‘The potential is huge’: Plymouth hopes defence money will have it sailing again

P lymouth may only have been rebranded as “Britain’s ocean city” in recent years, but its role as a centre of UK defence can be traced back to the 16th century thanks to its strategic location on Devon’s south coast. Sir Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth on his circumnavigation of the globe and it was here the Pilgrims finally departed England for America on board the Mayflower. In more recent decades, a dependence on the defence sector no longer seemed an asset, as spending cuts and the loss of dockyard jobs forced the city with a proud maritime history to square up to a new foe: economic uncertainty. But Plymouth’s leaders now hope renewed government investment in the defence industry will increase local fortunes, creating thousands of new jobs and reinvigorating the city centre, as its undergoes its largest regeneration since it was rebuilt after the second world war. “People think it’s all clotted cream and farming, but we do neither of those things,” says Labour councillor Tudor Evans, the leader of Plymouth city council. “But what we do do is exceptionally clever engineering and manufacturing.” The government has pledged to invest £4.4bn over the next decade in Plymouth’s Devonport dockyard, the largest naval base in western Europe. As well as the Royal Navy’s site, about 300 companies in the maritime and defence supply chain are located in the city. Queen Camilla prepares to board HMS Astute, during a visit to HMNB Devonport in July last year. …