Partnership sealed between Plymouth City Council and Royal William Yard
Urban Splash has taken the historic, waterfront scheme from a derelict former naval yard to a waterfront community, as Nathan Cornish of Urban Splash reflects: “We have achieved so much in the past few years and would like to thank our partners at the Council and SWRDA for supporting us through the development process.
“It’s been a period in which we have successfully restored three of the Yard’s building’s; Clarence, Brewhouse and Mills Bakery. Each of them is Grade I listed so their redevelopment was a challenge, however our team worked with the design to create a total of 216 homes, which are now home to around 300 residents, as well as 62,000 sq ft of commercial space which is home to organisations such as marketing company Bluestone 360, engineers Hoare Lea and the University of Plymouth.”
Other parts of the commercial space have been taken by restaurant operators, further boosting the visitor appeal. Seco Lounge, part of national restaurant group Loungers, moved into the scheme in Spring 2010 whilst Italian restaurant group Prezzo opened at the site this summer. Future restaurants include TV chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage Canteen and Deli and South West based boutique operator Town Mill Bakery, both of whom signed deals to open later this year.
The addition of the restaurants has reinforced the belief that Royal William Yard, after a decade in the making, is the place Urban Splash had dreamed it would be, as Nathan continued; “One of our residents said that they are beginning to realise the dream of an artistic, waterfront café culture here and that is exactly what we want to hear.”
The waterfront has been key. Last summer Urban Splash introduced a waterbus service which ferries people to and from the City’s Barbican with the assistance of local harbourmaster Derek Smith. The company also opened up the use of moorings at the scheme, offering short and long term berths.
The visitor appeal has also been bolstered by events at the scheme including the Yard Exchange market and the British Art Show: “There was a time when the site was derelict that people were even afraid of coming through the main gates. That’s been addressed with the addition of the new boardwalk to the side of the Slaughterhouse building which gives a new access route to site. This is further enhanced with the installation of an unexpected piece of art in the form of Keith Wilson’s ‘Zone 1’ galvanized street structure at the end of the walkway.”
There is still more work to be done including the redevelopment of New Cooperage, which is currently being turned into 20,000 sq ft of commercial space, including ground floor retail spaces, which open up onto the site’s public realm. The company is also marketing space in the Residence buildings, two grand Grade II listed buildings which provide a total of 7,000 sq ft of office space.
Nathan concluded: “The redevelopment of New Cooperage, and the offering at the Residence buildings, gives businesses another chance to be part of Royal William Yard and join somewhere that is becoming a really vibrant mixed community. To be building speculatively in the current macro economic climate, reinforces our confidence in both the Yard and Plymouth as a place to be investing.
ENDS
