TWO large redundant buildings in Plymouth’s Armada Way area have been bought by Homes England as part of a vision to create 10,000 homes in the city over the next decade.

Mayflower House, a former office block, and neighbouring Congress Hall, once the home of the Salvation Army, will be demolished and apartments will take their place.

Homes England said it was working with the council and other local stakeholders to understand current and future demand for housing in the city which will determine the next steps for this site.

“Any plans to propose changes to the city centre will be subject to public consultation at the appropriate time,” it said.

Mayflower House had previous permission to be knocked down and replaced with an 18-storey tower containing 490 student flats and office and commercial space.

A hotel scheme was also mooted for the Congress Hall site but neither projects have come to fruition.

Plymouth City Council and Homes England have produced a new ‘Plymouth City Centre Vision’ which sets out a shared ambition to provide 10,000 new homes in the city centre and surrounding area.

The vision recognises that there will be around £4.4 billion of government investment in Devonport naval base over the next decade and that this will stimulate the demand for new homes, with Babcock requiring 5,500 new employees and a further 2,000 construction jobs being created in the dockyard.

Plymouth’s city centre currently has a very low level of housing, with only around 1,000 homes compared to 8,000 homes for typical cities of Plymouth’s size.

The council wants to create “a new town in the city”.

It is working on transforming the Armada Way area into a vibrant central hub with a £30 million public realm project which it hopes will attract investors, more retail outlets, leisure activities and night time economy businesses as well as investment in homes.

The public realm upgrade, the first section of which was opened last Thursday, (July 31) is understood to have already attracted global investment firm Schroders to purchase the Armada Centre in June.

Plymouth City Council recently signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” partnership deal with Homes England, which was the next major step in ‘strengthening’ the working relationship between the two organisations.

The council’s cabinet will be asked at their meeting next Monday (August 11) to endorse future engagement with the government’s emerging new town programme, and to accept funding up to £1 million from Homes England and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for technical studies and master planning work to guide the delivery of housing.

At the opening of the first section of the Armada Way revamp chief executive of the Plymouth City Centre Company, Steve Hughes, said the regeneration of the area would involve bringing unused or underused buildings back to life.

And he added that he expected another hotel at some point in that area.

Referring to Mayflower House and Congress Hall he said: “These buildings will be gone and in a few years time there will be apartments.

“This whole area will be earmarked for redevelopment, for housing which is desperately needed.

“When visitors arrive at the northern end of the city centre at North Cross or the railway station either walking or on bike, the gateway to the city centre will be so much more impressive and they will be able to see all the way up to the Hoe.”

Plymouth City Council has been approached for comment.