Artwork to decorate hoardings of Marina Centre redevelopment site in Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth Borough Council's £26m investment in a new Marina Centre 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. 

With the site levelled and the wooden hoardings now in place, the council is decorating the Marine Parade road side frontage with an attractive and engaging artwork wrap stretching 185 metres along the famous Golden Mile.

Incorporating fabulous old photos from across the decades and fun facts, the wrap is designed as a timeline illustrating Great Yarmouth's enduring heritage as the resort of golden sands and memories, as well as showcasing the exciting things people can do and see today.

The amazing display will take many residents and visitors down memory lane, featuring the Marina Theatre and Lido which occupied the site until the 1970s, as well as looking ahead to the future, with the latest artist's impressions and information about the exciting new state-of-the-art Marina Centre.

The artwork, going up in early September, has been designed by the council's Marketing and Communications Service. The council would like to thank Archant for kindly supplying many of the old photos from their archive.

Along the beachside frontage, the ambition is to commission a local artist or artists to work with the community, including school children and community groups, to create a high-quality art exhibition, which hopefully can be used within the new centre when built. Any artists interested in this opportunity are asked to contact julia.devonshire@great-yarmouth.gov.uk 

Cllr Carl Smith and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, leaders of the main political groups, said: "Installation of the amazing hoarding artwork is an exciting project milestone and it will really grab people's imaginations, celebrating our rich heritage and our exciting plans for seafront regeneration while the new centre begins to take shape behind it.

"Despite the additional challenges of Covid-19, which unavoidably impacted the availability of hoarding boards, the council's project team has done incredibly well to keep everything moving forward on this important investment for our borough. Currently, the council is progressing procurement on the construction contract award and we are aiming for start on site this autumn."