Every year is a busy year for a Plymouth reporter and this year has been no exception. While also being the crime and court reporter for PlymouthLive – a full-time job of it’s own – I’ve been tackling other issues in the city, from the serious to the not-so-serious.
Over the past 365 days I’ve set out to try and capture some flavour of the city in words, but also in pictures, because as the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words.
Picture-wise, the year began with a spread of shots from the Reclaim the Night march through the city, the first in years, which saw staff from Trevi and supporters walk the streets to highlight growing concerns about violence against women and girls.
A few weeks later Plymouth became the focus of the entire country when hundreds and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes following the discovery of an unexploded World War Two bomb, courtesy of the Luftwaffe.
A policing operation in the city centre to target shoplifting raised the issue of shopworkers – particularly woman – who felt unsafe at work. Around the same time neighbourhood officers in the north of the city were targeting pubs and motorists to clamp down on drug use, with the help of a friendly sniffer dog.
Another collection of photographs is from when I was up all night covering the local elections – which saw Labour take full control of the city.
A retro games shop opened in Royal Parade and was an instant hit with young and old alike, even expanding a few months later and the Summer rocked with a series of huge concerts on the Hoe, featuring Tom Jones, Madness, Blondie, Bryan Adams and Sting.
Despite the drizzly weather the Plymouth Pride march in June was as well attended as it was colourful while the following month the General Election saw drama of its own as Johnny Mercer lost his majority and his Moor View seat to rival Fred Thomas.
Officers Police in Plymouth were joined by officers from Merseyside Police a couple of weeks later, targeted criminals involved in the drugs trade in the city.
The following month Plymouth, like a number of other cities in the UK, bore witness to the most appalling behaviour, with around 150 police officers called to Royal Parade to tackle protestors and counter-protesters in the wake of the Southport murders of three children. For several hours I was stood either in the middle or within the two opposing groups, grabbing images and video while dodging first cans and bottles, but later bricks pulled up from the pavement.
The violent disorder resulted in a number of arrests and charges, some of which made national headlines as a Plymouth judge raged at the “ignorant and stupid” offenders presented to him.
While some were keen to cause damage and harm to the city, others were in the process of building – literally in some cases. A new Home Bargains store created at a forlorn retail site in Plympton and the ever growing town of Sherford on the outskirts of Plymouth were just two examples.
Firestone Bay/Devil’s Point saw changes too, with repairs being carried out on the much-loved tidal pool, where even local cormorants enjoyed a moment’s rest and even a sunbathe.
Over a period of four years I’ve taken photos of the same part of Sherford as it is being built, from the muddy ground to the foundations of houses and roads, all the way to the walls, windows, roof and front doors. The images – the last taken this summer – highlight how the area had changed, even during lockdown, and will inevitably keep changing in the years to come as residents move in.
The city was visited by cruise ships and superyachts which brought a bit more sparkle to the waterfront. Thanks to an invitation from the Harbourmaster to join his team I was able to get exclusive shots up-close of one stunning boat as it headed off across Plymouth Sound after a few days stay.
In recent years residents across Plymouth have benefitted from a growing art collective, Plymouth Artists Together, whose members have painted stunning murals in places previously considered drab. A number of them came together to spruce up hoardings around a derelict site in the city centre and one sunny Saturday I decided to show off their efforts to a wider audience.
The bathing waters of Firestone Bay again drew my attention in November, not least because MP Luke Pollard had been battling for some time to get private sewage pipes redirected away from the certified bathing waters. His efforts came to fruition and water firms, working with Urban Splash’s Royal William Yard and South West Water found an agreeable solution to the problem.
And while it’s out of chronological order, I’ve left the Plymouth Pirates Weekend in May as my second to last set of images because it is undoubtedly one of my photographic highlights of the year.
The whole of the Barbican becomes a fun-filled, warm-hearted spectacle and so many people put in such a marvellous colourful effort to become pirates – but the fun kind rather than the blood-thirsty sort – and are happy to be photographed. You can almost hear the “arrrrs” in some of the pictures!
However, I end this photo-gallery of 2024 with another May set of photos, highlighting the Surfers Against Sewage protests – almost a tragically necessary annual affair now – because Plymouth’s waterfront, its maritime history, its links to the sea and its important marine environment should be something cherished, celebrated and protected.
The messages put up by protesters should be a warning to all Plymothians, and a reminder of what’s at stake in the future.
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