Britannia leads way in revamp

WORK on a £1.5 million revamp of Plymouth's historic but rundown Devonport Guildhall is well under way.

The building is set to become one of the South West's key hubs for business, media, education and cultural activities, thanks to a government grant and money from the Devonport Regeneration Community Partnership.

The building's main feature of Britannia, who sits prominently on top, has been restored back to its original form. The figurine, dating back to 1817, three years before the building was put up, is cast from coade stone, and is said to be unusual, especially in this part of the world.

David Martin, Project Manager for the site, working on behalf of Plymouth City Council, said: "You don't find many of these apart from in London. We have removed all the paint from her, the worst of which was on her lips which were painted bright red. Her shield was painted in the colours of the Union Jack and she was white but she will now appear in her natural form. We've also removed her spear to fix. The level of detail on her and especially the globe is incredible; she doesn't appear in the original plans but we believe she was added early on in the building's history."

Work on the building started in February and is due to be completed by November. The project is being led by Real Ideas Organisation with Architects GHK, project managers The Gates Partnership and builders Devon Contractors creating new facilities.

Labour and Co-operative MP for Plymouth and Sutton Linda Gilroy recently paid a trip to the site. She said: "It is inspiring to witness the transformation of such a significant building which would otherwise have deteriorated into ruin and to see the power that the collaborative work is achieving in the community.

"Given the backdrop of the current economic crisis, I really believe that we are in the middle of a paradigm shift and social enterprises like the one being driven here at the Guildhall are set to come more and more to the fore of how we operate as a nation."

The newly unveiled Guildhall will include office space, a hirable hall for music and theatre, conferences and community events and a cafe and restaurant.