Investors are increasingly eyeing Plymouth city centre after the £18m regeneration of Old Town Street and New George Street. And with work now underway on a £30m redevelopment of Armada Way, there is increasing confidence from investors, a leading property expert said.

Joanne High, an associate and head of agency for property consultancy Vickery Holman in Plymouth, told a major meeting of property professionals that Drake Circus Shopping Centre and the upper part of Cornwall Street are now close to being fully let. She said this showed the strength of the city centre in attracting retail investment.

She told Vickery Holman’s Market Review event, held at Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park, that although retail transactions have fallen from 42 per cent to 26 per cent of all properties sold, including office and industrial, in the past year, there are investors looking at Plymouth. She told the meeting that while retailers are struggling, 'national retailers are looking at areas where they can fill gaps'.

She said: 'The city centre is looking particularly strong. Drake Circus mall is fully let and retailers are refitting stores.' She stressed there were only a couple of empty units in the upper end of Cornwall Street.

Following the meeting, Mrs High told PlymouthLive: 'Now you can see the New George Street and Old Town Street is done it makes a massive difference when you are bringing potential investors in and showing them the open space and the investment the council has put into the city centre. This gives them confidence. Investors are feeling more confident.

'That is why we are seeing Cornwall Street looking better, and Drake Circus is fully let. People can see that vision. We are seeing an increase in investors looking.'

The city council has also stressed that the revamp of Old Town Street and New George Street is making a difference to the city centre. A council spokesperson said: 'We also know that companies are now looking to bring their business to Plymouth as they have been impressed with the council’s commitment to its city centre, the level of investment and the ambition. They like what they see.'

The vote of confidence comes after the regeneration of Plymouth’s Old Town Street and New George Street was branded 'total madness' by one city councillor after the cost ballooned by £11m. Cllr Steve Ricketts, independent councillor for Drake, asked senior council officers for the exact cost of the ambitious revamp, which was begun four and a half years ago. He was told that the original cost of £7m had skyrocketed and had been given an allocated budget of £18,139,650.

Officers stressed that the work was not yet complete but still expected to be within that figure. But the amount set aside for the work is still higher than the £16,752,850 price tag put on the project in November 2023.

Cllr Ricketts said he was 'lost for words' and last week told Plymouth Live: 'It’s abysmal - complete madness.' And he said he wasn’t even impressed with the finished product. He said: 'It’s not like you have bang for your buck, a revolutionary scheme that people are looking at. It’s nothingness. If you had said we are going to spend £18m and it would look like this. We could have built a new music venue or a myriad of things.'

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