Brittany Ferries could go to new holiday destinations from Plymouth amid major council deal

• Watch Sam Blackledge's report.

Plymouth's ferry port could be expanded as the result of a major new deal between the city council, the port operator and Brittany Ferries.

The agreement is being hailed as a 'golden opportunity' to attract millions of pounds of investment, create new highly-paid jobs and increase the number of destinations for ferry and cruise passengers.

Newly-elected council leader Richard Bingley said: "We will try to get some funding for developing the port space here, to make it more commercial, to expand the amount of sea routes, and expand the cruise ship facilities.

"There are problems to fix too, we have got to fix the jetty area. Then we've got to look at the roads system - with increased volume, we need to have increased roads capacity. And we're building new hotels so that when we get more visitors, we can cope with demand.

"My hope is that by 2030 we get something like 6.5 million visitors a year in Plymouth. At the moment we are around 5 million.

"The challenge is getting people to visit and stay here, and invest in our economy."

The council has signed an agreement with Associated British Ports (ABP) and Brittany Ferries, which could bring in both government funding and private investment; create new jobs; and increase the range of foreign destinations which can be reached from Plymouth.

Tom Batchelor, ABP port manager, said: "This partnership really shows the potential that Millbay docks has. We absolutely have to work together, and this is one of the first steps."