Plymouth
Encyclopedia : P : PL : PLY : Plymouth
- For other uses, see Plymouth (disambiguation)}}}.
| City of Plymouth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Geography | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status: | Unitary, City (1928) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Region: | South West England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonial County: | Devon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area: - Total | Ranked 266th 79.78 km² | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Admin. HQ: | Plymouth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ONS code: | 00HG | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Population: - Total () - Density | Ranked
The city is one of the primary gateways to Cornwall providing access by way of the Torpoint Ferry across the Hamoaze, and the Tamar Bridge linking the St Budeaux area of Plymouth on the Devon bank of the Tamar to Saltash on the Cornish bank. The major rail link to Cornwall, the Royal Albert Bridge runs side-by-side with the road bridge. A small foot-passenger ferry also runs between Stonehouse and the Cornish village of Cremyll; adjacent to the Mount Edgcumbe estate. A regular ferry service provided by Brittany Ferries operates from Millbay taking cars and foot passengers directly to Roscoff, Brittany and Santander, Spain. The berth in Millbay has recently been expanded to accommodate Brittany Ferries flag ship vessel, Pont-Aven and future redevelopment are planned to transform the harbour into a major port that will also accommodate incoming cruise liners. Currently Millbay is only the point where passengers are transported in tenders to and from cruise liners that occasionally stop off in the Plymouth Sound. These actions will see Plymouth revert from a predominantly naval port, where British and other foreign warships and submarines regularly dock, and return to a major destination of international cruise liners, as was common before the Second World War. Air travel to Plymouth is directly to Plymouth City Airport, or 'Roborough', a small airport located four miles north of the city centre, just off the A386 road to Tavistock. Air Southwest exclusively operate short flights from the airport to destinations within the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands, the airport currently only handles passengers to destinations where a passport isn't required. The expansion of this airport to provide flights to continental Europe is currently a controversial issue in the city. Due to the airport's central location expansion is limited and public opinion towards building a new airport to the east of the city remain divided between the economic benefits to the local economy and the environmental concerns over building in the countryside. Plymouth railway station offers direct travel by First Great Western and Virgin Trains to Penzance in Cornwall and Paddington in London and links to the North of England by Virgin Trains. Other railway stations served by local trians are: Devonport, Dockyard, Keyham, St Budeax Victoria Road, and St Budeaux Ferry Road.
--> EconomyThis is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Plymouth at current basic prices [published] (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Note 1: includes hunting and forestry Note 2: includes energy and construction Note 3: includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured Note 4: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding The economy of Plymouth has traditionally been linked to its coastal location focusing around fishing and the military, in particular Devonport Dockyard. The recent decline of these industries has seen a greater diversification towards a service based economy based on healthcare, food and drink and call centres with electronics, advanced engineering and boat building still maintaining a prime role. The decline of heavy industries has had a negative effect on the city's employment figures. In the past eight years employment has risen 11%, however, employment and wages still remain significantly below the national average. In terms of retail Plymouth is ranked second in the South West and 29th nationally. As the chief regional city of Devon and Cornwall, Plymouth has a catchment area of over 720,000 people with an annual high street expenditure of over £600 million being spent in the city. An annual influx of 11.8 million tourists is another major contributor to the local economy. The city is also one of a handful of British cities to trial the new Business Improvement District initiative. EducationThe University of Plymouth is the largest university in the Southwest of England with over 30,000 students, almost 3,000 staff and an annual income of around £110 million.CollegesPlymouth has one of the largest Further Education Colleges in the country providing courses from the most basic to Foundation Degrees, it enrols more than 20,000 students a year. Plymouth College of Further Education is a highly successful college with many national awards for teaching and is to be found on the old site of Devonport Station which was Plymouth's largest and most important station until the cuts of Beeching.The Plymouth College of Art and Design (referred to as PCAD) is located at Drake Circus. The College offers a wide selection of innovative and traditional courses relating to the world of art and design. SchoolsPlymouth College, one of England's public schools, is situated in Ford Park, to the north of the city centre.The other consistently high performing schools in Plymouth are Devonport High School for Boys, Devonport High School for Girls, and Plymouth High School for Girls, three selective Grammar Schools with a reputation for academic excellence. Plymstock School, a comprehensive school and Specialist Sports College and Hele's School also a comprehensive school and Specialist Language college. Notre Dame RC School, situated near to Derriford Hospital, is an all girls school. It is twinned with the nearby boys school, St. Boniface. Green SpacePlymouth has a number of public parks, the most significant of which is the massive Central Park. Other significant green spaces include Victoria Park, Freedom Fields, Alexandra Park, Keyham, Beaumont Park, St Judes, Greenbank Park, Devonport Park and Westwell Gardens.
--> SportThe city is home to Plymouth Argyle Football Club, which plays in the English Football League's Championship division. The club is based at the Home Park stadium in Central Park.The Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club plays in the National League Division One. The Plymouth Rugby League Football Club play in the Rugby League Conference South West Division. The Plymouth Devils speedway team races at St Boniface arena, Marsh Mills. Currently in the Conference League the newly formed team are headed by Chairman Mike Bowden. The Plymouth Raiders basketball team plays in the British Basketball League. The Plymouth Admirals; Plymouth's American Football team play in BSL Division Two South Western Conference. MediaThe city's main commercial radio station is Plymouth Sound FM.Since June 2005, another commercial station, Armada FM, has started broadcasting to the city. The regional stations include BBC Radio Devon, BBC Radio Cornwall and Pirate FM. The main regional newspaper is the Western Morning News, whose headquarters and printworks were designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw.The local news printed by the same publisher is The Evening Herald. (Formerly The Western Evening Herald) Plymouth 2020
 Plymouth is currently undertaking a massive project of urban redevelopment, the largest since the city was rebuilt after the Second World War. The 'Vision for Plymouth' launched by the internationally renowned architect David MacKay, and fully backed by Plymouth City Council is set to see areas of the city centre demolished, redesigned and rebuilt by the year 2020. Two of Plymouth's greatest eyesores; the old Drake Circus shopping centre and Charles Cross car park, have already been demolished and are currently being replaced by the new £200 million Drake Circus shopping centre, which is due to open on 5 October 2006. Former public leisure centre, the Ballard Centre is currently being replaced with high quality urban living and office space along with a project involving the future demolition of the Bretonside bus station. A new £20 million nine-storey Jury's Inn hotel is being developed near the landmark ruined church and war memorial, Charles Cross Church, along with a new Arts Centre adjacent to the university. Other future plans include the demolition of the Plymouth Pavilions entertainment arena to create a boulevard linking Millbay to the city centre. Millbay itself, currently by day a wasteland and by night a red light district, is also to be regenerated with mixed residential, retail and office space alongside extensive new harbour facilities. The current appearrence of this shopping centre is subject to large amounts of criticism from the residents of the city, claiming that it spoils the city with its garish colours. The main approach to the city, Exeter Street, is a focal point to these arguments, as the centre is situated behind the ruined Charles Cross Church war memorial, and is said to do injustice to those killed, wounded and toherwise affected by World War II. Others, however, say the centre forms a backdrop to the church and creates a striking juxtaposition of traditional and modern architecture. Since development of the new shopping centre began, shop rents in the city centre have been significantly increased, inadvertently pushing smaller retail outlets out of the marketplace. Examples include Some Bizarre, which also lost customers as a result of the demolition of a pedestrian subway and more recently Kathie's Comics, an esoteric comic and game enthusiast store. TwinningThe twin cities of Plymouth are:Gdynia, Poland (twinned 1976) Novorossiysk, Russia (twinned 1990) San Sebastian, Spain (twinned 1990) Plymouth, , United States (twinned 2001) Plymouth also maintains a link with: Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana See alsoReferences
External links
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