City investment 'hits £1bn mark'

Work is under way in Plymouth for a £170m shopping centre

Business leaders in Plymouth say the city has now caught up with Exeter in terms of the amount of inward investment it is attracting.

It is estimated there is currently about £1bn worth of building ongoing or in the pipeline in each city.

The new figures have been compiled by the Devon and Cornwall Business Council (DCBC).

The figures show Plymouth's current success appears to be based on residential construction.

'Genuine opportunities'

About 12 months ago DCBC conducted a similar exercise and found there was construction going on in Exeter to the value of about £1bn.

At that time there was only £500m worth of construction ongoing or planned in Plymouth.

Current building projects in Plymouth include the multi-million pound redevelopment of Plymouth's Drake Circus.

When the scheme is complete in 2006 it will consist of 45 new shops, cafes and restaurants.

DCBC chairman Tim Jones, says what is needed now is more balanced investment .

He said: "It's fine having retail investment and it's fine having residential development. All that will have financial spin-offs.

"But now we need to try and balance that with some growth in the business sector.

"We need to see new investment in genuine employment opportunities factories and that sort of thing.

"Plymouth lags far behind in terms of the sub-regional economy, well behind Exeter, and that's the gap we've really got to make up now."