Your New Marina Centre

June 2022

Following ground-breaking in January 2021, construction work has progressed to schedule on our new state-of-the-art Marina Centre. The project is on track for the new centre to open in August 2022. To get a glimpse of the facilities on offer please watch the walk-through video to take below.

Details can also be found on the new Marina Centre website - this is run by Freedom Leisure, a not-for-profit charity that was selected to run the Marina Centre on behalf of the borough council. Freedom also operate the Phoenix Leisure Centre in Bradwell.

What is happening?

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is building an exciting new Marina Centre leisure centre on Great Yarmouth seafront. The Council's £26m investment is a major year-round boost to the resort and supports community health and well-being for everyone.

This exciting new destination attraction will benefit the seafront and whole borough, acting as a catalyst for potential further investment and an important community hub for the promotion of both indoor and outdoor activity.

The Council is committed to modernising and enhancing the health and fitness activities and opportunities available to people across the borough, in addition to supporting the vital visitor economy.

The project is funded by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, plus £2.5m secured from the Government's Getting Building Fund, via New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, £1.6m from Sport England, and £500,000 from Pooled Business Rates.

The old Marina Centre closed to the public on 31 October 2019, with demolition and levelling taking place between February and August 2020. The council appointed Morgan Sindall Construction as the main contractor in November 2020.

The new Marina Centre will open in August 2022. It will be operated by Freedom Leisure on behalf of the borough council.

See a Google map (opens new window) of the wider location.

What are the new facilities?

Accessible to all, this state-of-the-art complex is designed to welcome everyone, accommodating a wide variety of community, sports, and leisure activities supporting health and well-being.

The project team has worked with Sport England, Active Norfolk and consultants to ensure that the facilities meet requirements for sports development, disabled access, and the future needs of the local area.

They have also helped to develop a mix of facilities that are as sustainable and affordable as possible, in addition to reflecting the prime seafront location and the Council's ambition to create a truly year-round 'anchor attraction' on the Golden Mile.

The centre will have 200 car parking spaces next door - 100 more than before.

Wet activities

• Six-lane 25m pool with full disabled access, including two self-service lifts
• Pool is suitable for galas and competitions, with seating for 120 spectators
• Confidence water area and learner pool with moveable floor
• Leisure water with fun play features, including two water flumes and a splash pad
• Accessible changing village
• Communal changing area with both individual and family changing

Dry activities

• 100-station health and fitness gym with panoramic sea views
• Four-court multi-purpose sports hall
• Indoor climbing zone for all ages
• Accessible multi-use flexible community spaces that can be used for a wide range of activities and services
• Café with fabulous views to the beach
• Fully accessible changing areas

What are the timescales?

Following significant project development and positive public engagement, Full Council made a decision in June 2019 to allocate funding to demolish the old centre and build and open the new complex. Planning permission was granted in November 2019.

To pave the way for this exciting new beginning, the Council's demolition contractor cleared and levelled the site between February and August 2020, to enable construction to commence.

Following a formal procurement process, the Council appointed Morgan Sindall Construction as the main contractor for construction in November 2020, following a competitive multi-stage tender process. Piling of the foundations commenced in January 2021 and the steel structure will go up in spring, with cladding going on during summer and internal works and fit-out then getting underway. It is scheduled to open in August 2022.

What are the design principles?

Public feedback on the concept designs, gathered during two weeks of positive public engagement in March 2019, has helped to shape the exciting final designs. The designs reflect the prime seafront location and the Council's ambition to create a truly year-round 'anchor attraction', opening up access between Marine Parade and the promenade.

The architect's vision is for an environmentally-sustainable statement building and community space across two storeys that integrates well with the wider Golden Mile, a building that is visually exciting with improved sight lines and linkage to the seafront.

From the outside, the building will showcase the activities going on inside, with the gym and fitness studios visible from the street, and the climbing zone, leisure water and café visible from the beach. There will be a new café with beach views as well as new facilities to encourage new users such as leisure water and a climbing facility.

The interior design approach is to create an internal walkthrough from the main entrance on Marine Parade, leading through the heart of the building to the beach, whilst maintaining a visual link between the two. The walkthrough will end with the café facing out to the sea. The route will be partly lit by natural daylight and gives views between the floors, to and from the gym.

Three leisure water areas will be linked to provide easy access from the changing area. The leisure water areas will provide fun water features including a confidence water area, small-play area, and flume rides.

The complex will also benefit from 200 car parking spaces - 100 more than before.

Why is the Council building this new complex?

The Borough Council is committed to modernising and enhancing the health and fitness activities and opportunities available to people across the borough, in addition to supporting our visitor economy. The old Marina Centre was an ageing building that would have required significant investment to remain fully operational and meet customer expectations in the longer term.

To 'do nothing' would have represented a managed decline of the facility and service to the community, as the visitor experience would fall further behind customer expectations over time. Ultimately, this would have resulted in a large empty building in a prime site on the seafront.

While the Council initially investigated the possibility of refurbishing the old Marina Centre, with public consultation taking place during 2016, it is important to recognise that refurbishment and new build options both entail major investment. Further project development work identified that a new and improved centre on the same site, with a designed life of up to 40 years, is better value for money and a longer-term solution than refurbishing the old centre, or rebuilding in a different location on the seafront. It also reduces impact on the seafront during works.

Disabled access

Ensuring the complex is fully accessible for disabled people is a key consideration for both the public and the Council. The Council is committed to providing equality of opportunity for our residents and communities. A detailed equalities impact assessment was also completed to ensure that this was fully considered. The building has been designed to welcome everyone. Details of the building's accessibility features, including in the pool area, are available Q&A about the project.

Public engagement on concept designs

During March 2019 people were invited to share their feedback online or at pubic drop-in sessions. Members of the design team were available during these sessions to answer any questions about the concept designs.

A total of 294 completed responses were received, of which 73 per cent were from Marina Centre users. Public feedback has since been evaluated and has helped to shape the look and feel of the final design. On 16 May 2019, Full Council considered the feedback and the Council's responses, which have helped to shape the look and feel of a final design. These are available in full on the Water and Leisure Complex - Public feedback and Council responses page.

On 27 June 2019, Full Council agreed to start the formal planning process and agreed to allocate funding to demolish the existing old centre and build and open the new complex, subject to planning permission.

Where can I find out more?

A full Q&A about the project is available.