Public invited to discuss and develop initial ideas for Market Place redevelopment in Great Yarmouth

Hudson Architects have been appointed to lead a design team, which is starting the process of engaging with market traders, retailers, shoppers and other stakeholders, to help develop a unique design to improve the market facilities, offer and wider setting.

The Market Place is one of the key projects of the wider Town Centre Masterplan, an exciting, commercially-realistic vision to enhance the historic town centre as a destination where more people choose to live, work, invest and spend their leisure time and money.

From Monday, June 18 to Saturday, June 23, the team will be stationed throughout each day in one of the Central Market units, in order to meet stakeholders and discuss, explain and develop their ideas. Thereafter, their exhibition will remain on display in the unit during the summer.

The focus of this engagement activity is initial ideas around the market layout, offer, management model and servicing. Feedback will help the team and borough council to develop a proposed design, which will be subject to consultation.

Importantly, there is no formal plan or design proposal at this stage, including around the question of the market's exact position. Conversations with stakeholders at these sessions will be key to exploring some of these areas and considerations.

In a joint statement, the political group leaders, Cllr Graham Plant and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, said: "The Market Place is a central part of Great Yarmouth's rich cultural heritage, town centre, community, shopping and tourism offers, so its improvement as a key project of the Town Centre Masterplan has the potential to boost the whole borough.

"This redevelopment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to work with market traders, retailers and the wider community to share ideas and have informed conversations about both the exciting possibilities and challenges that need addressing, and to consider how our Market Place could look and be used in the future.

"There are no formal plans at this stage: the design team is engaging around initial design ideas, and we hope lots of people will take this chance to talk with them so we can shape designs for a Market Place that's fit for the 21st century and which we can all be proud of."   

Subject to securing funding and the required permissions, the current aspiration is to start work next year, with the new Market Place completed in 2021.