The first phase of the £30 million regeneration of Armada Way in Plymouth, complete with amphitheatre, will open next month.

Zone 1 from North Cross to Mayflower Street, which started last October, is almost finished and includes 10 extra trees lining each side of the performance space.

The project is moving at pace and within budget, city centre champion Cllr Mark Lowry (Lab, Southway) told the city council’s cabinet on Monday.

All three zones along the boulevard which leads to the Hoe are expected to be complete by June next year.

Cllr Lowry said the work proved to be “somewhat less of a challenge” than what had gone before.

Both public realm projects at Old Town Street and New George Street faced delays from changes in contractors and complicated ground investigations and the long-awaited Armada Way revamp was dogged by controversy.

Plymouth was thrown in the spotlight when the original regeneration began in March 2023 with the felling of more than 100 trees during the night.

The scheme was stopped after an outcry from residents and led to court hearings over whether the council had acted lawfully, which a judge later dismissed.

The revamp was put back on track last year at more than double its original cost, but with ambition and 169 new trees, a play area the size of five tennis courts, new walkways, cycle paths, seating and pop-up event spaces, It is one of the largest public realm projects in the country.

The council has an action plan to do better in engaging the public and carrying out major projects following a damning independent review over the drama.

Cllr Lowry said: “We do get caught up in trees for obvious reasons with this project and we wish it didn’t start where it did, but we are moving on at pace, there is a very professional team up there now and they have learnt from the hardship of doing Old Town Street and New George Street.

He continued:  “I’m pleased because a lot of those people (in the team) got a lot of kicking previously for what went before, even though in many respects it was not in fact their fault.”

The council’s regeneration and placemaking manager Martin Ivatt said there was a “total change” in how people responded to the scheme since the other streets had been finished.

The new trees on Armada Way include 30-to 40-year-old magnolias, field maple, ginkgo and elm which are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease and Persian ironwoods that change colour in autumn and have coloured bark.

There is 1,000 square metres of wildflower turf in the first zone and 15,000 herbaceous perennials will be in place once the whole thing is complete.

Paving will be granite and an ornamental rill will water the trees at night. The ‘rain gardens’ are part of a drainage system that stops flooding.

Temporary bridges connect walkways with shops so there is no interruption to them while work goes on underground.

Council leader Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) said a high-quality public realm project would do much for a city.