An ambitious triple-phased plan has been drawn up to create a hotel and spa on Plymouth’s landmark Drake’s Island.
The three-pronged approach would also see the creation of a heritage centre and educational facilities for use by the Ocean Conservation Trust, National Marine Aquarium and University of Plymouth, on the island, which sits in Plymouth Sound, close to the city’s waterfront.
But Morgan Phillips, managing director of Plymouth Sound Properties Ltd, which , said his vision has been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and the overall development may not be completed until 2027.
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He is now looking at making some changes to the planning consent for the plot but said he is keen for these to increase its accessibility to the public and prevent it becoming solely “an exclusive luxury resort”.
There is already consent for existing buildings, including a Grade-II listed Barracks and Ablutions block, earmarked to become a “high-quality” 43 bedroom hotel, and for the Casemates, listed as an Ancient Monument, to be turned into luxury suites.
This planning approval was secured by former owner Dan McCauley and his Rotolok engineering firm.
Mr Phillips, how intends to implement a phased approach which would see construction of the hotel and spa moved further down the list of priorities.
As Mr Phillips opens up the island to visitors for the first time, he has revealed that top of his to-do list is to install power and utilities and a new jetty at the island.
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The 55-year-old businessman, who calls himself the “custodian” of Drake’s Island, said that would allow for full accessibility and would form phase one of his new scheme.
Phase two would see development of the heritage and education facilities, with the hotel and spa coming in phase three.
Previously Mr Phillips has put the cost of the overall development of the island at £17million to £22million, including the undisclosed cost of buying the island, which had a guide price of £6million.
Mr Phillips said: “Detailed plans are beginning to take shape and we look forward to releasing more information in the coming months. We are currently estimating five to seven years for completion of all phases.”
He stressed: “A luxury hotel and spa are still very much part of our plans although we are seeking to make some variations to the current designs, particularly to preserve historical features.
“We’ve worked collaboratively with the Plymouth City Council planning team who have extended some of the conditions, for example in relation to environmental and wildlife assessments when nature gives us a short window of time to carefully conduct them.”
He added: “Our vision has always been to make the island accessible to everyone which is different to plans we purchased last summer which only granted limited access to what would have essentially been an exclusive luxury resort.
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“We’ve spent most of the past year consulting with local people and major stakeholders in the city to develop a vision of an inclusive island where people can come and explore, learn, relax, dine, stay and even get married.
“Therefore our plans now included a heritage centre and educational facilities for both the Ocean Conservation Trust/National Marine Aquarium and University of Plymouth.”
He said the Ocean Conservation Trust and NMA will be able to teach school children about marine conservation, including the study of seagrass, sea horses and the seal population.
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Meanwhile, university staff and students will be able to study the ocean, including marine energy research and testing.
And he said: “Rather than closing the island for a big reveal when everything is finished, we are phasing the project to enable the public and our partners access and see the progress we are making. The project will be tackled in three phases.”
But he added: “Like so many businesses and projects, we have been impacted by COVID-19. An example is the supply of utilities to the island. We don’t currently have water, electricity and gas supply.
“That is something we had in the plan to connect this year but we are simply unable to speak with some providers due to staff being on furlough.
“When we get around to the autumn and winter we will be at a stage when surveys, inspections and connections will be extremely difficult or unsafe so the reality is that’ll happen next year rather than this year.”