Plymouth's plans to breathe new life into the Civic Centre have reached a key stage, with a full planning application now lodged.

The scheme is intended to anchor the wider regeneration of the city centre by combining a new City College Plymouth campus in the podium and lower floors with homes in the tower, bringing city centre living into an iconic building.

City College Plymouth plans to convert the lower floors and basement into a Blue-Green Skills Hub training up to 2,000 learners each year across around 60 courses, spanning apprenticeships, higher education and adult skills programmes.

The focus is on supplying skilled people of all ages to sectors including marine engineering, renewable energy and sustainable construction, with a mix of educational and open spaces at podium level designed to inspire learners.

At street level, the former reception would become an open, welcoming public space linked to the city, featuring a careers hub, a sustainable bistro and restaurant, a wellness spa and a digital zone with AR and VR. Below that, the former basement would be reimagined as a lively education area with six technical workshops, while the first floor would provide classrooms for formal teaching.

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Above the campus, 144 one- and two-bedroom apartments are proposed, introducing a type of compact city living not previously available in Plymouth. The design balances the building’s structure and heritage with modern standards for tall buildings, retaining the exposed concrete ‘waffle’ ceilings revealed during strip-out to create a contemporary interior.

Revisions from the original consent include a new stair and lift to meet the latest fire regulations; apartments replanned to satisfy national space and accessibility standards and an updated housing mix; greater retention of the existing structure to enable college use at podium levels with clear separation of uses; more active frontages at lower ground level and along the façade; mechanical ventilation for the new homes; a heritage-sensitive approach to replacing the east and west façades; a new stair and lift serving the podium bridge; and exploration of options for full public access to the rooftop.

Public realm improvements are also proposed, with re-landscaping around the Civic Centre to create welcoming, accessible spaces with new planting and seating, and refurbishment of the pond beneath the link connecting the tower and the Council House.

Councillor Mark Lowry, city centre champion, said: "I am so excited to get to this point. It's a huge undertaking, but we believe it is worth it. The Civic was symbolic of the city's post war regeneration and it is playing a leading part in our new vision for the city centre."

Planning officers will now scrutinise the roughly 1,000-page application and produce a report with their recommendations.

Current confirmed funding totals £47,486,361 from a range of public sources, including the Future High Streets Fund, corporate borrowing within the Council’s capital budget, Levelling Up Fund Round 3, and £18,386,278 from Homes England’s Brownfield Infrastructure and Land Fund. This will deliver the shell and core works, with City College Plymouth and a residential developer to fund the subsequent fit-out of the college and homes respectively.