Plymouth

The people of Plymouth love their city. In fact, our research found that even if universal connectivity was to give them the option of living and working anywhere in the country, 65% would stay where they are – that’s more than the residents of any other city in the UK.

Plymouth is not only known as a beautiful seaside destination for tourists, it also has a very varied and prosperous industrial base with electronic, healthcare, advanced engineering, food and drink and boat building companies, along with a number of call centres all operating within the city limits. Historically Plymouth has been the base of the explorer – from Sir Francis Drake to more recent pioneers, such as Antarctic explorer Frank Bickerton.

In February 2008, Plymouth City Council, the South West of England Regional Development Agency and the Homes and Communities Agency created the Plymouth City Development Company. The company is one of the key components of Plymouth’s Local Economic Strategy and aims to encourage the creation of 43,000 new jobs, and develop the skills market to match its development programme and ambitions.

The City Development Company is also in charge of growing the city population from its current 248,000 to over 300,000 - not something that they’ll find too difficult according to our Connected Britain research. This recent survey found the South West to be Britain’s most popular future destination of choice, with a staggering potential growth in population of 158%.