Investment in dockyard will create city jobs

£2BN REBUILD AT DEVONPORT WILL BOOST LOCAL ECONOMY

- WILLIAM TELFORD

AN extensive £2bn rebuild of facilities at Devonport Dockyard will have a major economic impact on the city's economy and present a huge opportunity for its companies, the chair of Babcock International Group Plc has said.

Plans have already been outlined for a £lbn, five-year redevelopment at the yard, the largest in the UK, to allow the newest nuclear submarines to be refitted in Plymouth.

But Babcock, which operates the vast site, has now confirmed that this is only the start of an even longer programme of work, which will see up to £2bn invested over a decade, making it the largest capital investment in the site for 40 years.

And Ruth Cairnie, chair of the defence, aerospace and security company, outlined just how important the work, and Babcock itself, is to Plymouth when she visited the city.

Speaking to The Herald prior to delivering the Plymouth Manufacturers Group's annual Christmas lecture, at the University of Plymouth, Ms Cairnie revealed how Babcock is transforming itself into a leaner, simpler and skills-led body to attract the next generation of talented workers, and also to be open with and support the communities in which it operates.