Start of building at Mount Wise is celebrated

SUPPORTERS of the planned £120million Mount Wise development have celebrated the beginning of building work on the 28-acre site.

Plymouth City Council, the Devonport Regeneration Community Partnership, the Homes and Communities Agency and members of the Devonport community have been involved with developer Mount Wise (Guernsey) Ltd on the plan.

The council’s Strategic Housing Service has co-ordinated negotiations between the developer, the HCA and housing association Sovereign South and West, which led to the HCA investing £4.5million through the National Affordable Housing Programme in order to enable 86 affordable homes to be built.

When all four phases are complete, the development will include a total of 469 homes, a boutique hotel, a shop, office space, a gastropub, the existing cricket pitch and a ‘technologically advanced’ data centre.

Cllr Ted Fry, Cabinet member for planning, strategic housing and economic development, said: “This site is very important to the city and its ambitions.

“It’s opening up a beautiful waterfront site, creating a new community.”

Council leader Vivien Pengelly said: “This is a massive confidence boost not just for Devonport but the city as a whole.”