Great Yarmouth Borough Council has approved an exciting commercially-realistic vision to enhance the historic town centre for the 21st century as a destination where more people choose to live, work, invest and spend their leisure time and money.
The Town Centre Masterplan illustrates how, through close partnership work, Great Yarmouth’s unique central spaces, and the links between them, can transform over the coming decade to strengthen the town centre as a commercial and cultural hub, meeting the needs and aspirations of communities and the challenges all town centres face.
Shaped through two public consultations, positive discussions with a wide range of partners and careful commercial testing, the core aim of the Masterplan is to build confidence, highlight assets and opportunities, and secure investment, by setting out a clear, coherent, compelling vision, which is led by the borough council and backed by the community and key partners.
While the borough council will continue to take the lead, close partnership working is needed to bring the Masterplan to life, and the borough council is now set to bring together key players on a Partnership Board to guide the regeneration activities and monitor plans and progress.
The Masterplan is the longer term element of the borough council’s Town Centre Initiative to boost the town centre, a key public priority, which has already delivered enhanced town centre events, better marketing, visual and environmental improvements, plus a shopfront improvement grant scheme.
The six key Masterplan projects are:
- Strengthening the Heart of the Town Centre By 2025, the heart of the town centre – around the junction of King Street and Regent Road – has regained its vitality with a range of new occupiers and operators including a leisure-based anchor (for example a cinema), cafes, bars and restaurants.
- Improving the market and Market Place By 2025, trade and custom in the 6- & 2-day markets is greatly improved, supported by new stalls and service facilities and by the newly-paved Market Place. Together with the improved frontages this has created a beautiful setting for an expanded programme of events.
- Transforming the Conge By 2025, The Conge is transformed, with new mixed-use development lining both sides of the lower half of the street, and the next phase ready for delivery connecting it to the renewed Market Place.
- Creating a sense of arrival at the town centre By 2025, the setting of Fullers Hill, Acle New Road, the roundabout, train station and quayside creates a new sense of arrival at this key junction of road, rail and water, linked to the new development on The Conge.
- Unlocking the potential of Hall Plain By 2025, the council has adopted guidance to ensure existing buildings are conserved and developed appropriately. With the 3rd river crossing near completion, there is significant commercial interest in refurbishment and new development.
- Linking it all together By 2025, wayfinding is improved across the town through investemnt in key parts of the network of Rows and streets, with footfall significantly increased and commercial vacancies significantly reduced.
During the public consultation in January on the draft Masterplan, the council received more than 150 individual responses, with about 100 people attending workshops. Improvements made as a result of feedback include bringing forward the timetable of works for Hall Plain, expanding the station gateway project to include all gateways into the town centre and expanding the Masterplan area to include Great Yarmouth Minster.
In a joint statement, the council’s political group leaders, Cllr Graham Plant, Cllr Kay Grey, Cllr Trevor Wainwright and Cllr Adrian Myers, said: “Our vision for Great Yarmouth town centre is that, by 2025, new investment and employment in the town centre is generating renewed pride in Great Yarmouth and building confidence for the future.
“The public tell us that boosting the town centre is a top priority and we are responding. The Masterplan represents a powerful statement of intent from the borough council and community to make a positive change, to work together and make a compelling case for investment, setting out commercially-realistic yet flexible ambitions, and highlighting the unique features that make our town centre so unique and valuable.
“This exciting high-level vision has been shaped collaboratively, involving a wide range of individuals and organisations, and this approach and commitment will need to continue as we now focus on progressing the Masterplan together. These are big, challenging projects requiring significant investment and joint working, but we know they are deliverable and we urge everyone to remain positive and patient while work continues ‘behind the scenes’.”
The Masterplan can be read in full here
