The growth potential of Derriford and Plymouth’s northern corridor came particularly to the fore in the early-mid 2000s through a series of strategic studies of the Plymouth sub-region and of the city’s economic opportunity.  This led to the Local Economic Strategy, 2006, and the Core Strategy, adopted 2007, identifying the Derriford area as a major plank of the city’s growth strategy, providing a new heart for the north of the city.

The Plymouth Plan continues this approach.  Policy 2 of the Plymouth Plan identifies the Derriford and the Northern Corridor as one of three growth areas in which a regionally significant scale of growth in new jobs and new homes will be delivered. The expansion of focus beyond Derriford to incorporate other strategic opportunities along the northern corridor reflects the importance of the corridor as a whole.  The wider area includes for example strategically important sites and opportunities such as at Woolwell on the edge of Plymouth and the airport site, which the Council sees as an important element of its approach to strategic connectivity.

The Growth Area has considerable assets that make it an area of huge potential for supporting the growth and long term prosperity of Plymouth. The area includes several major employment areas that provide high value jobs in the healthcare, medical and advanced engineering fields, as well as the Hospital Campus and The University of St Mark and St John (Marjons).  It includes some stunning green space and heritage assets.  At its heart is the Derriford area which is second only to the City Centre in terms of public transport accessibility, and offers the opportunity to create a vibrant new heart for the north of Plymouth.  It includes significant areas of land that are suitable for development and regeneration, in a location where there is considerable developer interest, as well as the potential to re-establish aviation use for the city.

The challenging topography of the area and its construction during the post-war period has resulted in a number of issues that need to be addressed through how new investment and development is provided for, particularly in the Derriford area.  Whilst accessibility along the main A386 corridor is good (including by public transport), the historic incremental, site-by-site development of the area has meant that neighbourhoods, commercial, and other areas are poorly linked to one another.  Historically, development has also been designed with little recognition of the area’s natural landscape or historic assets.  As a result the area lacks distinctiveness, identity and a clear focus, and is overly reliant on travel by car (contributing to traffic congestion on the A386).  Most buildings turn their backs on the steep green valleys leaving them difficult to access, unused and neglected.  Surrounding residential neighbourhoods have been constructed at low densities (some as low as 12 dwellings per hectare) and many other uses make inefficient use of land, with large areas of wasted space and surface-level car parking, and some more minor roads appearing to be over engineered.  The availability of land, however, offers a significant opportunity to transform the area by introducing new development which generates a new focus and coherence for the area.  

Key Developments

Plymouth is in the middle of its biggest ever investment programme. The city has a range of exciting examples of  recent successes, current major developments,  pipeline projects and development opportunities.

You can view all of the developments taking place in the Derriford and Northern Corridor area.