A City Deal between Plymouth and the South West Peninsula will be signed off by Government later today, in a move expected to see £296m invested in the region over the next 15 years.
The deal includes proposals to help create 10,000 new jobs and develop 25,000 businesses. A key element of the agreement is the unlocking of land at South Yard in Devonport Naval Base, which is one of few sizable sites with deep water access in the South West.
Leader of Plymouth Council, Tudor Evans, said: ‘City Deal has been a complex negotiation over many months. We needed to play to our strengths and to work out what we wanted from the Government as a peninsula and what we were prepared to commit to in return. The potential returns on this are staggering. Our time has come.’
Leader of Cornwall Council, John Pollard, said: ‘We head the field in many aspects of marine technology and have excellent facilities across the peninsula as well as companies at the leading edge of this technology. This City Deal helps the private and public sector to work closely together to ensure we remain leaders in this area.’
