 ‘Sea for Yourself’ Programme Will Bring Plymouth’s Marine Heritage to Life
More than £1.6 million has been awarded to Plymouth to create a major four-year cultural programme designed to reconnect the people of the city with the ocean.
Plymouth Culture has been awarded the funding in partnership with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park to establish the programme, called ‘Sea for Yourself’.
It will aim to bring together the city’s cultural and natural assets to inspire meaningful change and create opportunities for people to interact with the city’s beautiful marine environment.
The funding includes £751,000 from Arts Council England and £860,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and will enable the development and delivery of the four-year programme of creative digital commissions designed to reconnect residents to the ocean.
 New boat festival to launch in Plymouth in 2025
A new boat show is set to launch in Plymouth in 2025 with Plymouth Boat Fest being held at Plymouth Yacht Haven on Saturday 21st June.
Yacht Havens is set to host the highly anticipated Plymouth Boat Fest on 21st June 2025 at Plymouth Yacht Haven, bringing together maritime enthusiasts, families, and the local community for a day of nautical fun and exploration, as well as showcasing the region’s maritime heritage and marine services.
The festival will feature a variety of boats, yachts, innovative watercraft, and traditional vessels. Attendees will have the opportunity to board the vessels, meet industry experts, and learn about the latest advancements in boat technology and marine services.
PASD Freeport secures £25 million infrastructure investment
Plymouth and South Devon Freeport has successfully drawn down the full £25 million from the Government for key infrastructure projects which will unlock growth and investment opportunities in the Freeport area.
Initiated by the previous Government, and with full backing provided by the new administration, the UK Freeports programme is designed to boost economic activity, jobs and innovation in areas that, historically, have been under funded.
As part of a package of measures to drive growth, £25 million seed capital funding was allocated to each English Freeport to address infrastructure gaps in Freeport locations and create the right physical conditions to encourage private sector investment.
Plymouth and South Devon Freeport has successfully been awarded its full £25 million from Government, with seed capital funded projects either already underway or due to start soon.
Partnership to get Plymouth ready for massive Government investment
A city-wide partnership has been established, uniting Plymouth City Council, Babcock International Group (Babcock) and the Royal Navy, to ensure Plymouth has what it needs to support the future growth of the city.
The partners will work together to ensure that Plymouth has the right infrastructure in place to enable critical programmes delivered at Devonport that support the UK’s Submarine and Surface Fleet. Babcock’s Devonport facility, where major naval nuclear infrastructure investments are already underway are developing state-of-the-art facilities, to meet the evolving needs and availability of the UK’s Submarine Fleet.
Babcock’s Devonport facility needs to attract an estimated 5,500 employees over the next ten years, just to sustain its core defence workforce, and a further 2,000 construction workers to sustain delivery of the infrastructure contracts at the busy site.
New year new start for Civic
Contractors will be heading into the Civic Centre this week as work re-starts on this important building.
The Council has appointed Gwella Contracting Services to complete the internal strip out work as part of the project to create a new skills hub for City College Plymouth.
Levelling Up Funding has now been confirmed following the Autumn budget which will allow the next important stages of the project to progress.
MUKSW partner with 7 SW skills providers and win funding to deliver SW Skills, Careers and Diversity program
Maritime UK South West has been awarded £85,000 from the Department of Transport as part of an initiative to grow economies in coastal areas around the UK.
The project creates a partnership between 4 further education colleges: Petroc (N Devon), Bournemouth and Poole College, South Devon College and City College Plymouth who will deliver a series of events to support businesses and also to help promote careers in maritime to young people across the region.
 Business Spotlight: Horizon Counselling Services
Invest Plymouth recently recently visited Alan Stokes, Director and Founder of Horizon Counselling Services. Horizon Counselling Services offers professional mental health support through therapies like Counselling, CBT, and relationship therapy, with quick access to appointments. They also provide bespoke business coaching to enhance workplace well-being, boosting productivity and employee engagement.
Partner with University of Plymouth Students for Placement Opportunities
Have you thought about offering year in industry placements or summer internships? University of Plymouth have lots of keen students in various Business subjects such as Marketing, Finance, Economics, Business Management, HR, Logistics and Digital Media, who are actively seeking placement roles in the Plymouth area, ready to start next summer. Hosting a placement could bring in fresh ideas to your business, provide a graduate pipeline or help to solve temporary staffing issues.
Plymouth Culture Workshops
If you’re a creative or part of a cultural organisation, join Plymouth Culture on a free workshop to unlock your income generation potential.
Plymouth Culture invites you to join two unique workshops designed and delivered by Micronomy, to create a springboard for connecting people, businesses, and ideas to flourish through the lens of income generation.
Whether you're an artists, a creative freelancer or part of an organisation, these sessions will inspire fresh thinking and help you unlock new opportunities for growth and sustainability.
 Enterprise Nation Lunch and Learn – How to overcome your blocks and achieve your goals in 2025
This time of year is great for planning, but have you ever found that things get in the way despite your best plans? A lack of resources and support? Imposter syndrome?
In this webinar, you understand the common obstacles to your success and create a strategy for achieving your biggest goals in 2025 and beyond!
Date: 13th January 2025 (Online)
Time: 12:00 – 12:30
Net Zero and Climate Change: Getting Started as Individuals and Enterprises Workshop
Are you a professional, policymaker, student, or simply someone who wants to find out more about why we need to reach net zero carbon emissions? Join this FREE online course on the 15th January for a free 3 hour online workshop providing an overview of greenhouse gas emissions and their impact, strategies for achieving net zero carbon emissions and interactive activities and quizzes to gain insights into how to reduce your carbon footprint!
Date: 15th January 2025 (Online)
Time: 09:30 – 12:30
On Course South West open day
Our team are waiting to meet you! Find your perfect course to upskill and improve job opportunities.
Free parking available for two hours at Mutley Barracks Car Park.
Date: 18th January, Hyde Park House
Time: 10:30am to 1pm
Business Info Point - Leveraging AI for Small Business Success
This FREE online session will introduce you to the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can transform your small business. You’ll learn about various AI applications, such as understanding speech, writing content, suggesting products online, and even controlling driverless cars.
Date: 23rd January 2025 (Online)
Time: 13:00 – 15:00
Business Info Point - Using Canva for your Marketing
A hands-on, FREE interactive session, showing you how to use Canva.
During this hands-on, interactive session, you will learn how to use Canva. A user-friendly graphic design tool that makes creating custom graphics easy whether using your phone, desktop, or laptop.
Date: 28 January, 2025 (Online)
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Business Builder Grants Are Still Available! There’s still time to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to grow your business. Creative Enterprise (Creative UK) Business Builder Grants are designed to help you collaborate with expert consultants and achieve your goals faster. The grants can be used to subsidise support for:
- Marketing strategy
- Monetisation of IP
- International expansion
- And much more!
SWIG Finance Business Loans for the South & West Country
SWIG Finance is an award-winning ethical finance provider that provides flexible loans and support to start-ups and small businesses with growth aspirations.
Do you need to invest in equipment or tech? SWIG Finance have dedicated funds of up to £250k for new and established businesses looking to invest in productivity.
AI solutions to develop AI competencies in key sectors
UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £2 million for Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to support AI upskilling in BridgeAI key sectors. This funding is from Innovate UK.
Closes: Wednesday 29 January 2025 at 11am.
Find a grant
Find a grant is a service that allows you to search government grants.
You can use this service to:
- access government grant funding
- search and filter to find a grant that matches your needs
- find out if you are eligible to apply for a grant
- find out how to apply for a grant
 Big Creative UK Summit: Investment in Cornwall & Devon!
Join the Creative UK team in Plymouth for a celebration of the Create Growth Programme and a showcase of the region's Creative Industries.
The day will consist of bold conversations with industry-leading speakers, dynamic pitching, an exhibition of the creative companies supported by Creative UK, and insightful networking.
Register for your free ticket today. Spaces are limited so early registration is advised.
Date: 7th February 2025
Time: 9:30am-6pm
University of Plymouth Babbage Building Tour
Explore the new state-of-the-art facilities in the newly refurbished Babbage Building. This £63m investment brings STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) subjects together to support academic collaboration and innovation through laboratories which include:
- Autonomous Systems Testing
- Composites Engineering
- Energy and Sustainability
- Heavy Structures and Geotechnics
- Immersive Visualisation Suite
- Materials Analysis and Characterisation
- Nanomaterial and Devices
Take a tours of these labs and the specialist equipment available for local businesses and organisations.
Date: 15th January 2025
Time: 14:00 – 16:30
MUKSW Clean Maritime drop in Session
An online peer to peer session where those involved in all aspects of clean maritime can dial in, share or pitch ideas and technologies, ask questions and meet there peers. Just keep it clean.
Date: 27th January 2025 (Online)
Time: 11:00 – 12:30
Climate Mingle
The first Climate Mingle of 2025 will be at Theatre Royal Plymouth's production and learning centre, TR2. The first speaker will be Theatre Royal themselves, sharing their Net Zero journey and speaking on how recent productions have sourced local and waste materials.
Plus, there will be a chance for nibbles and networking, with more speakers to be announced.
Date: 30th January 2025
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Location: TR2, 12 Neptune Park, Cattedown, Plymouth, PL4 OSJ
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