Civic Centre refurb due to be finished in a year

URBAN SPLASH SETS OUT ITS AMBITIOUS VISION

- WILLIAM TELFORD

PLYMOUTH'S derelict Civic Centre could look completely different by the middle of next year as owner Urban Splash sets out an ambitious plan to redevelop the building. The Manchester-headquartered company met with Plymouth City Council chiefs this month to outline a new plan to transform the 14-storey tower into flats.

Urban Splash has now submitted a pre-application proposal which would see the shell of the 60-year-old Grade II listed building, which it bought from the council for a reported £1, ripped off during the next year and a new facade put on it.

It comes as Plymouth Labour MP Luke Pollard called on Urban Splash to get on with its plan to turn the crumbling Civic Centre into flats, fearing the project had stalled and placing it on his new list of buildings at risk.

In a letter to council chiefs, Andrew Johnston, director of urban planning and architecture firm Made It Together, said: "The project is currently at a critical stage in terms of timescales, as Urban Splash aims to deliver the next package of works by mid-2024. We are excited about how the proposals are developing and the next stages of work starting on site soon."