The chief executive of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership has announced she is quitting her "dream job" after just 14 months in the post and the day after the Business Improvement District was renewed for another five years.
Diane Mansell, who arrived in Britain’s Ocean City from land-locked Birmingham in September 2020, said she is stepping down due to family circumstances.
Ms Mansell, who took over after Sarah Gibson moved on after 10 years, previously managed the Soho Road BID in Birmingham. But she announced her departure just hours after Plymouth businesses voted to renew Plymouth Waterfront Partnership’s Business Improvement District for another five years and raise £1.883m in levy cash.
Ms Mansell will, however, continue to work with the Waterfront BID until the end of the year, and recruitment plans to replace the chief executive will be announced in due course.
During her time in charge Plymouth Waterfront Partnership BID became one of only 20 UK BIDs to gain a top accreditation, having successfully achieved accreditation from both British BIDs, joining 19 others from around the country, and The BID Foundation.
Ms Mansell said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the Waterfront businesses in Plymouth, and I am delighted to have played a part in PWP BID being voted through for its third term.
“Unfortunately due to family circumstances I now need to relocate back to the Midlands and this means having to resign from my dream job and leaving a city which has been my home for the past year.
“I’m incredibly passionate and proud about the work that PWP has done under my leadership and will continue to be an avid supporter of Plymouth’s incredible Waterfront, albeit from afar.”
The Waterfront BID has just been given a remit to run until March 2027 with a business plan in place to support businesses by encouraging increased footfall and economic prosperity, making continued improvements to the public realm and supporting wider city initiatives such as the new Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.
PWP, a not-for-profit organisation, supports about 900 businesses along the city’s waterfront – from Royal William Yard to Mount Batten, including the Barbican, Queen Anne’s Battery and Plymouth Hoe.
The business plan envisages £1,883,430 being raised from a levy on businesses and supplemented with another £100,000 from other sources. It means events such as Plymouth Pirates Weekend, Seafood and Harbour Festival and the Barbican’s Christmas Extravaganza and Lights Switch-on will continue.
Nick Buckland, chair of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, said: “Diane has been an incredible asset to PWP, and has set in motion a plan that will transform the waterfront over the next five years. The work that Diane has put in over an incredibly difficult period to support PWP businesses recovering from the pandemic has been phenomenal. I’d like to thank Diane personally and on behalf of the board for her hard work and dedication and wish her well for the future. I will miss working with her.”
