'Team Plymouth' will help 'change city lives'

NEW CITY ORGANISATION LAUNCHED TO CAPITALISE ON DEFENCE PLANS

- By ALISON STEPHENSON

The Team Plymouth launch event at Market Hall, Devonport

CITY organisations have come together to launch Team Plymouth, outlining plans to capitalise on unprecedented levels of investment in defence which will impact every part of the city, according to leaders.

"It's going to be a big pie and we want everybody to have a slice," Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans declared as 100 delegates, including ministers, MPs, military and top civil servants gathered at the Market Hall in Devonport to hear about the city's collaborative approach to change of the lives of its residents.

Plymouth was recently named as one of five national defence growth areas by the government, earmarked to get a share of £250 million, and the Ministry of Defence is investing £4.4 billion into HM Naval Base Devonport and Babcock's Devonport Royal Dockyard.

The investment is set to underpin Plymouth's economy for the next seventy years.

Key players of Team Plymouth, which succeeds Growth Alliance Plymouth, includes Babcock International Group, the MOD, Plymouth City Council, the University of Plymouth, City College Plymouth and many others determined to see the ripple effect of regeneration, upgrading of skills and employment opportunities across the city, as the total number of jobs is expected to grow by 25,000 over the next 10 years.