boules

Sensory garden

Lighting ‘sentinels’ echoing Abercrombie’s original vision

Improved Piazza space

Outdoor cafe seating and covered cycle parking

TABLE TENNIS AND BOULES

COVERED CYCLE PARKING

FITNESS STATIONS

DESTINATION PLAY

AFTER DARK

SENSORY GARDEN

PLACE DE BREST

THE PIAZZA

Initial ideas for the ‘West End’ will strengthen its role as the City’s ‘independent’ shopping quarter, as well as becoming a great place in which to live.

The West End improvements could deliver:

• New on-street car parking spaces to support West End retail and the evening economy

• Destination children’s play in Frankfort Gate for residents and shoppers

• Space for street cafes to allow the ongoing activation of the area’s public realm

• An improved identity making the area a more attractive place in which to shop, live and work

• Retention of existing taxi ranks to support West End retail and the evening economy

• An improved crossing at Western Approach making the area more visibly connected with Stonehouse

• Unsightly over-bridge removed• Artworks on blank gable ends.

WEST END - BIRD’S EYE VIEW

Emerging Design Ideas The West End04

New lighting and distinctive West End branding

Additional on-street parking

Taxi ranks retained

Rain gardens

Major improvements to Frankfort Gate

Over-bridge removed and replaced with an enhanced surface level crossing

CORNWALL STREET

FRANKFORT GATE MARKET AVENUE