Morgan Sindall is helping to revive Plymouth City Centre

Through public realm improvement works, Morgan Sindall Construction has transformed Old Town Street and New George Street into a modern, brighter, and environmentally friendly public spaces, creating a welcoming entrance into Plymouth city centre.

Delivered over 110 weeks, the project team completed the revitalisation two weeks early, despite works taking place in a live and historic environment. As a result, this complex public realm project has created improved and sustainable public access to the main high street.

Delivered via the SCAPE framework on behalf of Plymouth City Council, the works were delivered in four phases, and included the installation of rain gardens, planting of new trees, installation of new street lighting, furniture and wayfinding, the introduction of event spaces, construction of the surface road, and providing blue light access, along with forming the carriage way road and installation of planters.

Consequently, Morgan Sindall has provided improved public spaces with new granite paved routes, surfaces and spaces for pedestrians, as well as simplified green spaces to improve future maintenance.

The tier one contractor has retained existing highway access to service yards and created a shared pedestrian and cycle route, along with the implementation of agreed red routes for emergency services to access the precinct.

In line with Morgan Sindall’s commitment to sustainability, the team installed a new Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) and storm water sewer where excess water from the rain gardens feeds into the new system, taking rainwater away from the combined sewer and helping to guard against future flooding. This will reduce pressure on the combined sewer and reduce outputs into Plymouth Sound by up to 78% following completion of Armada Way which is the next phase of works to be delivered by Morgan Sindall.

To boost the local economy throughout construction, delivering key social value as part of the SCAPE framework and Morgan Sindall’s commitment, 82% of local labour and 68% of the supply chain was sourced within 20 miles of the site.

In support of the next generation of construction professionals, members of the project team lectured at Plymouth University and were part of the judging panel for the review of final year students studying the Built Environment. This included quarterly workshops with the students to provide advice on different construction careers. Additionally, two T-Level students from Plymouth City College were part of Morgan Sindall’s project team.

The Urban Design Group held their national conference in the city and over 200 people visited the site. Further site tours were held quarterly with local students, including eight site visits for 228 primary school children from Millfields Inspired, where each group created a layer of a bug hotel which remained on site.

Graham Kingdon, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the South West, said:

We’re incredibly proud to have handed this rejuvenation project over to Plymouth City Council, where our team’s extensive work has created a lively, attractive area in the city centre to bring it back to life.

It’s been a pleasure to get to know the local community through our work with schools, colleges, and even the university, not to mention the exceptional supply chain and labour all sourced within the community.

We look forward to watching Old Town Street and New George Street further flourish as residents enjoy the transformed space.”

ENDS