Plymouth city centre’s new amphitheatre is taking shape. Work is progressing on the new performance space, due to be ready by the summer, as part of the £30m Armada Way revamp.
During the autumn construction giant Morgan Sindall Group started on the first phase of the ambitious regeneration project and since then earth moving equipment has been on site as crews work to create the amphitheatre outside the Copthorne Hotel. Seating is now starting to be installed.
The idea is to bring “culture and the arts” into the city centre. The performance space will be the second created by current city centre improvements, in addition to space for events at the Piazza. Another huge performance area has been created at Old Town Square, where Old Town Street meets New George Street.
This area hosted an 8m high blue Christmas tree and has also seen musical performances. It was created as part of the £17m upgrade of the streets near the Drake Circus Shopping Centre.
Plymouth City Centre Company has called the Armada Way performance space part of its vision for a busier city centre. In a message to city centre businesses at the end of last year it said the old fountain by the Copthorne Hotel had been emptied of soil ready to be reinstated and work on the amphitheatre had begun. The City Centre Company said: “This will give us yet another performance space in the city centre for everything from busking to full-scale theatrical and musical productions.
How the amphitheatre in Armada Way is projected to look
(Image: William Telford)
“It will bring culture and the arts into the heart of the city centre in line with our vision for a livelier, more welcoming and contemporary city centre, making it a great place to live, work, visit or study. This phase should be complete by next summer.”
Work began at Armada Way in the October after a High Court Judge dismissed legal action brought by campaign group Save the Trees of Armada Way (Straw). The group had claimed the council breached a legal injunction and not allowed sufficient time for a challenge before felling 110 trees in March 2023.
An independent review of the council’s decision has now begun. The original scheme, which had been priced at £12.7m, was torn up by the new Labour administration last year and a new plan put in place. In September the council approved spending of £29,892,665 on the new project.
Work progresses on zone one of the Armada Way revamp
(Image: William Telford)
Last week, the council said a huge “temporary road” will be carved down the middle of Armada Way to facilitate work on phase two, from Mayflower Street to the Place de Brest. Morgan Sindall will be creating the new “haul road” through the busy thoroughfare to allow materials and machinery to be moved around the central section of Armada Way and therefore keep workers and the public safe.
The raised beds which date from the 1980s will be removed and the surface levelled. The council admitted the work is likely to be “noisy and dirty” initially – but stressed the temporary road will be a significant distance from shop fronts and separated from the public by tough and “more permanent” CLD fencing, before hoarding is put up.
To help keep the mud levels down, trucks and machinery that move on and off the site from Mayflower Street will be hosed down, the council said. The work will take place between the hours of 7am and 6pm.
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