Redevelopment of Great Yarmouth’s 40-year-old Marina Centre is scheduled to start on Monday, February 3, with demolition crews moving in to clear and prepare the seafront site for construction of an exciting new state-of-the-art Water and Leisure Complex.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s once-in-a-generation £26m investment will be a major year-round boost to the economy and community for decades to come, acting as a catalyst for potential further investment, whilst supporting health and well-being across the borough.
The new Marina Centre will create a truly year-round anchor attraction on the Golden Mile, including a six-lane 25m pool with full disabled access and suitable for competitions and galas, a confidence water area and learner pool with moveable floor, leisure water with fun play features, two water flumes and a splash pad.
The complex will also be equipped with a health suite with sauna, steam and spa, 100-station health and fitness gym with views to the sea, four-court multi-purpose sports hall, fitness and spin studios, indoor climbing zone for all ages, and a café with fabulous views to the beach.
To pave the way for this exciting new beginning, the council’s demolition contractor McFletch is scheduled to move onto site on Monday. After two weeks of site set-up, installation of hoardings and mobilisation activity, the site is scheduled to be levelled within three months to enable construction to commence in late spring. Material from the old centre will be re-used as part of the groundworks. The new complex is scheduled to open during summer 2021.
During the works, plans are in place to minimise any temporary impact on the seafront, which is already significantly reduced as the new centre is being built on the site of the old one. In addition, the wooden hoardings along the whole Marine Parade frontage will be decorated with a beautiful artwork telling the story of the redevelopment project and the seafront itself, including lovely photos from across the decades.
Cllr Carl Smith and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, leaders of the main political groups, said: “Following significant project development, the start of on-site works is hugely exciting as the council continues to drive forward this once-in-a-generation investment for the borough. The impressive new Marina Centre will be a game-charger, acting as both a catalyst for potential further investment and an important hub to support community health, well-being and fitness.
“The old Marina Centre was great in its day but has come to the end of its life, and its redevelopment is an exciting new beginning as part of our regeneration ambitions for the seafront and wider borough. This is about the future: the sort of facility we want our children and grandchildren to have and enjoy.
“Over the coming months, we’re sure that residents and visitors will watch with interest as the site is carefully levelled and cleared, opening up long-hidden views, and the new state-of-the-art landmark facility takes shape, benefitting the seafront and whole borough for up to 40 years.”
For more information about the project, including a Q&A, artist’s impressions and walk-through video, please visit www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/
Construction of an exciting new stake park at Cobholm is pushing ahead this week – the outcome of close working over several years between Great Yarmouth Borough Council, local young people and the skating community.
The new skate park, next to the multi-use games area off Mill Road, will replace a popular but outdated wooden one in the same location, providing a modern, exciting and upgraded facility to support involvement in physical activity. It will be made of reinforced concrete, incorporating ramps and grind rails set into a polished surface.
The funding, which comes from the council and housing developer contributions, was agreed following a request to councillors by young people from youth charity MAP and the local skating community, with support provided by the council’s Neighbourhoods and Communities Team.
Norfolk’s largest coastal resort is running an eye-catching social media campaign over Easter to remind would-be tourists to stay away and safe at home to help protect the NHS and save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.
While the Easter bank holiday weekend normally marks the start of Great Yarmouth’s season, the message this year from the borough council and tourism businesses is that the resort is closed to visitors, with attractions, seafront car parks and holiday parks shut to the public as part of national social distancing measures.
The campaign will run over the four days and is aimed at those who might be tempted to break the restrictions by making unnecessary journeys to Great Yarmouth, Gorleston-on-Sea, or the local village resorts, and potentially congregating on the seafronts and beaches.
The project to save Great Yarmouth’s unique Winter Gardens has been successfully shortlisted to apply to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with the borough council now working closely with a preferred operator to develop the funding application.
The Grade II*-listed at-risk landmark, which has dominated the famous Golden Mile since 1904, is a heritage gem of national significance as the UK’s last surviving Victorian seaside cast iron and glass winter gardens.
Following significant and ongoing project redevelopment, Great Yarmouth Borough Council submitted a successful Expression of Interest to the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Horizons Awards scheme and is through the initial stage of the process.
Updated unique designs have been revealed for the redevelopment of Great Yarmouth’s Market Place, a key part of Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s exciting vision to regenerate the town centre.
The investment will see the market facilities significantly improved in the heart of the Market Place, with new units under anarchitecturally-striking canopy, designed to ensure the market is brighter, more inviting and compliments the historic setting.
This updated design has been shaped over the last 18 months, through public engagement around the initial ideas and original design, followed by individual detailed conversations with the six-day market traders.
Great Yarmouth’s recently-restored historic Venetian Waterways have gone on to win two more awards only months after opening to the public.
The £2.7m renovation was led by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, in partnership with Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and with key support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The main works were completed between June 2018 and August 2019 by community groups, volunteers and the council’s main contractor Blakedown Landscapes.
The restoration included refurbishing the Boating Lake and Island Café as well as the Venetian bridges and thatched weather shelters and faithfully restoring the planting scheme. After the successful opening of the Waterways site at Easter, the Boating Lake itself and the Café Island also reopened in August with Community Access Trust managing the concession.