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Newsletter Support our mission and join our community now you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism A new bus service will soon link the growing town of Sherford with Plympton and Plymstock providing better transportation options for workers and residents which has been eagerly anticipated following public campaigning and a petition while a separate service will soon provide direct connections to The Park crematorium The extended number 4 bus service will now run from Plymstock Broadway through to Plympton Ridgeway passing through Sherford and Sandy Road.  This extension aims to improve connectivity for those working at Langage and students commuting to schools in the area The service will operate hourly Monday to Friday and will also be available on Saturdays (7am to 9pm) and Sundays and bank holidays (9am to 7pm).  The route will be closed only on Christmas Day The full route will include the following stops: Royal Parade passengers from Plymstock and Plympton will benefit from an expanded service connecting them to The Park previously running between the city centre and Merafield will be reinstated and extended to serve Plymstock Broadway and Plympton Ridgeway.  the service will run roughly every 75 minutes from 9.30am to just after 5pm every day (except Christmas Day The number 19 service will travel via Royal Parade It will also serve the existing bus stops along the route This new service is part of a wider initiative to improve non-commercial bus routes in the city supported financially by the council following a recent retendering of the city's routes commuters and residents will enjoy improved travel connections helping to support the continued growth of the local community " + $(".testo_articolo").html().replace(//g please subscribe and support local journalism Subscribing will allow you access to all of 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newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm Plympton’s independent councillors claim “insufficient progress” has been made to improve a junction of the A38 that links to Sherford Deep Lane serves the new town as well as a key part of the Plymouth and South Devon freeport They say there is a significant increase in traffic between the A38 and Sherford where more than 1,000 new homes are now occupied and the Langage Business Park and Energy Park which is putting pressure on the roads said “minimal investment” had been made in addressing highway infrastructure at Deep Lane leading to and from Plympton despite promises made by Devon County Council when the new town was approved more than 10 years ago Devon County Council  and South Hams District Council (the planning authority) have both allowed housing development without providing the necessary infrastructure,” she said “You can see that with only one shop in the new town This is disgraceful and needs an urgent review.” The town will evenutally have 5,500 homes and 83,000 square metres of employment space The Plympton councillors also fear that queuing on A38 slip roads leading to Plympton is a danger and a serious accident could happen if action isn’t taken to improve the junction There are also long queues at peak times in Ridgeway and Sandy Road “The situation of queuing on and off the A38 at peak times is getting worse and affecting many local residents who live near to the Deep Lane Junction,” said Cllr Andrea Loveridge (Ind “Many are unable to get out of their local roads because of the long queues This must be addressed before more development is allowed to proceed.” They claim that the approval by the county council of a £4 million pedestrian and cycle bridge over the A38 is premature as there is currently no pavement or cycle lane provision between Deep Lane and Sherford “Devon County Council should be investing in junction improvements for vehicles especially the numerous lorries which use it before spending £4 million on a pedestrian and cycle bridge to nowhere,” said Cllr Sally Nicholson (Ind including leader of the group Cllr Patrick Nicholson have held talks with Plymouth City Council leader Cllr Tudor Evans (Lab cabinet member for strategic planning and transport The Labour councillors have agreed to feed their concerns back to National Highways and Devon County Council which are both responsible for the Deep Lane junction Devon County Councillor for the area John Hart (Con Bickleigh and Wembury) said as part of a legal agreement a number of improvements had to be made by the time 1,300 homes are occupied at Sherford The county council had delivered the £8 million main road in Sherford connecting Deep Lane and Haye Road and a £3 million Deep Lane North junction He said the council had played a major role in unlocking growth at Sherford and Langage A new 500-space park and ride is due to be provided and Deep Lane South junction The growth of Langage is said to be integral to the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport as one of three key sites offering tax incentives to businesses and which aims to create more than 3,000  jobs Mr Hart said meetings had been taking place involving transport organisations about improvement options for Deep Lane “There has been significant changes in travel behaviour and patterns since planning permission was granted in 2013 National Highways and the rail industry have recently been engaging collaboratively about supporting growth on the A38 corridor “A more detailed meeting is planned to specifically consider Deep Lane junction which will support discussions with developers who are due to deliver improvements as part of their consent” A total of 500 new houses are proposed on the land which is owned by Plymouth City Council but is geographically situated in the South Hams The development could see the closure of West Park Hill to routine traffic to create a ‘green lane,’ with cars diverted onto a new road through the development site READ THE PREVIOUS REPORTING ON STOGGY LANE PLYMPTON DEVELOPMENT HERE Concerns over construction of 500 energy efficient homes in Plympton One of those to attend the consultation was Plympton Councillor Terri Beer “It’s important to have homes for people but the infrastructure needs to be in place first and foremost.” In considering the Newnham proposals she was also mindful that new houses are already proposed at Coypool and work has resumed on delivering a development of 49 new homes at Colebrook READ THE COYPOOL PARK DEVELOPMENT NEWS HERE Green light given for 550 homes at Coypool Park “All sewage will go to Plympton Treatment Works which already takes sewage from Sherford and part of Moor View There’s congestion on our roads that already suffer damage due to heavy lorries and it’s Plymouth that pays for repairs “Doctors are already struggling with patients and appointments are hard to get and some residents have to wait weeks for a phone call Pharmacies are already struggling and often queues out the doors.” Chaddlewood Green Councillor Ian Poyser also went along to one of the consultations “Lots of questions about the type of housing suitable for this location “There are a broad range of views from the public about this proposal At this stage comments are not logged as objections or support for the development these must be submitted following the submission of the planning application next year residents should consider how this outline proposal could be improved sustainable travel and support with local infrastructure The proposals for the Newnham development can be seen online at www.westparkhillnewnham.co.uk The feedback from the consultations will be considered and a formal planning application will be submitted to Devon County Council in 2025 (Story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) Fruity Roots which is located on the Ridgeway has been named as a finalist in one of the categories in the Farm Shop and Deli Awards 2025 It is one of seven shops listed in the Other Specialist Shops category of the Farm Shop and Deli Awards which is championed by Fieldfare and run in partnership with The Grocer magazine The aim of the awards is to recognise and reward the UK’s best loved specialist retailers which are pillars of their communities and champions of great produce and sustainable practice Fruity Roots was opened in 2020 by Sharon Lewis-King with the help of her wife Amy and their employee Emma a well-known firm of West Country greengrocers in her younger years “We began the adventure and gamble with Fruity Roots because I felt I needed a change and believed our local high street needed a fruit and vegetable shop “When stocking the shop and adding new lines I always try to source local where possible We have daily deliveries from our local wholesalers Continental Wholesale Fruits in Liskeard and Frank H Mann in Torquay who will source from local farmers during the seasons and this is key to providing fresh seasonal produce “We also receive freshly baked Sourdough goods from Heyl Bakery every Thursday stock local Honey from Black Dog Honey Bees Sharon and the team were delighted when they were notified in August last year from the Farm Shop and Deli Awards that they had been recommended to enter the awards “In February we were told that we were finalists in the Other Specialist Retailer category I nearly fell of my chair,” added Sharon “I was totally blown away by the fact that I had even been considered in the first place let alone the fact I am actually one of the finalists “This is such a major achievement for me and makes the gamble to begin the journey over four years ago so worthwhile I am so proud to be where I am now and so incredibly grateful for all the support I have received from our customers This land which is geographically in the South Hams is owned by Plymouth City Council and would see 500 modern The plans also include a new wetland greenspace up to 2,000 new trees and a financial contribution towards a new sports hub at Boringdon will present the plans to his cabinet colleagues at Plymouth City Council when they next meet on Monday 9 September Anger over plans to build homes on Crownhill community’s ‘last green space’ “I’m really pleased to be able to talk about this venture is in the midst of a national housing crisis and one of the obvious solutions to this is to build more houses That’s exactly what we’re doing here “The Stoggy Lane development is certainly ambitious but we owe it to the hundreds of households on the housing waiting list to make big decisions like this and provide answers to the problems.” 220 new homes granted planning permission at Saltram Meadow There are already problems with Sherford’s sewage feeding into the Marsh Mills treatment works with regular smells on the road below Hardwick Woods due to pumping issues Other concerns raised include the current lack of NHS dentistry in Plympton and existing difficulties accessing GP services in a timely manner as well as the effect of a significant number of extra vehicles on Plympton’s road network which is designated for housing in the Joint Local Plan is currently unutilised farmland with no formal public access Plymouth City Council have produced a masterplan ready to apply for planning permission a thorough public consultation on the scheme is expected to begin in September featuring information sessions to allow residents to learn more and feedback on the plans That data will then be fed into a final design before a formal planning application is submitted in Spring 2025 Details on the consultation are expected to be released in the next few weeks (Story Courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) Their dedication has even inspired the formation of a new litter-picking group in Totnes In addition to routine cleanups, PLP holds monthly family-friendly sessions at the Rees Centre combining litter-picking with crafting activities the group collaborated with local highways officials to clean up Gdynia Way during its temporary closure—a task they’ve tackled twice this year supporting litter management at the summer Tribute Festivals held in Central Park PLP’s volunteers engage in creative projects members crafted a striking knitted and crocheted “Topper” for the Ridgeway Co-op post box featuring poppies in honor of Remembrance Day PLP will host a fundraiser at the Harewood Community Centre starting December 9 offering handmade sandwiches and cakes with proceeds going to charity PLP will also support the Plympton Rotary’s Santa fundraiser to help raise money for local causes The Plympton Litter Pickers welcome new members and invite anyone interested in joining to meet them for coffee and cake at the Harewood Community Centre every Monday around noon For those who are passionate about keeping the community clean and contributing to local causes PLP offers a friendly and impactful way to get involved The residents who rely on these shelters daily are particularly affected stating that the short canopy and limited side panels leave them exposed to rain and wind especially when lorries pass causing spray “Myself and others we’re happy with the previous shelters and now the new shelters barely keep us dry Where was the local consultation with residents?” Local ward representative for Plympton Chaddlewood Councillor Ian Poyser Green Party supports the residents’ calls for improvements to the shelters “Our community deserves functional and comfortable bus shelters especially in high-traffic areas like Glen Road where we have high volumes of HGV traffic I urge the council to quickly put right the mistakes and provide effective protection from the weather.” “This isn’t the only mistake the Council has made in Chaddlewood We have also received a significant number of requests to reinstate a bus shelter at the junction with Redwood Drive This is the main bus stop for a large residential area There must be issues elsewhere across the city” The new bus shelter contract was agreed by the previous Conservative Council administration in 2022 leaving the Labour administration with the difficult task of mobilising the contract Residents and Councillor Poyser are hopeful that their concerns will prompt action from the council resulting in improvements that meet the standards required by local bus users local residents near Glen Road remain vocal READ MORE PLYMPTON NEWS MP Rebecca Smith: It’s been another busy month serving you as your local MP – meeting with South West Water I continue to go to bat for you in Westminster on the issues which matter to you and your family – cleaner water and a property management company that is held accountable to the residents it serves This month I have surgeries planned in Plympton and Plymstock If you’d like to book a surgery or just share your concerns over email please do get in touch at rebecca.smith.mp@parliament.uk  Rebecca Smith MP Page It’s hard to miss the issues with the Plympton Pong I have met with South West Water at Marsh Mills Wastewater Treatment Works to gain a full understanding of the root causes Especially the increased occurrence of smells since building commenced at Sherford Smells from Marsh Mills are regularly monitored and efforts are constantly made by the team to contain the smells as much as possible Several fans have been installed above the machinery to stop the smells from rising and blowing over Plympton South West Water pumped significant investment into Marsh Mills to prepare it for the Sherford development The smells actually occur because the site is not yet at capacity meaning that sewage flows through the system less quickly This partial flow increases septicity (when wastewater sits stagnant without oxygen it starts smelling like rotten eggs!) As more residents get their keys Public awareness of sewage discharges has grown since the last Conservative Government increased monitoring from 7% in 2010 to 100% in 2023 We are immensely proud of our coastline in Devon and any instances of sewage discharge should be a cause for concern It is also worth noting that raw sewage is never discharged from the Marsh Mills site Storm overflow is permitted to prevent flooding in our homes and 99% is treated and clean South West Water have committed to almost double its investment in the environment to £2.5bn until 2030 – I will monitor progress closely and Fernley for taking time out of their busy day to give me a really informative tour of the site It was great to learn about the wastewater process Hemerdon Mine north of Plympton is the largest tungsten mine in the UK and boasts the second largest deposit of tungsten in the world Demand for tungsten is increasing rapidly due to its critical use in new technology Earlier this month I visited the Tungsten West plc mine to learn more about its planned operations and the role it will play in job creation and local investment I also took this opportunity to raise constituents’ concerns with mine operators including road speeds on the B3417 and the future aggregate lorry journeys expected in coming months South West Devon has a really diverse economy ranging from tourism to farming to mining for heavy metals Local business visits like Hemerdon Mine keep me up to speed so I can fight their corner in Westminster I recently met with Vospers for one of my regular business visits in the constituency The current owner Peter Vosper has run the business for an incredible 55 years and Stephen for a really informative visit The automotive industry is struggling under the weight of the Labour Government’s anti-business policies Vospers alone has had to take on £1.4 million in extra costs to pay for Labour’s Employers’ National Insurance hike All this while Labour is trying to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 living in rented accommodation with no offroad parking – where are the EV charging points going to be installed? Family-ran businesses like Vospers are the bedrock of our local economy I will urge the Government to reverse these disastrous anti-growth policies which go after businesses Great to meet with Andrew from Beacon Medical Group in Plympton to share constituents feedback and hear about the challenges the practice faces Beacon Medical Group has 43,500 patients across its five GP practices in Ivybridge and Plympton and is one of the largest practices in the constituency are being squeezed by Labour Government’s disastrous Employers’ National Insurance hike GPs are treated as private businesses and will not benefit from the uplift in NHS funding I am committed to improving health outcomes in South West Devon and will fight for better support from government for our health professionals I have written a stern letter to the Managing Director of FirstPort property management company demanding improvements for long-suffering residents who live on FirstPort managed developments across Plymstock and Plympton Following a wave of fresh complaints from residents living in FirstPort managed developments I felt the moment had come to directly ask the Managing Director just when will my constituents see an improvement in customer service Having met with FirstPort regional management before Christmas and then again with the Managing Director in the New Year I have showcased a range of constituent complaints and obtained responses requested explanations on the lack of audited accounts or expenditure reports and sought assurances of service improvement Progress and improvement has not yet materialised and that is why I wrote to the Managing Director please do get in touch with any ongoing issues you are burdened with Born in Cornwall he later moved to Yealmpton and subsequently to Plympton but it was owls that caused him to become such a well-known figure in the community cementing his place as the Plympton Owl Man He grew his collection after he retired and he would often be seen walking around Plympton or sitting in St Stephen’s Place with one or more owls on his shoulders He would often bring his collection of owls to venues such as the Plym Valley Railway the Yealmpton Show and the Colebrook Carnival where members of the public would be photographed with the owls to raise money for charity He would also take his owls into care homes for residents to see Russ would be quite content when walking around Plympton or sitting in Ridgeway with his owls to chat to enquiring members of the public and families with children coming over to look at his birds These mutually joyful encounters however took an unexpected turn in 2010 after someone apparently complained that owls should not be taken out in daylight This was the catalyst for Plymouth City Council to take an active interest in the matter and curiously they dispatched their dog warden to investigate So one day the dog warden rocked up in his van to seek to get Russ to desist from walking around Plympton with owls on his shoulder Little could that dog warden have imagined that these actions would create a hornets’ nest of controversy which would reverberate across the world In a statement issued shortly after the dog warden’s visit “We spoke to Mr Burt about travelling along busy roads with his pets as owls live a nocturnal lifestyle and we are concerned about welfare issues around exposing it to loud and hectic environments “There are also safety issues for the public around a large spooked bird of prey running amok on a highway “We are more than happy for him to continue showing the animal in controlled environments such as schools and care homes his pet and the public we have asked that he finds alternative forms of transportation.” While he strongly disagreed with the council’s comments about the welfare impact on his birds and the safety issues it was claimed they presented Russ initially complied and stopped walking about with his owls the residents of Plympton were having none of this ‘elf and safety gone mad’ and a petition was started calling for him to be allowed to carry on walking around with his feathered friends Soon media organisations outside of Plymouth were getting wind of the controversy and a number of national newspapers carried stories about the debacle News of the matter spread outside the UK and soon the foreign press was in hot pursuit of the story with news coverage of the matter spreading as far as New Zealand It eventually took the intervention of the then council leader Vivien Pengelly to restore a sense of calm Mrs Pengelly took the line that the council had simply ‘offered advice’ and had not banned Mr Burt from walking in public with an owl The upshot was that he was free to ignore this advice and carry on taking daily exercise with owls on his shoulder And so for the best part of another 14 years the townsfolk of Plympton were able to carry on enjoying the spectacle of the Plympton Owl man out and about in the town with his feathered friends In latter years as frailty started to catch up with him Russ scaled down his collection to just one bird – Kermit a frogmouth rather than an owl and Russ would be seen riding his motorised disabled scooter around the area with Kermit on his shoulder Many tributes have been paid on social media as people became aware that Russ had passed away “I’d spend hours on the Ridgeway with him and his birds He was an amazing man who opened up his love for birds with me and allowed me to help him take his owls up to Dawlish Warren Care Home “Russ was a lovely chap who always had time for everyone.” made my daughter laugh so much when she was little when he asked if he could put Kermit on my shoulder whilst feeding the ducks at Saltram Of course I said yes; she thought it was hilarious and talked about it for the rest of the day.” “One of the first people I met and spoke with after moving here I was so excited to meet such an interesting man and live somewhere with proper local characters.” Russ was indeed a true local character and Plympton is today the poorer for his passing Russ’s funeral service took place at Plympton St (story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) It’s not just about the excellent coffee and the tempting menu. It’s about the dedicated staff who have made it into an inviting place where every customer feels welcomed, looked after and treated as an important individual. Creating that warm atmosphere has always been paramount for B.kinda coffee shop manager Helen Shepherd and her team who welcome a wide range of customers between 9am and 4pm as well as hosting special events out of hours People see that you are going the extra mile who has many years of hospitality experience she was a front of house practical skills teacher at City College Plymouth but felt a yearning to be back in a customer-facing role “I think working for a charity that is well-known Visiting the hospice at Turnchapel underlined that for me “I get really close to the customers here; they are like family members We really engage with one another and because of that our customers can feel relaxed too The coffee shop’s window seat sofas are particularly sociable and popular encouraging people to strike up conversations with new faces meeting people from all sorts of backgrounds and seeing them interact with us and each other “I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported us in the first year and we’re so glad we’ve made them feel at home.” has also worked at b.kinda since it opened “It’s much more than just a coffee shop – it’s a neighbourhood hub A lot of our customers say it’s like a safe space for them so it’s achieving what we set out for it to be,” said Nicky who has worked in hospitality for more than 25 years “We get a lot of older people coming in for coffee and it’s nice when we have time to listen to their stories – we might be their only point of contact for the whole day RELATED ST LUKES B.KINDA PLYMOUTH NEWS Plympton b.kinda coffee shop to support St Luke’s Hospice care and this is a place where they feel safe to come and talk.” The coffee shop has offered Nicky a bridge between a job that’s familiar and the opportunity to do something good as part of the community “The fact b.kinda was connected to St Luke’s was a bonus for me My Mum had dementia and she would have benefited from St Luke’s services if she had reached that point I think given time I would like to volunteer helping people with dementia and this is a stepping stone that will help with that aim “So many of our customers have had some involvement with St Luke’s It’s a charity that touches so many people and is close to their hearts is also full of praise for b.kinda’s achievements in its first 12 months “It’s hard to believe we’ve been open a whole year – it’s gone so fast But at the same time it feels like I have always worked here – it’s been amazing,” said Sammy the highly skilled barista behind the great-tasting coffee and perfect examples of latte art She might not recall a regular customer’s name but will always remember how they like their coffee and will make sure it’s the best it can be “I wouldn’t want to put my name to something that wasn’t good quality Our most popular coffees are cappuccino and latte but people also like our range of loose leaf teas,” St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth opens it’s b.kinda coffee shop who trained and worked for five years at the Boston Tea Party She was employed in another coffee shop and looking for a change when she saw an advert last year for barista staff at b.kinda “Good coffee shop jobs don’t come up very often and I liked the charity aspect as well I don’t think there are many people in Plymouth who don’t know about St Luke’s I think it’s important to a lot of customers that we have that link to a really good A planning application has been submitted by Adam Jensen for a change of use of the old Underwood Chapel where the current planning consent is for a place of worship In his change of use application for the Underwood chapel building which has been disused for a number of years Mr Jensen says: “Plymouth City Council are not currently meeting their Childcare Sufficiency Duty in the area and so this would go some way to addressing this issue.” The main concern with local residents is with the extra traffic in Underwood Road and associated parking problems which are expected One of those against the proposal remarked: “There’s absolutely nowhere near enough parking on Underwood Road So much so that many Underwood residents park in Copse Road causing knock-on parking problems for Copse Road residents This development would make the current situation even more untenable.” “It wouldn’t provide a safe environment for the loading and unloading of babies and children into cars The road is very narrow and cars get damaged on a regular basis already Whilst I recognise the need for more nursery spaces the location of this building is totally unsuitable.” on the other side of the argument a resident who has lived in Underwood Road for 14 years said: “That poor chapel has been left to nothing and I for one am so glad it is finally being put to good use but does that mean everything has to stop because we’re too afraid to lose our unofficial parking spaces I look forward to welcoming the new nursery as our new neighbours.” “I have lived in Plympton for 30 years and one of the biggest struggles in the area is lack of childcare places I have a grandson and granddaughter who are both in need of a nursery and cannot get one anywhere close to where we live “Parents who want this nursery to go ahead will be more than happy to park in other areas and walk because that is much better than having to travel across the city just to get to a nursery I hope this nursery goes ahead for the sake of local parents who are facing the same issues as my grandchildren.” A number opposed to the application are skeptical that parents and carers using the nursery will actually walk to and from it and even for those that do one objector has pointed out that the narrow nature of the pavements and obstructions on them often lead to people with buggies and prams having to move out onto the road to pass them The transport statement submitted with the application suggests that a two hour staggered arrival window and five hour departure window plus car pooling for staff will act as mitigating features to any traffic and parking impact on nearby residents “The transition to a nursery will create a predictable low-traffic environment that integrates well with the surrounding residential area.” The planning application has been called in for a full debate before the planning committee The deadline for public comments for or against the application Comments can be e-mailed to planningconsents@plymouth.gov.uk and the full application documents can be read on the planning section of plymouth.gov.uk (story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) The Plympton & Plymstock edition of the newspaper is delivered to the East areas of Plymouth sharing Plymouth news totally free to reader to the East of Plymouth See the full list of delivery areas by checking our map link HERE Our top stories this week from the Plympton & Plymstock edition of the Plymouth Chronicle Newspaper are listed below. You can always keep up with our digital editions on our LATEST EDITION page for Plymouth News We source our news stories from the local community, do you have a news story that you think our readers will like? Head over to our contact page Plymouth NHS nurse Paula Tobin has been presented with a Humanitarian Medal by King Charles for her her life-saving work at a Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded emergency field hospitals in war torn Gaza Brave Paula was awarded the honour in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February The 57-year-old medic spent four months in Gaza volunteering for frontline medical charity UK-Med One of Plympton’s best loved and most easily recognisable members of the local community has died Russell Burt passed away at Elburton Heights Care Home in January aged 88 Born in Cornwall he later moved to Yealmpton and subsequently to Plympton Plympton Cricket Club has launched a crowd-funding appeal to finance the installation of CCTV following repeated incidents of vandalism on its pitch and in the vicinity of the club house A spokesperson for the club said: Unfortunately this (past) year we have suffered from several acts of gross vandalism littering and dreadful damage to the cricket square caused by e-bikes has been chosen to officially open this year’s annual Spring Show of the Plympton Gardeners Association at Harewood House on March 15 It will be one of the teenager’s last duties in the role before a new Youth Ambassador takes over towards the end of April The controversial redevelopment of a piece of ancient woodland in Colebrook which has generated the ire of those living around it came back before Plymouth City Council’s planning committee on February 27 after local councillors asked for it to be called in for greater scrutiny The land which has stirred up feelings among those in the Colebrook community is on the junction of Newnham Road with Clifton Avenue Police are offering advice to residents after a spate of actual and attempted home and vehicle break ins and thefts in Plympton Officers were called following reports of a property being broken into in Elford Crescent in the early hours of Thursday February 20 Entry to the property was forced and car keys taken before the suspect(s) made off in the occupant’s vehicle Anybody with any relevant information of dash-cam or CCTV footage is asked to contact police on 101 or via their website quoting 50250044081 Plympton Royal British Legion Branch in association with Plymouth Active have established regular free swimming sessions solely for veterans on Monday afternoons at Plympton Swimming Pool The new sessions started on March 3 and will take place each Monday from 2.30pm to 3.30pm To book e-mail plympton.info@plymouthactive.co.uk or call 01752 348459 It has cooked over 150,000 meals and made 20,000 deliveries made to satisfied customers across Devon and beyond and has also successfully launched its full delivery service to all postcodes in Plymouth Personal trainers Gabrielle Paice and Stephen Lynch have launched fit20 Plymouth at Westfield in Plympton The pair noticed that while Plymouth had plenty of gyms not everyone felt comfortable in them – or had the time to go one-on-one strength training in just 20 minutes a week The first of 169 new trees destined for Armada Way have been planted in the ground as the regeneration continues to progress at pace Three silver limes have already been anchored and six cockspur hawthorns and 10 double crimson hawthorns will be arriving in the next few weeks to be planted between existing single rows of trees on both sides of Zone 1a – near the Copthorne Hotel In a major move towards greater local autonomy and Torbay Council are working together to explore the creation of a Mayoral Strategic Authority A part of the Government’s new devolution plans this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take power out of Whitehall bring decision-making closer to the people of Devon Plymouth and Torbay and unlock unprecedented opportunities for growth and innovation A Plympton greengrocers has been shortlisted for a prestigious award has planted a tree to commemorate her year in office It is an established tradition that each Stannator plants a tree of their choice somewhere in Plympton at the end of their year in office Fiona’s tree planting was delayed firstly by the Covid pandemic and then pending agreement on a location for the planting “It’s been another busy month serving you as your local MP – meeting with South West Water This month I have surgeries planned in Plympton and Plymstock.” Plymouth Lions Club boosted their membership when they badged up new member Lucy Peters at their January business meeting held at the Crownhill Royal British Legion Club a 28-year-old podiatrist was introduced to the club by her grandfather Lion George Poad a former club president and long-serving Lion Plans for a new crossing over Cot Hill in Plympton have been given the go-ahead following public consultation will help people – including those with disabilities – to walk and cycle across this busy road It will create a safer pedestrian and cycle route between Saltram Park and Underwood Recreation Ground further enhancing the National Cycle Network Residents who currently use the bus to and from the Cot Hill stops are to be left without a service using this steep hill after changes to local bus services were announced Currently the 59 bus serves Merafield via Cott Hill four times a day Plymouth City Council explained: “This service is currently operated by Plymouth Citybus as part of Devon’s tendered bus services network Devon County Council have advised that Plymouth Citybus will cease to operate the route from April 21 Plymouth city centre is undergoing a multi-million pound development which is one of the biggest city centre projects in the country the majority of people who contacted me asked for help regarding planning matters but common sense and probing questions were especially useful in delivering answers to their enquiries Plymstock Radford is a great part of the city But like every community we are impacted by issues of anti-social behaviour (ASB) I have built a close working relationship with our fantastic Plymstock neighbourhood policing team This is key to tackling ASB across the ward Speeding issues and inconsiderate parking are having a detrimental impact on Plymstock residents I have received several reports about speeding noise nuisance at night from cars and motor bikes and more recently Members of Plymstock Bowling Club have raised an impressive £7,000 for the Mustard Tree Cancer Support Centre at Derriford Hospital The cause was chosen by Club Captain Sue Ellis as her charity of the year for the 2023/24 season representing the Mustard Seed at the club’s Burns Supper in January Plymouth is set to become a hub of AI innovation with the launch of ‘LifeIn AI’ kicking off with a groundbreaking one-day event dedicated to showcasing the region’s AI capabilities LifeIn AI is a free-to-attend public event designed to educate and inspire the city about the advancements and possibilities of Artificial Intelligence An annual budget that injects more than £30 million of additional funding to meet ongoing cost and demand pressures in essential social care and homelessness services has been agreed by Plymouth City Council The additional funds have been included in the £253.4 million revenue budget for 2025/26 approved at the Full Council meeting on February 24 A rise in Council Tax of just under five per cent was also agreed Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is appealing for runners to take part in the Plymouth Half Marathon on Sunday May 11 in support of its three children’s hospices in the region Keen runners can sign up now via RaceNation and purchase the CHSW Charity Entry for £44 which includes a support pack and running vest I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that the last two months supporting Plymouth Argyle are amongst the most eventful in the club’s history I wrote previously about the chaos of January and the late appointment of Miron Muslic resulting in a major change of our transfer strategy Miron Muslic cited ‘proof of life’ in the battling draw at Sunderland Argyle went into the home game against West Brom 15 games winless and confidence still very much at a low The game started much like that against Sunderland – Argyle did not look much like scoring but not a lot like conceding either the game at Sunderland was looking increasingly like a false dawn The Mount Edgcumbe slipway has officially reopened following extensive repairs ensuring safe and reliable access for Cremyll Ferry passengers The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response Residents in Plympton have been warned of fake beggars asking for money in the area are professionals who travel the country begging for money Plympton Police issued the warning on Friday, April 4, adding that the group had been moved on from the area but urged members of the public to report sightings to Devon and Cornwall Police The group are not in genuine need, police said, and have been witnessed throwing away food and drinks which have been given to them. "They are professionals who travel the country and take advantage of people's generosity," Plympton Police said "They have been seen to accept your kind and generous offers of food and drinks Officers from Plympton Neighbourhood Team moved them on from the Ridgeway on Friday morning Anyone who sees them return is asked to get in contact with Devon and Cornwall Police on 101 or via webchat Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right Major redevelopment works are under way at the Mount Batten Centre transforming the iconic gateway to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park The project promises to bring a number of important changes to enhance accessibility and visitor experience The redevelopment includes opening up the reception area to provide a warm and inviting welcome creating a new ground floor café with direct access to outdoor seating and spectacular waterfront views and designing new changing facilities to meet Sport England and Changing Places standards Vertu Motors has opened a new Volvo dealership in Plymstock as part of a £3.6 million expansion of its footprint in the South West The UK’s fourth largest motor retailer has has brought the Volvo brand back to Plymouth for the first time in 17 years and has also relocated its Volvo Yeovil dealership to a new site A car washing day held at Plympton Fire Station has raised £952 for the Fire Fighters Charity Fire service personnel from Plympton were joined by colleagues from Green Watch at Greenbank and the On-Call team at Crownhill to clean vehicles brought in by members of the public who in turn made donations to the charity Plympton Fire station’s next charity car wash will be sometime in September 2025 so keep an eye out for the date.Information about the work of the Fire Fighters Charity can be found at www Tricky weather conditions so far this year impacted on the number of exhibits on the benches of the Plympton Gardeners Association spring show at Harewood House in March but what was lacking in quantity was made up for in quality with one exhibitor taking a show certificate at her first attempt Sue Howing Nicholls took a novice certificate award for winning class 14 with her colourful one bloom double daffodil Show secretary Paul Hutchings said he had contemplated cancelling this year’s spring event but was encouraged to go ahead with it by a promise from two PGA members that they would put in enough entries to make a worthwhile show True to their word Lydia Ross and Lorna Rogers mustered over 100 exhibits between them to supplement the entries of other exhibitors A woman who has spearheaded a band of clean up volunteers and worked tirelessly to keep Plympton free of litter over the past few years is to become the new Stannator of Plympton The role of Stannator is similar to that of a town mayor and is chosen annually from among nominees carrying out voluntary work which benefits the Plympton community was elected to be the next Stannator in a contested secret ballot held at the Plympton Community Council annual meeting on March 28 She will be invested into office and take over from current Stannator Dave Partridge in a ceremony to be held at Harewood House towards the end of April The Plympton community has reacted with shock after learning of the sudden and unexpected death of former Stannator Sally Luscombe She was discovered deceased on March 15 having passed away peacefully in her sleep Earlier in the day concerns had been expressed for the welfare of the popular octogenarian when she didn’t turn up to display her planned exhibits at the Plympton Gardeners spring show Sally was a much loved and respected member of the Plympton St Maurice community She became known across the wider Plympton area during her year as Stannator in 2014/15 She greatly enjoyed the role and one of her highlights was to be among a party to meet Queen Elizabeth II at Plymouth Railway Station The Sherford community is demonstrating that even new towns can have rich heritage connections thanks to a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant that is helping residents learn traditional rural skills Having recently developed and rolled out a Heritage Skills Training Programme Sherford residents are now preparing to showcase their newly acquired skills to the wider community Plympton’s Green Councillors have written to Plymouth City Council highlighting the community’s concern and dissatisfaction over the lack of any obvious action to improve the security of Chaddlewood playing fields following a council site meeting held there in August 2024 to consider what steps could be taken At last August’s meeting various measures were suggested • Strengthening the locking system of the bollards to better prevent unauthorised vehicle access • Installing planters at key access points to restrict entry to towing vehicles while still allowing appropriate access • Implementing tree planting and perimeter screening to provide a natural barrier that enhances security while improving the environmental value of the space More than six months later there has been no sign of any security improvements having been made Ambitious plans to create a huge new country park on the Saltram Estate have been approved by planners at Plymouth City Council Saltram attracted over 930,000 visits in 2023 and the plans submitted by the National Trust are designed to provide greater access to nature An area of 79 acres at Wixenford – equivalent to 60 football pitches – currently used as farmland will become ‘Saltram East’ and is currently within the countryside park boundary ‘Lack of leadership has hampered city’s growth’ & ‘No to a City Mayor’- voices from across Plymouth Residents in Plymouth will decide if the city should have an elected mayor when a Referendum campaign group now called ‘Mayor for Plymouth’ which was spearheaded by Angus Forbes former the city and in this special Chronicle feature the views of those in favour of and those against but it is likely to take place in July or August this year Plymstock councillors continue to tackle key local issues including frustrations over delayed infrastructure and amenities in Sherford They are pressing The Sherford Consortium for action while celebrating new bus routes linking Sherford to Plympton Concerns over high management charges in Sherford persist with councillors pushing for transparency and updates on road adoption particularly vandalism in Knapps Close and Blackstone with efforts ongoing to improve enforcement discussions are underway about the future of Turnchapel’s iconic red phone box with calls for community adoption rather than removal councillors back Plymouth’s Local Government Reorganisation plan arguing it would better serve Plymstock and surrounding areas currently under South Hams District Council Rebecca Smith MP for South West Devon and Ward Councillor for Plymstock Radford with updates on supporting constituents March has been yet another packed month getting down to work for South West Devon – fighting for local fishermen speaking up for coastal communities in Parliament raising concerns about the closure of Santander’s Plympton branch receiving clarity on Mount Batten works and launching my pub competition Supporting South West Devon’s local economy has been a priority ahead of Labour’s disastrous Emergency Budget Our 3,000 small businesses are reeling from the Labour Chancellor’s tax-hiking anti-growth policies – I will continue to fight their corner in Westminster please do get in touch at rebecca.smith.mp@parliament.uk Eighteen 87 – formerly the Morley Arms – is to be the venue for a major health festival in August Highlights of the festival-themed day include live entertainment with a variety of performances from local musicians Visitors can also treat themselves to festival-themed hair and makeup sessions The event is being organised by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust Primrose Centre Breast Screening nurse Kayleigh Davenport Three airline pilots are taking on one of the world’s most extreme endurance challenges – rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in the World’s Toughest Row 2026 a testicular cancer survivor whose journey of resilience has inspired the team’s mission to raise £150,000 for cancer support charities will row non-stop from the Canary Islands to Antigua and relentless physical demands – all to support Young Lives vs Cancer and Move Against Cancer Construction of a key link to a major site within the Plymouth and South Devon (PASD) Freeport is getting underway Partners from the Freeport came together to mark the start of work on the spine road which will connect to the Freeport’s largest tax site at Langage and unlock almost eight hectares of employment land The Devon County Council scheme is a 360-metre single carriageway road which will extend the existing Kingsway Road/Holland Road close to Langage Power Station It will also provide a footway on the western side of the road with a bi-directional cycle path on the opposite side It will be constructed by Cormac and is due for completion by December 2025 An incredible 2,500 men took to the streets of Plymouth on March 22 striding out to honour their much-missed loved ones and show their support for the independent charity that provides specialist end of life care for local families Sunny skies made an unexpected appearance as the biggest gathering yet of big-hearted chaps of all ages turned out for St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s Men’s Day Out setting off from Plymouth Albion rugby ground at Devonport to walk 12km along the waterfront and through the city – a reversal of the route to ring the changes for regular participants The iconic sold-out event – the biggest men’s charity walk of its kind in the South West and beyond – has gained huge momentum over the years it has raised more than £1 million through sponsorship and donations to fund the clinical practical and emotional support St Luke’s provides for people in their last months Plympton’s four independent councillors have held a meeting with Plymouth City Council Leader Tudor Evans and Transport portfolio holder Cllr Mark Coker to discuss growing concerns over the safety of the Deep Lane End junction on the A38 Speaking on behalf the group Cllr Patrick Nicholson said: “Plympton Councillors are pleased to have met with Cllr Evans Cllr Coker and the city’s Senior Highway Officer to outline Plympton’s concerns and to seek Plymouth City Council’s support in raising this with Devon County Council National Highways and the Freeport Board.” Devon County Council are responsible for the junction and promised investment at the junction when the Sherford new town was approved but the Plympton councillors claim insufficient progress has been made to accommodate the significant increase in traffic to Sherford and Langage The Plymouth Chronicle is excited to announce a collaboration with Argyle Life to provide regular Plymouth Argyle content from the perspective of the fans We’ll be publishing regular pieces from Argyle Life contributors in print and via our website at www.plymouthchronicle.co.uk written before the Argyle Women’s game against Exeter in the Devon FA Women’s Challenge Cup Final at Newton Abbot is from lifelong Argyle fan and one of the founders of Argyle Life A new hub of adapted e-cycles has opened at Coypool Park and Ride The cycles have been made to make cycling easier for the rider This project will be one of the first networks to offer adapted electric assist cycles and is an inclusive service for people of all ages and abilities and promotes increased participation in active travel The fleet includes 10 recumbent adapted electric assist trikes A taster event was held recently where members of the public were able to go on free led rides The new hub at Coypool supplements the existing hub of adapted cycles at Foulston Park (formerly Brickfields) where high-quality cycling experiences have been provided in a safe and welcoming environment The coffee shop opened in October 2023 as a new type of venture for St Luke’s and was part of the charity’s mission to establish additional sustainable income streams alongside their retail shops and fundraising with profits from the coffee shop going to support St Luke’s end of life care work This project followed on from the b.kinda mystery online clothing box enterprise launched a year previously Coffee shop in heart of Plympton celebrates first year serving the community Just over fifteen months on from the coffee shop’s launch time has been called on the venture and the premises has now permanently closed as a coffee shop have made it challenging to make the coffee shop commercially successful in spite of all the hard work and dedication of its staff and the loyal support of local customers.” St Luke’s chief executive George Lillie added: “Walk past the coffee shop and you would see what looks like a busy and thriving establishment but behind the scenes the impact of heavy overheads has been taking its toll When you add in the additional pressures of increased employer National Insurance contributions and the rise in National Minimum Wage sadly we feel unable to continue operating the business “We are so grateful to the staff who put their hearts into trying to make the coffee shop a success They did such a fantastic job of creating a friendly and welcoming space where members of the local community really felt at home and that’s what makes this decision such a tough one “Rest assured that we will be making every effort to offer alternative roles within St Luke’s for the coffee shop’s contracted staff.” The coffee shop premises are set in due course to become the new home for St Luke’s retail presence in Plympton and their current shop “With the majority of our funding coming from the local community we need to raise millions of pounds every year to support St Luke’s end of life services we are always seeking sustainable income generation opportunities outside the traditional streams of fundraising and retail We had hoped that branching out into the coffee shop market would be a profitable enterprise we will be focusing on retail and the continuing growth of our successful local charity shops as well as both established and new fundraising initiatives.” The Plympton & Plymstock edition of the newspaper is delivered to the east areas of Plymouth including: See the full list of delivery areas by checking our map link HERE Plymouth Chronicle Newspaper – Latest Edition Free Dartmoor Zoo tickets for local fostering families in city Fostering families in Plymouth will receive free family tickets to enjoy a walk on the wild side at Dartmoor Zoo Dartmoor Zoo has pledged to provide each of the 109 fostering families at Foster for Plymouth Plymouth City Council’s own fostering service Plymouth care assistant Nadyne wins top award A care assistant at a Plymouth care home has won a top award Plymstock triumphed at the South West regional final of the Great British Care Awards 2024 Race is on to find homes for unwanted greyhounds at Plymouth sanctuary A Plymouth animal sanctuary is appealing for help from dog lovers who would be prepared to give a home to a greyhound Woodside Animal Welfare Sanctuary is currently caring for six greyhounds at its shelter on the edge of Plympton with some waiting nearly two years for their forever homes Planners reject proposal to turn Underwood Chapel into a nursery A plan to turn the former Underwood Chapel in Plympton into a nursery has been refused The proposal drew a large response from the public with people polarised between favouring the nursery because of current underprovision and opposed to it because of the likely effect on traffic Mount Batten Peninsula gets a £4 million improvement boost Celebrating Mount Batten investment (from left) Sam Waites chief executive Mount Batten Centre; Councillor Tudor Evans Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Richard Lerigo Mount Batten Centre.Mount Batten Peninsula is set to benefit from over £4million of investment in a series of improvement works that will ensure the Mount Batten Centre and its surrounding area become an accessible gateway to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park As one of the key gateways to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park will undergo a series of enhancements to improve inclusive access to the Park Residents call for urgent improvements to new bus shelters Local residents in Plympton are voicing strong concerns over newly installed bus shelters on Glen Road near Edwards Drive and Bellingham Crescent which they claim provide inadequate protection from the elements Campaign for directly elected mayor gathering momentum Campaigners who want to see a directly elected mayor in Plymouth are working hard to collect the signatures of around 10,000 electors in the city so that a referendum is triggered which is not affiliated to any political party The couple have lived in Plymouth for more than two years and Darcey is currently the Chair of the Board of Theatre Royal Plymouth Senior Citizens Forum given insight into work of Plymouth Ukraine Medical Aid The Plymouth Senior Citizens Forum welcomed two guests to its recent quarterly meeting held in the Council Chamber the City Council’s Cabinet lead for Health and Adult Social Care led a discussion about the city council’s Ageing Well programme She shared how people can often think ageing is a problem to be solved Council votes to keep current election cycle – despite public views against Plymouth City Council has voted to keep the current local election cycle of electing councillors by thirds every year with a fallow election year every fourth year Prior to the vote a public consultation had taken place seeking views from the public on whether to go to all out elections every four years or stick with the current annual elections of a third of the council each year Plymouth City Council has been awarded just over £4.5 million from a £1 billion government funding boost for bus services across England is in addition to the £1.6 million previously awarded to the council from the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) Phase 2 fund and the £10.3m we have been awarded to deliver zero emission buses in the city The presentation took place at their December Christmas social where members also enjoyed music from Al Wallers as well as quizzes trained by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to attend 999 medical emergencies in their local community volunteer Community First Responders from across the South West attend emergencies within their local communities Sometimes the difference is providing reassurance prior to the arrival of an ambulance; sometimes it is saving someone’s life RELATED PLYMOUTH COMMUNITY FIRST RESPONDER NEWS South Western Ambulance Service is looking for new volunteers in Plymouth You do not need any previous medical training to become a Community First Responder and volunteers come from all walks of life They include everyone from students to stay at home parents Volunteers are provided with the required medical training and equipment to prepare for the role of Community First Responder the South Western Ambulance Service was one of the first UK ambulance services to be awarded the Investing In Volunteers quality standard for good practice in volunteer management how much they are valued by an organisation and gives them confidence in its ability to provide an outstanding volunteer experience Expressions of interest in becoming a Community First Responder can be made by filling out an online form at https://forms.office.com/e/nbHd5LxTCT story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast A large group of Travellers have been ordered to leave a playing field in the heart of Plympton More than a dozen caravans and vehicles - and even a tent - were spotted at the Chaddlewood playing field off Glen Road The arrival of the Travellers left residents fuming at the loss of the field right at the start of the school summer holidays Steps are now being taken to evict the Travellers Chaddlewood's Green councillors Lauren McLay and Ian Poyser took to their Facebook page on Sunday to confirm they had attended the site spoken with neighbourhood police and called upon Plymouth City Council's legal department to take immediate action The councillors urged residents to alert them to any antisocial behaviour In response a number of residents lamented how the field would now be unusable to children starting their school holidays as well as dog walkers One woman wrote in reply: "It’s absolutely shocking these fields are used by the community and it’s been lovely seeing so many playing in the fields and a lovely place to walk the dogs If it was any one of us we would be arrested straight away." Another female resident added: "Yes such a shame It’s been so lovely seeing so many people use the fields lately This was followed by another resident writing: "Kids off school and thanks to a very kind man cutting the grass those fields have been well used by the locals but the mess left in the stream and all around the edge of the fields is a health hazard So sad that this is becoming a yearly occurrence." One clearly angry resident wrote: "Three bollards have been placed In the 30 odd years I’ve lived here I’ve probably seen a dozen cars parked there at different times "The money spent on them could have been used in other areas where people can gain access! Scary how incompetent Plymouth City Council are!" one resident noted the long-standing problem of the council's failure to carry out its legal requirement They wrote: "The situation only emphasises the need for the council to make Transit sites - not one - available but I guess the option of cleaning and fixing and allowing racial hatred is easier for the council There are a few places around the city with enough room for a couple of travellers to pull up for a couple of nights but noticed the council has systematically fenced these off According to the Plympton police Facebook page the neighbourhood team's Inspector Jon Manning and Sergeant Dan Box as well as colleagues attended the unauthorised encampment earlier today They explained: "Insp Manning and Sgt Box engaged with the travellers and considered the potential use of police powers At this stage the threshold is not met for police to invoke their powers "As the landowner, PCC will be taking the lead on eviction proceedings The encampment will be issued with a 24 hours notice to quit the land by PCC which will then move onto court proceedings if this isn’t complied with "We will continue with patrols and monitor the situation. If there are any incidents of criminal behaviour, please report them online or by calling 999 if there is an immediate threat to life when someone is being violent or threatening to be violent or if there has been a road traffic collision where life is at risk or the road blocked We will deal with reports accordingly." A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: "We are aware of an unauthorised encampment at Chaddlewood Playing Fields and will be conducting welfare checks today We will serve a 24-hour notice to quit will at the earliest opportunity A Notice to Quit gives Travellers 48 hours to vacate the area the council has authority to escalate proceedings and apply through the court to have the groups removed it will be down to the landowner to take action Travellers have been a part of British culture for hundreds of years Councils across the UK have a duty of care to Travelling communities and all have designated areas where groups can stay The city council has a dedicated transit site called The Ride near Saltram, in Plympton where Travellers can park caravans and have access to electrical power sockets and water If an encampment is reported on public land or local parks the council has to apply to the civil court for an eviction order If a camp is set up on private land it is the responsibility of the landowner to apply to the court for an order In both cases it is down to bailiffs to enforce eviction orders and move Travellers on At the time Plymouth City Council was set to go to Plymouth County Court to secure a possession order but police said they took action after receiving a number of reports from local residents regarding antisocial behaviour and criminal activity by | Monday, 29 July, 2024 | Pubs and Bars News The grade II listed building, which is owned by St Austell Brewery who took on the lease in September last year having run the successful Tap and Barrel in Mannamead their second pub now boasts warm and welcoming spaces which reflect the needs of the community Dan said: “It’s really exciting to see the changes made at The George We’ve worked with St Austell Brewery to honour the existing history of the pub and make the most of those features whilst making the pub feel warm and cosy “We’ve listened to what the people of Plympton have said and we truly want it to be a community pub We now know what the vision is to bring this pub back to its community in the best way and we are looking forward to being here for many years.”  The upstairs function room has a new bar and seating to offer private dining and functions and an “amazing” new chef team who are passionate about championing local suppliers will head up the kitchen One of the biggest changes is the outdoor area with the beer garden having doubled in size plenty of new planters brimming with flowers Dan and Beth are planning a big party to make the most of their new space over the August bank holiday, when they will be putting on an event to raise money for St Luke’s Hospice Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Consultation meetings consider new homes plan one at Hemerdon and the other at Chaddlewood have taken place to enable the public to see in greater detail and comment upon proposals for new housing on land next to Stoggy Lane in Plympton Plympton’s new Hillcrest Centre meeting the many needs of the local community Hillcrest Community Centre in Plympton has officially opened its doors to the community Lauren and Gavin Bolger and a team of volunteers whose aims are to meet the needs of the community The Hillcrest Centre is a registered not for profit Community Interest Company PLYMPTON LOSES ONE OF ITS THREE POST OFFICES One of the three Post Offices in Plympton has closed and there are no plans to replace it The branch situated in a convenience store in Plymbridge Road opposite the rear entrance to Hele’s School closed on 25 September much to the disappointment of those living in the vicinity of it Proposed new day nursery is dividing opinion in Plympton disused chapel into a day nursery have divided the community living around it A planning application has been submitted by Adam Jensen for a change of use of the old Underwood Chapel where the current planning consent is for a place of worship New pitches and partnership: Sherford teams up with Argyle Community Trust to open outdoor sports facility Extensive new outdoor sports facilities have opened at Sherford and they will be managed by Argyle Community Trust The exciting new partnership will provide community access to Sherford Sports Hub which has an all-weather sand-dressed astro turf pitch The Plympton cat was such a frequent sight in the grounds of St Mary’s that people would often mistakenly believe she was owned and cared for by the church Mo (the cat’s official name) was the beloved and well-cared for pet of Helen Sandison who lives nearby The churchyard was one of Plympton cat Mo’s favourite places and she would frequently spend some time with humans she met there an encounter which often gave comfort and solace to her two-legged acquaintances some of whom she would become friends with and go on to meet in the churchyard time and time again Annabel Sharpe often walked through the churchyard on her way to and from work “I’d sit on the bench and she’d come to sit on my lap for five minutes “When I used to sit on the bench by the church to have my lunch between jobs she would always come and say hello She was so lovely and will be very missed.” “Mo was definitely a special cat of our community for many years I met her about 10 years ago when I was following up sightings of missing cats dumped near that area when I was involved with cat rescue She would always stroll over and sit for a while “My wife and I used to walk there all the time would always follow us around the church paths Local ward councillor and former Lord Mayor of Plymouth Cllr Terri Beer said: “This kitty comforted many people in St Mary’s churchyard I shared a few moments with Mo who patiently comforted me when I cried over lost family and friends.” She had a great ability to turn up just as I was doing a funeral – I think she knew people needed comfort!” “She was so lovely – I met her on lonely lockdown walks.” a name she acquired from the children of St Mary’s Infants School A heartfelt mural to Plymouth’s much loved Morrisons Cat “When I taught reception at St Mary’s we read a book about a cat called Puddles who lived in a church and we called Mo Puddles and a lot of children used to look for her in the churchyard.” “I remember Puddles from working at St Mary’s School the children were so excited when she put in an appearance.” Hannah Perring’s children were among those who kept a lookout for ‘Puddles’ “My kids have looked out to say hi every day on the school run for the past nine years.” Confirmation that Mo had died came from Helen Sandison who shared with the community the very sad news that the Plympton cat Mo had passed peacefully away her unofficial but invaluable duties in the churchyard of St Mary’s finally over “I am truly blown away by the beautiful comments and tributes She had a wonderful life and it was heart-breaking to let her go.” It is understood a plaque in memory of Mo will be placed in the churchyard in due course (Story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) Boutique Hotelier One of Devon’s prime boutique hotels and exclusive-use wedding venues has been sold to new owners after more than four decades Knight Frank has facilitated the sale of St Elizabeth’s House Hotel a Grade-II listed Georgian country house hotel in Plympton St Maurice Devon on behalf of owners Teresa & Andreas Isaias Set within 5.5 acres of landscaped gardens St Elizabeth’s House Hotel boasts 15 bedrooms and suites The hotel is renowned for its exclusive wedding venue and has maintained a profitable business model generating profits exceeding £500,000 in its most recent financial year the property has been restored and enhanced by its previous owners who have successfully developed a thriving hospitality business with multiple revenue streams The sale of St Elizabeth’s House Hotel marks a new chapter for the property under new ownership The previous owners Teresa & Andreas Isaias can now enjoy a well-deserved retirement whist their children continue the great work at their remaining business commented: “Acting on behalf of the Isaias family we’re delighted to announce the sale of St Elizabeth’s House Hotel Our confidential marketing campaign generated significant interest and further demonstrates the demand for regional country house hotels We wish the new owners every success as they embark on this next phase of the hotel’s journey.” commented “We have enjoyed every moment of building St Elizabeth’s House Hotel to a high level We would also like to thank everyone for all the support and after 43 years we are very much looking forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren.” ​The Plymouth Chronicle reports on events and traditions related to Plympton’s unique stannary heritage a ceremonial position rooted in the region’s tin-mining past continues to be a focal point in the community reflecting the enduring significance of stannary customs Fiona chose to plant a rowan (sorbus pink pagoda) and this is now in place along the border between Plympton Library and the hedge above Ridgeway Fiona was assisted in the planting of her tree by David Frost, vice chair of Plympton Community Council and Plymouth Tree People member and supported by a number of previous Stannators and some of their spouses who turned out for the planting ceremony (story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) the system was established to regulate the thriving tin industry which was a major source of wealth for the Crown were granted special legal protections under royal charters allowing them to be tried in their own courts and exempting them from certain taxes At the heart of Stannary law were the Stannary Courts which administered justice to miners independently of England’s common law courts These courts operated in designated stannary towns such as Tavistock had the power to make laws specifically for the mining community It was one of the few legislative bodies outside Westminster that could enact its own rules reinforcing the autonomy of the tin industry The tin trade was of significant economic importance to English monarchs who imposed levies known as coinage dues—a tax paid on refined tin including freedom from regular jury service and the ability to settle disputes in their own courts with the decline of tin mining in the 18th and 19th centuries The last recorded meeting of the Cornish Stannary Parliament took place in 1753 and its legal authority was gradually absorbed into the wider British legal system Plympton-based Sir Joshua Reynolds Women’s Institute has raised over £500 for BASICS Devon the volunteer immediate care medics charity Through a series of events such as quizzes the members of the Women’s Institute raised £543.49 for the charity The fundraising efforts will significantly contribute to the crucial work of the local emergency response team by raising both vital funds and awareness A navigation channel within Cattewater Harbour is to be dredged as part of improvements designed to attract more cargo and bigger A botanist involved in the Devon Living Churchyards Project has described St Mary Churchyard in Plympton as  ‘one of the best surveyed so far.’  The comment was made after 118 different plant species were recorded during a survey there in July A successful Plympton based women-led crafting business is celebrating two years of success To the milestone EM-MAgination recently held a party at the Rees Centre in Plympton on featuring a family crafting session where party hats party bags and badges were made to celebrate After this those supporters of EM-MAgination including other local small businesses came together to share cake and a glass of fizz END OF AN ERA AT ST MARY’S AND OLD PRIORY The end of the school term has marked the end of an era at St Mary’s Infants School and Old Priory Junior Academy in Plympton with the departure of the popular and much respected headteacher Suzie Ottewell EX-SCHOOL TEACHER SETS UP NEW ART WORKSHOPS BUSINESS Kayleigh Swann has taken a leap of faith from 14 years experience as an art teacher in local secondary schools to set up her own company providing art workshops Rescue dogs sizzling in the heat need your help Gables Dogs and Cats Home have been working very hard to keep their residents cool during the hot weather and have decided the time has come to install permanent air conditioning Plympton Civic Society has announced the staging of another Heritage Open Day following on from the success of past such events The next one will be on Saturday September 21 from 11am to 3pm in the main hall at Harewood House and is free to attend An award-winning local entrepreneur sharing her skills with young people in a community project. Talented local artist Ellie Johnson, better known as Mrs Murals has hosted workshops for 11 to 16-year-olds where they can gain art and design skills and use them to enhance their local community NEW CLASSES FOR GARDENERS’ DIAMOND SUMMER SHOW Plympton Gardeners Association will be celebrating their 75th Annual Summer Show at Harewood House on Saturday  August 17 The doors will open to the public at 1.30pm and there will be an official opening by Stannator Dave Partridge and Youth Ambassador Christopher Turner at 1.40pm Plymstock Community Centre is celebrating its 50th Anniversary on Sunday September 22 and organisers are inviting everyone to join in with the festivities at the event REMEMBRANCE PARADE WILL GO AHEAD VOWS RBL Plympton’s annual Remembrance Day Parade will still go ahead this year after the Plympton St Maurice Civic Association stepped in to save the day Visitors to this year’s Yealmpton Show in the grounds of the Kitley Estate at the end of July enjoyed a scorching day with plenty to do and see In direct contrast to last year’s wet weather this year’s show – the 135th in its history – needed umbrellas only as sunshades as visitors enjoyed near heatwave conditions which provided a boost to ice cream sellers and other vendors offering cool refreshments South West’s boldest charity cycling challenge returns for 2024 the South West’s most popular charity cycling challenge returns to the wilds of Dartmoor this autumn with fun and adventure for the whole family Plympton Wonderers’ weekly stroll recently took them on a surprise visit to Plympton Priory where they were greeted by local historian John Boulden and his colleagues who look after this part of Plympton’s heritage The Wonderers were able to learn about the history of the site and look at some of the artefacts kept on display in the small museum there See the full list of delivery areas by checking our map link HERE Cat crisis at Woodside as unwanted litters soar post Covid pandemic Around 80 cats and kittens have been added to a waiting list at a Plymouth animal shelter as it struggles to cope with the number of pets needing its help Woodside Animal Welfare Sanctuary is seeing a worrying upward trend in the number of abandoned St Luke’s popular coffee shop celebrates its first birthday It’s just over a year since St Luke’s b.kinda coffee shop opened its doors in the heart of Plympton and it’s certainly made a strong impression on the local community in those first 12 months BIKE NIGHTS STEP UP A GEAR IN SUPPORT OF WOODSIDE More than £1,300 has been raised for a Plymouth animal sanctuary by motorcyclists who gathered at a series of bike nights earlier this year Hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts turned out for six Plympton Bike Nights organised by Triumph Plymouth in conjunction with Plymouth Harley Davidson Anchorpoint Home Care: A new beacon of hope in Plymouth Combining their skills and expertise honed in careers dedicated to helping others Sian Kunene and Antony Pugh have embarked on a new journey to provide quality care to the Plymouth and South Hams community A Plymouth teenager with autism wants to show that The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is for everyone after being selected as a UK Youth Ambassador for the charity joins a cohort of just 35 DofE Award holders aged between 16 and 24 from all over the UK who will advocate for young people by sharing their expertise on key issues impacting them Beryl bikes clock up huge 267,000 miles in Plymouth Plymouth’s e-bike share scheme has clocked up more mileage than ten trips around the world during its first year and a half of operation Operated by Beryl as part of Plymouth City Council’s Connect Plymouth scheme the bikes have just surpassed 267,000 miles since launching in March 2023 more than the distance between Earth and the Moon City College launches Caerus – new careers guidance platform An innovative new skills planning platform designed to transform the way individuals approach careers guidance has been launched by City College Plymouth The new platform called Caerus was unveiled at an exclusive event at Market Hall Devonport having been developed in collaboration with leading employers Join The Box on its ‘Journey to a Million’ Visitor numbers to The Box recently passed 900,000 – and that can only mean one thing: the city’s award-winning venue is now on a journey to reach one million art gallery and archive opened in late September 2020 and has gone from strength to strength ever since with a range of galleries that highlight the permanent collections plus a hugely ambitious programme of changing exhibitions Students from Plympton Academy joined over 400 other pupils from across the UK in London on Tuesday, January 28, when they visited the House of Lords for its popular ‘Learn with the Lords Day’. During the visit, students were given a tour of the Houses of Parliament and learnt about the role the House of Lords has in the passing of laws, holding the government to account and making recommendations on a range of topics through its committee work. The event concluded with a question and answer session with Members of the House of Lords, including charity campaigner Baroness Barran, former diplomat Lord Hannay of Chiswick and former teacher Baroness Blower. Comments Tel: 01548 853101[email protected]Follow us Further Links Owned or licensed to Tindle Newspapers Ltd | Independent Family-Owned Newspapers | Copyright & Trade Mark Notice & 2013 - 2025 Multi-million pound clean up for key city centre buildings Plymouth is celebrating a scheme designed to make people look again at the city centre’s stunning post-war architecture Armada Way construction costs are significantly reduced Plymouth City Council has announced that construction costs to regenerate Armada Way have been significantly reduced and will be largely funded by substantial grants and external resources reducing the direct cost of the scheme to local taxpayers Safe Bus providing support for hundreds of late-night revellers which is set up to provide support to people during the late night and early hours of the morning has helped nearly 230 people so far this year Business support project for women smashes its targets A Plymouth project designed to provide business advice and support to women has smashed all its targets. The Supporting Her Enterprise (SHE) Plymouth Project delivered by local social enterprise Iridescent Ideas CIC aimed to support 60 women in its first year but now has 200 members after just 14 months Sadness as famous Plympton ‘church cat’ dies One of Plympton’s most well-known and recognised cats has passed away Known by a variety of names the famous tortoiseshell was frequently seen in St Mary’s churchyard in Plympton where sightings of her gave comfort to so many Concerns over impact of new development of 500 homes Concerns have been expressed after news that Plymouth City Council is spearheading the construction of a huge new housing development on land off Stoggy Lane in Plympton GET READY FOR AN EVENING OF RAILWAY NOSTALGIA Plym Valley Railway is staging an evening of railway nostalgia in October with a presentation by Bernard Mills called ‘Rails Around Plymouth Part 1.’ The event will focus on the west side of the city with many pictures from the past In common with their counterparts across the country Plympton students have been discovering the results of their A Level and GCSE studies This popular event in the Plympton civic calendar had been put in doubt after Plympton Community Council who took over the organisational arrangements a few years ago felt unable to continue due to difficulties meeting the health and safety and insurance arrangements needed to underpin the event Stories started prematurely circulating within the community that the Plympton Remembrance Day had been cancelled even though behind the scenes the Plympton Branch of the Royal British Legion was exploring ways of ensuring the parade could continue A spokesperson for Plympton Royal British Legion Branch said: “Since losing the support of Plympton Community Council for insurances we have worked hard to find other sources who could help as Plympton St Maurice Civic Association are used to running their annual Lamb Feast they were more than happy to look into it and save the day “Please rest assured the parade is absolutely still going ahead with the support of Plympton St Maurice Civic Association We are both fully committed to maintaining this fabulous event for Remembrance in the heart of our community.” Plympton Midsummer Festival has much to offer this June The petition has been opened on Plymouth City Council’s formal petition site which requires the council to take certain actions depending on the volume of support the petition receives If a petition reaches 5,000 or more signatures from people living the subject matter will be debated at a full meeting of Plymouth City Council READ PREVIOUS REPORTING ON NEW PLYMOUTH CREMATORIUM Plymouth crematorium just months away from opening A petition attracting 2,500 or more qualifying signatures will be addressed by the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee Plymstock and Sherford currently has no bus route or safe provision for pedestrians or cyclists and a growing population in the new town of Sherford a viable alternative for non-drivers is particularly important Please do something before there’s an accident!” “There is currently no safe route to arrive other than by car – this fantastic new facility should be accessible to all to pay our respects The lack of a bus route or safe pedestrian access is a serious barrier to access This situation seems particularly ironic as Plymouth City Council declared a Climate Emergency the month before approving the new location yet there is no safe option other than arriving by car.” The new town of Sherford is described on the developers website as ‘ambitious’ ‘walkable’ and ‘with a decent public transport link’ However there have been recent reports of school children taking their lives in their hands as they walk along the narrow grass verge to get to secondary schools in neighbouring Plympton “The roads are extremely congested at this time of day with parents driving miles to do the school run because there is no viable alternative At present the only bus route involves a diversion via Heles Terrace and a change of buses run by two different bus companies.” Ms Ayrton concludes her petition by calling on Plymouth City Council to provide a bus route to connect Plymstock Plympton and the new crematorium and that safe walking and cycle routes be prioritised Under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 the local authority can require a developer to make a financial contribution towards infrastructure improvements as a condition of granting planning permission the purpose of the S106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is to regulate how the land is used and to mitigate the impact of development in a specific area Typical obligations under Section 106 agreements could include new roads or contributions towards improved transport links When Plymouth City Council granted itself permission to build The Park Crematorium at Saltram it did not impose any requirement upon itself to provide public transport links to the site or improve pedestrian facilities for reaching it The petition runs until January 19 and needs to collect the requisite number of signatures by then to be discussed in committee or at full council. If you wish to support the petition you can do so HERE (Story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page A piece of animation history is ready to fetch a fresh audience online Bill Plympton’s hand-illustrated short Guard Dog bounds onto YouTube The 2004 dark comedy short was produced at the indie animation icon’s Plymptoons studio and was inspired by a simple walk in the park Idiots and Angels) examines why dogs bark at such innocent little creatures as pigeons and squirrels Guard Dog was nominated for best animated short at the 2005 Academy Awards It was also recognized with the Best in Show prize form ASIFA-East a Special Prize at Hiroshima International Animation Festival an Audience Award at Uppsala International Short Film Festival and screened in competition at Tribeca Film Festival The short screened in theaters in front of Plympton’s feature film Guard Dog was inducted into the Academy Film Archive for preservation The recognizable mug of the titular dog went on to appear in three more short films — Guide Dog (2006) Hot Dog (2008) and Horn Dog (2009) — and made a cameo in Plympton’s feature films  Idios and Angels (2009) and Cheatin’ (2013) as well as the music video for Weird Al Yankovic’s “TMZ” (2011) Plympton has described the Guard Dog as his “Mickey Mouse,” a real slobbery icon of indie animation Learn more about Plymptons work and find other films available to watch now at plymptoons.com The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse how you use this website Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns A man has died at a Wetherspoons pub in Plympton Emergency services rushed to The Stannary Court on the Ridgeway following reports of concern for the welfare of a man in the pub Devon and Cornwall Police and paramedics were seen outside the pub on Sunday afternoon (December 15) A spokesperson for the police force told PlymouthLive yesterday that officers were called to the scene just before 4pm a police spokesperson confirmed a man was pronounced dead at the scene His death is not being treated as suspicious and that an investigation will be carried out into the circumstances A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police were informed to a concern of welfare of a man at The Stannary Court in Plymouth yesterday afternoon following reports of a medical emergency Ambulance services were also in attendance "The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner." At Hele’s School sisters Xsara and Amber Lord achieved 3 As and 2 Bs and a C between them This has enabled Xsara to go to the University of Exeter to study Law and Amber to secure a place at the University of Bristol to study Dentistry Lewis Corkhill and Dan Brookes all celebrated excellent results in A Level Drama alongside their other subjects while Jasmine O’Hagan had her family with her to celebrate her 3 A and 1 B grades which means she too can go to the University of Exeter to study Law Plympton Hele’s School Gains Quality Mark Accreditation we are really pleased with the performance of our students but as we say every year success is measured far beyond the classroom and students are not defined by a set of grades; we celebrate all that these young people have brought to Hele’s over their time with us and this cohort certainly brought a lot for which we are very grateful there are definitely exciting times ahead for them all I am a proud Principal today and want to both congratulate and thank our wonderful students for all they have done in their time with us always Team Hele’s’ and we look forward to hearing what they’ve all been up to in years to come!” Over at Plympton Academy students performed particularly well in areas such as Music The Academy’s Applied General Qualifications also compared favourably against national expectations Plympton Academy trio win Dahl book Many of the Academy’s students are now preparing to head on to the university He is now going to university to study Computer Science I am so pleased because I also got the international excellence scholarship which supports with 50% of my university fees.” Jamie Dobson achieved Distinction in Engineering Distinction in Music Technology and Distinction in Music Performance Jamie will now go on to attend university to study Music Josh Wallace gained Distinction in Dance and Double Distinction in Performing Arts no dream is too big and no star is too far “I have officially finished my journey at Plympton Academy being told that I was one of their highest achievers and getting distinctions across the board really put things in perspective for me today Time to set my sails to Exeter and the next chapter of my life.” “We are delighted to celebrate the outstanding Post 16 achievements of our students who have truly made us proud with their hard work and dedication I encourage them to continue striving for excellence and to embrace opportunities for growth and learning yet we couldn’t be prouder of their remarkable achievements.” (Story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast) Plymouth City Council is spearheading the construction of a new housing development on the edge of the city but just within the South Hams. The development, on land off Stoggy Lane in Plympton, will see 500 modern, energy efficient homes built, of which 150 will be affordable. Also in the plans is new wetland greenspace, up to 2,000 new trees and a financial contribution towards a new sports hub at Boringdon. Plymouth City Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing, Communities and Cooperative Development, will present the plans to his cabinet colleagues when they meet on Monday September 9. In advance of the meeting, Chris said: "I'm really pleased to be able to talk about this venture, which has been long in the planning. "Plymouth, like so many other cities in the UK, is in the midst of a national housing crisis and one of the obvious solutions to this is to build more houses. That's exactly what we're doing here. "The Stoggy Lane development is certainly ambitious, but we owe it to the hundreds of households on the housing waiting list to make big decisions like this and provide answers to the problems." The land at Stoggy Lane, which is designated for housing in the Joint Local Plan, is currently unutilised farmland with no formal public access. It is owned by Plymouth City Council, but falls within the boundary of South Hams District Council. Working with South Hams, Plymouth City Council have produced a masterplan ready to apply for planning permission. Before that, though, a through public consultation on the scheme is expected to begin in September, featuring information sessions to allow residents to learn more and feedback on the plans. That data will then be fed into a final design before a final planning application is submitted in Spring 2025. Details on the consultation will be released in the new few weeks. There is a theory by Peter Stedman that Stoggy Lane was part of an ancient nearly by-pass for the Ridgeway, along which those with leprosy were once forced to walk, to keep them away from the rest of the community. Tel: 01548 853101[email protected]Follow us Following a successful 12-month campaign, South West Devon MP Rebecca Smith is welcoming the introduction of Plymouth City Council’s new bus service connecting Plympton and Plymstock. The Council have announced that the link will begin on Sunday March 30 and also serve the new crematorium, The Park. The announcement follows months of effort by Rebecca, who conducted a local survey with hundreds of responses and met with Plymouth Citybus and the Cabinet Member for Transport on Plymouth City Council to make the case for a bus link between Plympton and Plymstock. She says: “I have been pushing hard for a bus link between Plympton and Plymstock, with a local survey, meeting with local bus company chiefs and senior council leader about improving connectivity between these two key communities and linking to the new crematorium. “Therefore, I am so pleased that the Council have listened to my representations and today announced that a new bus link, which will also serve the new crematorium, will be funded from the spring. “I will continue to lobby the Government locally and nationally for our fair share.” The new Plympton-Plymstock bus link is a significant step forward in fulfilling that objective. The South West Devon MP will now turn her attention to ensuring that Plymouth City Council complete the bus shelter replacement programme. The service, which will be operated by Stagecoach Southwest, is one of 17 that will be financially supported by the Council following a recent re-tendering of the city’s ‘non-commercial’ routes. It will run as Number 19 roughly every 75 minutes from 9.30am to just after 5pm every day (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day). The Number 4 will also be extended beyond Plymstock Broadway to serve Plympton Ridgeway via Sherford and Sandy Road, providing new links for workers at Langage and for pupils travelling to and from school. Tel: 01548 853101[email protected]Follow us Plympton could soon see the addition of 14 new sports pitches alongside a development of 200 homes. The site, located at Boringdon Park, neighbours an area already granted planning permission for 550 new dwellings at Coypool Park. That development includes care homes, a community hub, and approximately 40 acres of open space and woodland. The applicant, South West Strategic Developments, stated that the new scheme will "complement" the Coypool Park development. Planning documents reveal that the proposals include a woodland buffer to protect the ancient Woodford Wood, a County Wildlife Site (CWS). The plan covers 30 hectares of agricultural land – roughly the size of 50 football pitches – with 60 of the homes expected to be affordable. Access would be provided through the new Coypool Park estate. The proposals feature electric vehicle charging points, car club spaces, e-bike hire, cycle parking, and a hilltop park. The sports hub would include changing rooms, a café, and function rooms, providing 14 football pitches, four tennis courts, and 186 parking spaces. Grassroots Planning Ltd, the agent for the applicant, mentioned that the land was identified in the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan as suitable for playing pitches and affordable housing, especially when it became clear that Coypool Parkland might struggle to deliver on these. Plymouth City Council has also recognised the need for more grass pitches to allow children to play football matches. Plymouth City councillor Terri Beer voiced concerns about the development, saying: “Plympton would be overwhelmed with new homes and no new infrastructure, such as health facilities, to support it.” She added that an additional 550 homes are already earmarked for Plympton across two other sites. Tel: 01548 853101[email protected]Follow us