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Historically, Plymouth was formed around the small fishing village of Sutton, near the present Barbican area of the city. The most significant influence upon urban development, however, was the establishment of the Royal Dockyard on the shores of the Tamar in the late seventeenth century and the development of Devonport town in the early nineteenth century. Naval expansion resulted in the rapid growth of the three towns of Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century.

In 1914, the three towns officially coalesced into one settlement. Most available spaces were built upon and several of the creeks, which formally penetrated deep into the city, were reclaimed for urban uses including recreation.

Between 1914 and 1945, the city grew northwards at a less rapid rate although farmland was bought into use for recreational purposes, such as at Central Park. Employment was still concentrated around the Dockyard, although the inter-war years saw Plymouth become a major entertainment and shopping centre serving the whole of Devon and Cornwall.

The International Liner trade was also continuing to grow with substantial numbers of passengers passing through the port.

Pre-1940 industry was predominantly concentrated in the Dockyards. however a number of industries such as the gasworks, the railways and tramways and a number of small chemical works had begun to develop in the 19th century and continued into the 20th century.

Before the Second World War, Plymouth was an area of concentrated settlement covering less than half that of the current city area. during the war there were 59 bombing raids that singled out areas such as the gas and electric works. he bombing destroyed large areas of the city providing the opportunity to re-build in a modern structured way (the current city centre).

The city's town centre and suburbs have grown around an abundant and wide range of land uses. The industrial history and current industry for Plymouth includes a number of gasworks, shipbuilding and breaking, chemical manufacture, MoD depots and premises, railway works, petrol stations and fuel distribution and storage areas to name but a few. The gas plant at Pomphlett built in 1967 was demolished during the late 1980s along with the electric power station across the river. The gasworks at Cattedown were demolished and the site remediated during the 1990s, for use as an entertainment complex.

There is a trend towards less manufacturing industries in Plymouth and there are a growing number of service providers in the city. The move by the Government towards more Brownfield redevelopment has resulted in a number of areas within the city being remediated and redeveloped through the planning process.

Site investigation reports that have been undertaken under the guises of other land quality controls, such as planning are held within various Local Authority departments. Any information that is deemed relevant under the Part IIA regime will be used in the implementation of this strategy and held on our GIS (Geographical Information Systems) software.

The historic need to dispose of municipal and industrial wastes has given rise to a large number of waste disposal sites containing a variety of wastes throughout the city. Many of these sites were operated and closed prior to the establishment of legislation specifically controlling and licensing such activities in 1974. Location and contamination from these sites will be investigated under Part IIA.

Further work will be carried out under Part IIA to establish additional contaminated sites in the city based on their current and historic use and their associated risks.

The current land use for Plymouth is typical of any urban area with a mixture of residential, industrial, commercial and green space. 22.4% of the city's land area is covered by environment designations (9 SSSIs, 9 Local Nature Reserves and 9 Community Woodlands). There are 107,233 households with a population of 253,200 within the city boundaries of which 63.7% is owner occupied, 23.2% is council/housing association and 12.8% is privately rented. Between 1995 and 1999 53.8% of new homes built were sited on previously developed land. There are now 157 vacant/derelict sites and buildings in the city.