In my role as Project Manager it was a very special day for Redrow when national regeneration agency English Partnerships confirmed us as their choice to redevelop the South Yard Enclave site at Devonport.

Already well established across the UK and experienced in this type of project, the Devonport scheme, to be known as Vision, will place Redrow well and truly on the map in the West Country.

It is also just the kind of scheme we like to get involved in - not just building new homes, but becoming a part of, and helping to enhance, the local community.

Purchased last year by English Partnerships from the Ministry of Defence, the 18-acre South Yard Enclave site will be transformed by Redrow into a mixed-use neighbourhood, featuring more than 450 new homes, shops, offices and community facilities.

Redrow has signed a full development agreement with English Partnerships.  The Masterplan and Urban Design Code, will define the way in which the site is developed and how it will look. These important documents will be agreed with the local council and will form the basis of all future planning applications on the site.

Our plans are for an exciting mixed-use development so, as well as the large selection of new homes, there will also be 100,000 square feet of commercial space with a variety of uses, including offices, shops, workspace units and a new police station.

In my role as Project Manager I will be responsible for ensuring the scheme’s prime objectives are delivered, and this will involve me in all areas of the project, including planning, build, sales and community liaison. From a personal point of view I am delighted to be a part of this venture, not least because it gives me the opportunity to return to my home city.

I was born and bred in Plymouth and educated locally; indeed my father was born in Devonport and was a shipwright in the dockyard. Therefore I am very proud to play a prominent role in a scheme which will revitalise a community that has been somewhat fragmented since the MoD incorporated the enclave into the dockyard perimeter after the Second World War.

Hopefully the local community is as excited as Redrow and myself at the prospect of Devonport being reunited again and enjoying major investment for the future. Redrow will be working closely with English Partnerships, Devonport Regeneration Community Partnership and Plymouth City Council to make sure that their vision – and that of local people – is realised.


By Chris Anderson, Redrow’s Project Manager at Devonport