Ambitious plans for £35m leisure complex

13 December 2007 13:56

Multi-million pound plans to improve Great Yarmouth will kick-start the regeneration of the seaside town, business leaders said today as details of the ambitious scheme were revealed.

The plans for a £35m leisure complex, which will transform the seafront and extend the Golden Mile, come as a host of other schemes are already underway in the resort.

Details of The Edge, boasting a casino, cinema, bowling alley, hotel, restaurants and bars were revealed yesterday and are on show at the town's Priory Centre, Priory Plain today until 8pm.

More than £700,000 has already been invested in the project by Pleasure Beach managing director Albert Jones, who came up with the idea to revitalise wasteland between the Pleasure Beach and the new outer harbour.

Mr Jones said today: “Around 1,000 new jobs will be created and it will house one of the country's leading casinos, a 10-screen cinema, a 22-lane bowling alley, a 180-room hotel and a combination of restaurants and bars.

“It's going to be a 52 weeks of the year business, attracting more visitors not just for us, but for everyone else in Yarmouth.

“And it will be next door to the outer harbour which will be bringing in thousands of tourists from overseas. It's looking good for Yarmouth which is a town on the up.”

There is already outline planning consent for a leisure complex on the former South Denes caravan park and Mr Jones said there had been substantial investment in its design.

The casino proposal is still awaiting details of a government rethink but borough council chiefs are confident proposals will be given the go-ahead soon for eight large casinos including one in Great Yarmouth.

The regeneration of Yarmouth is already underway with a £2m project to transform St George's Park progressing well with new pavements, new lighting, seating, planting, playground equipment and CCTV.

Interim works on transforming St George's Theatre have finished with a £60,000 programme focusing on the eastern end and upgrading fire safety, while a major refurbishment inside and out is still waiting in the wings with officials fine-tuning a major lottery and English Heritage bid expected to run into hundreds of thousands.

And Yarmouth's £45m outer harbour, where work started this summer, will be one of the biggest new port developments to go ahead in the UK in recent years.

Built next to the river port, it will stretch out into the North Sea providing deep water facilities capable of taking a new generation of much bigger vessels and opening up a wealth of trade possibilities.

Are you helping to regenerate the community where you live? Ring reporter David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk

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