Plymouth tree disaster: new shop access

New cut-through to help footfall recover

Traders in Plymouth’s Armada Way have welcomed a move by the city council to ‘take back control’ and help shoppers cut through the chaos left behind by a controversial tree-felling scheme.

Council staff moved in before the weekend to make the cut-through between the Oggy Oggy pasty shop and Subway, opening up a walkway for shoppers and bringing passing trade back to shops left high and dry by the fences put up for the work.

There was a national outcry when more than 100 trees were culled during the night in March to make way for a long-awaited regeneration scheme.

Work to cut down the remaining trees was paused after a last-minute injunction, with the furore leading to the resignation of the then-leader of the council, Conservative politician Richard Bingley.

Current council leader Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) has asked designers to look again at the project, and in the meantime the council has taken steps to make the city centre more accessible again.

Cllr Evans said he had heard local traders ‘loud and clear’, and while it was not possible to remove all the fencing around the felled trees and stumps, some of it could be pulled back.

Speaking on site as the work got under way, he said: “I met with traders and they said they wanted a cut-through. Today we have taken the fencing back.

“Bit by bit we are taking back control of this project.”

And trader Caroline Sardu added: “Armada Way is a mess, so I am really pleased that the council has started to create a cut-through. Armada Way is still open for business.

“I will be really pleased when the rest of the site here gets cleaned up.”