Further Investment for Great Yarmouth
It is absolutely fantastic to hear that Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) has secured an offer of £13.7m investment from the Conservative Government’s Future High Streets Fund, which will help towards the GYBC's vision to transform and revive Great Yarmouth town centre as a vibrant economic, cultural and community hub.
Significant Government funding is crucial to achieving transformative change for our town centre, as part of GYBC's regeneration vision for the whole borough. To have secured an offer of nearly 70% of the money we asked for from this competitive national pot is a huge achievement. GYBC deliberately made their vision scalable for different outcomes and the council has already fully-funded the crucial Market Place redevelopment, with phase one of construction due to start in 2021.
With many more potential projects in the pipeline, including the proposed Learning Hub in the former Palmers/Beales store, Great Yarmouth is now beginning to witness a purge on investment into the town. This has all been with the assistance and support of Great Yarmouth's Conservative MP, Mr Brandon Lewis, banging the drum for us in Parliament.
The Learning Hub would see a relocated library sharing space with students on undergraduate courses affiliated with the University of Suffolk, and potentially the University of East Anglia, as well as East Coast College and East Norfolk Sixth Form College as partners. This will offer more ways and opportunities for people of all ages to take their learning and job prospects to the next stage, plus increasing the footfall in the town centre which is critical for local businesses.
This is all part of an ambitious vision set out by Great Yarmouth Borough Council as it bids for a £25m Town Deal - set to deliver at least £60m in investment.
Funding is also being sought for these further additional projects:
- A new operations and maintenance centre with business incubator units at South Denes, unlocking and enabling further investment by the energy sector and providing a local base for energy sector start-ups, relocations and growing businesses.
- Restoration and sustainable repurposing of a number of historic buildings, including the Winter Gardens and restoration and adaptation of the Ice House as a National Centre for Arts and Circus.
- Enhancements to the railway station gateway and North Quay as well as improved pedestrian and cycle links between the town centre and seafront, along with enhanced public Wi-Fi infrastructure.
I am proud to see all this work, which has continued behind the scenes while still experiencing a global pandemic, giving positive results for residents and businesses of Great Yarmouth.
