Plymouth Waterfront Partnership

22/10/2026

RWY Royal William Yard’s Artober Exhibition opens on Friday 23rd October at Melville Corner.

For nine days it brings together 21 artists and makers, including the five winners of the Yard’s first Paint Out. Entry is free, and the exhibition is open daily from 11am – 4pm until Sunday 1st November. The South West Coast Path Photographer of the Year Exhibition runs alongside it until Thursday 29th October.

The exhibition is the finale of Artober – the Yard’s third month-long contemporary art festival – which has already brought the Affordable Art Market, Plymouth Art Weekender, Path’s Hope Begins With A Home community exhibition, art workshops, and the Paint Out to the waterfront this month.

The five winners of the Paint Out, held at the beginning of October, will take their place in the exhibition. Artists had four hours to capture the Yard from designated spots, and the winning pieces cover a variety of styles and techniques. Sebastian Soper took the overall prize, with Ronan Lear, David Fernandez Giron, Beck Curtis and Zi Jie Chan completing the top five.

Among the artists showing their work at the Artober Exhibition are The Conscious Sisters CIC, run by Plymouth sisters Karen and Fiona Evans, who rework historic knitted fishermen’s jumpers to explore contemporary fishing issues. They are joined by the Yard’s own artist in residence, Sally Holt, known for her animal portraits in charcoal and on canvas. And textile designer Ewa Morawska, whose mixed-media collages and hangings draw on weathered surfaces and objects found on the shoreline.

The coast and moor run through much of the exhibition. Kate Bosence brings energetic, often abstract paintings and prints of Dartmoor and the coast. She’s joined by Gary Winters, who shares her Dartington studio and works across painting, print and collage. Donna Francesca paints atmospheric coastal scenes in oil, ash and wax, and Amy Teague uses a palette knife for her seascapes and landscapes. Alongside them are James Lewis’ seascapes, Elaine Ford’s paintings of land and sea, Erica Ankers’ semi-abstract paintings capturing the light and atmosphere of places, and Grace Beswick’s bold, nature-inspired prints.

Elsewhere, Martin Bush shows his bold, abstract impressionist paintings, Amber Jane Stevens explores feminine identity in contemporary painting, and former architect and designer Graham Steen brings his intricate drawings and paintings to the Yard. Former textile designer Polly Plouviez shows colour-drenched paintings, and digital pop artist Bored Claude completes the line-up.

From Friday 23rd – Thursday 29th October, 11am – 4pm, the Melville Building also hosts the South West Coast Path Photographer of the Year Exhibition. Its 23 large-scale images from the annual competition cover the 630-mile trail across Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, spotlighting the impact of climate change on the coastline alongside its landscapes and wildlife. They include ‘Falling Fog’, the overall winning image, taken at West Bay in Dorset. The exhibition was on display at Paddington Station before travelling to Plymouth.

Families visiting Royal William Yard can also take part in:

• Children’s Pumpkin Carving, Natural Source, Arcade (Saturday 31st October, 3 – 3.45pm and 4 – 4.45pm)
• Free colouring for children and adults continues through October at DockSide, Pebble and the Pop-up Shop, with a drop-in session every Saturday morning at DockSide Coffee Bar

21/10/2026

Congratulations Tinside Lido - Plymouth Active for being named finalists in the International Tourism Award, Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award, and Business Events Venue of the Year categories at the 2026 Devon Tourism Awards. 🎉

We're delighted to be named finalists in the International Tourism Award, Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award, and Business Events Venue of the Year categories at the 2026 Devon Tourism Awards.

From its iconic Art Deco heritage and breathtaking setting overlooking Plymouth Sound to its role as a destination for leisure, wellbeing, community connection and events, Tinside Lido continues to offer something truly special for residents and visitors alike.

To be recognised across three categories is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the passion and dedication of our team. We look forward to celebrating alongside our fellow finalists at the awards ceremony this December.

Congratulations and best of luck to everyone shortlisted!

21/10/2026

Employer, Education and Engagement workshop

The Connect to Work – Plymouth team are pleased to invite you to the next in our series of Employer Education and Engagement sessions, this time with Improving Lives Plymouth.

Improving Lives Plymouth is a health and wellbeing charity that has been supporting people across Plymouth since 1907. One of their key areas of work is supporting unpaid carers, helping them to access information, advice, and opportunities that improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

Delivered by Nicolle Ormston, Community and Connection Manager at Improving Lives Plymouth, during this session we will explore the importance of identifying as an unpaid carer, the support available to both carers and employers, and the rights carers have within the workplace. We will also discuss practical ways employers can create carer-friendly workplaces and how accessing the right support can help carers balance their caring responsibilities with employment.

The next session takes place on Thursday 5 November. Details here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/triple-e-sessions-employer-education-engagement-tickets-2003593106918

21/10/2026

20/10/2026

Know a Local Hero?! 🏆 Nominate Them for the Plymouth Waterfront Community Hero Award who will get a chance to switch on our Barbican Christmas lights ✨✨✨

The award is a way to recognise and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of individuals or organisations that help to make a difference in the Plymouth community.

The winner will join the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor, Santa and the Grinch on stage at the Barbican Christmas Lights Switch-On on Saturday 14 November.

Nominations are open until Friday 6 November and can be made using the link on Visit Plymouth website (see below 👇)

20/10/2026

20/10/2026

⛴️ Good morning to the crew and passengers of the cruise ship MS Amera visiting Plymouth today

19/10/2026

Another term for Plymouth Waterfront BID following strong ‘YES’ vote in BID4: A Place for Life.

Plymouth Waterfront businesses have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a fourth term of the Business Improvement District (BID) with a resounding YES vote for another five years of delivery. This means that at least £6.2 million will now be invested in events, projects and services in the Waterfront, initiatives that the businesses themselves have prioritised.

81 percent of all businesses and organisations within Plymouth’s Waterfront that took part in the month-long postal ballot voted ‘yes’. As well as the yes vote, Waterfront BID4 met the second ballot test of achieving 83 per cent of the total rateable value of all the votes cast.

The ballot results demonstrate that despite the challenging economic climate, the Waterfront BID is providing value for money and is well respected by the area’s business community.

Securing another five-year term will allow the BID to continue to deliver a range of events, projects and services, including contributing toward the city’s marketing, hosting and enabling events to ensure Plymouth remains vibrant and projects to make the area safer, more accessible, cleaner and more attractive as a place to live, work and invest.

The Plymouth Waterfront Partnership set out its vision and fifty actions for the area in a detailed plan released in September, titled BID4: A Place for Life.

Following publication, 533 business owners and managers working across Plymouth’s diverse range of Waterfront-based organisations were invited to vote on whether they wanted the BID to continue for a fourth term. At the request of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, the ballot was commissioned by Plymouth City Council and conducted independently by London-based Civica.

The Waterfront BID has been operating since 2012 when businesses first voted to invest collectively in the scheme. Plymouth Waterfront Partnership operates the BID as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and is overseen by a Board of Directors who are business leaders representing organisations across the Waterfront area, all of whom give their time voluntarily.

Nick Buckland OBE, Chair of the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership said,

‘It’s a fantastic result which again demonstrates that businesses have recognised the immense value of the Waterfront BID and are happy to continue contributing funds to support the Waterfront projects that the businesses identified as part of the consultation process. We want to thank all of those who have supported us and pledged to further contribute their time, funds and expertise towards delivering our vision of Plymouth’s Waterfront as an exceptional place for people to live, work and visit, where an outstanding quality of life is enjoyed by everyone.”

Sarah Gibson, Chief Executive and Plymouth Waterfront Manager said,

“A big thank you to everyone who took time to shape the plan and then vote for the plan, it’s our most ambitious yet and is designed to build on our successes of the past fifteen years. We’ll now work with partners through the winter months to begin preparing to launch delivery of BID4: A Place for Life from April next year, we can’t wait to get started. If businesses outside of the BID area want to get involved in supporting Plymouth’s Waterfront area, reach out to us to find out how via our website”

The new five-year term will begin on 1st April 2027. The BID will then deliver the projects outlined in the business plan under three integrated themes of Planet, People and Place, through actions under the banners of Celebrating Our Vitality, Moving People Around, Shaping Our Place and Supporting Each Other.

18/10/2026

Steel Brew Sunday night music sessions from 3-5 pm (free entry) this Sunday 18th October showcasing local talent. This time, they welcome The Other Woman to the Yard.