Asset of community value determination report - The Ocean Room, Gorleston-on-Sea

Application Reference: CRB030
Nominated Asset: The Ocean Room
Site Address: Pier Gardens, Gorleston-on-Sea, NR31 6PP
Parish/Ward: St Andrews
Applicant: 'Save the Ocean Room'
Landowner: Great Yarmouth Borough Council

Decision Notice

It is the decision of Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC), as the responsible authority, that the Nominated Asset does not satisfy the statutory test set out in section 88(1) or 88(2) of the Localism Act 2011 and shall not be listed as an Asset of Community Value.  

1. Background

   1. 1. The Localism Act 2011 (Act) and the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012 (Regulations) set out the considerations and procedures that apply where a local community group wishes to nominate land or buildings for listing as Assets of Community Value (ACVs).
   2. 2.Section 88 of the Act provides that a building or other land in a local authority's area is land of community value, if in the opinion of the authority:
      1. a. An actual current use of the building or other land that is not an ancillary use furthers the social wellbeing of social interests of the local community; and
      2. b. It is realistic to think that there can continue to be non-ancillary use of the building or other land which will further (whether or not in the same way) the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community (s.88(1)).
   3. Or
      1. ​​​​​​​a. There is a time in the recent past when an actual use of the building or other land that was not ancillary use furthered the social wellbeing or interests of the local community, and
      2. b. It is realistic to think that there is a time in the next five years where there could be non-ancillary use of the building or other land that would further (whether or not in the same way as before) the social wellbeing of social interests of the local community (s.88(2)).
   4. 3. Social interests include (in particular) cultural interests, recreational interests and sporting interests (s.88(6)). Social wellbeing is not defined in the Act or regulations and is to be interpreted in accordance with the natural meaning of the words.

Nomination

1. On the 3 May 2025, 'Save the Ocean Room' submitted a nomination to GYBC for the Ocean Room, located at Pier Gardens, Gorleston-on-Sea, NR31 6PP) to be listed by the Council as an Asset of Community Value. The nomination was not validated on the 3 May as it was not submitted on the Council's standard nomination form, nor was a map provided, or details of landownership taken from Land Registry

2. The nomination was re-submitted on the Council's standard nomination form and accompanied with a copy of the site's Title Plan and Title Register on the 13 May 2025. The Ocean Rooms is owned by Great Yarmouth Borough Council. The Title Register (accessed on 9 May 2025) lists 'Ocean Room Entertainment Limited' as tenant, however the land registry details do not reflect the most up to date position as 'Ocean Room Entertainment Limited' entered administration in the Spring of 2024 and subsequently have disclaimed the lease on the building.  The nomination form was subsequently validated on the 13 May 2025.

3. The nomination was determined to comply with the detailed provisions of regulation 6 of the Regulations. The nominating organisation is an unincorporated body which comes within the definition of a "voluntary or community body" with a local connection, in accordance with section 89 of the Act and regulation 5(1)(c) of the Regulations. The unincorporated body is made up of 21 local people who appear on the Borough Council's electoral roll, the majority listing their residence within Gorleston. The nomination includes a plan of the nominated site, which is attached to this Determination Report.

4. The land is within GYBC's administration area and does not fall within the list of exceptions set out in Schedule 1 of the Regulations and therefore is not excluded from being considered land of community value.

5. As required by Regulation 8 of the Regulations, GYBC has taken all practicable steps to notify the present landowner and other interested parties such as local ward councillors, that it is considering listing the land as an Asset of Community Value. Consultation notifications were sent out on the 22 May 2025.

6. The applicant has made the following representations in support of the nomination:

   1. The venue is a large Art Deco ballroom with 1100 capacity, opened in 1939 and is situated directly on Gorleston's seafront by the beach and has been part of the Borough's culture, from hosting concerts, live shows, club nights, dance events, award shows and ceremonies, boxing and wrestling events and local youth sports trophy presentations.

   2. The nominating group wishes to see the building used as a community venue, providing varied events and opportunities for all age ranges. This would include a focus on hosting concerts and events that are only presently enjoyed by people having to travel to Norwich and therefore widening the attractiveness of the venue as a destination from wider afield.

   3. The nominating group also has plan to open the venue up to collaboration with local small businesses in the area and educational providers to create a multi-generation space catering for the community. This could include hosting workshops with schools/colleges to learn new media related skills or hiring out the venue for dinner dances, proms, conventions and other social events.

   4. The nominating group specified that the future use of the building would allow local people to work together to create something that would benefit the local area; build and sustain positive connections with other local businesses and projects in a mutually supportive way; encourage visitors; facilitate the development of social networks within Gorleston; create opportunities for community involvement; and create a strong online presence to ensure community involvement /aid fundraising and event attendance.

   5. It was further added that if the asset was acquired, the nominating group would form a Community Interest Company in order to: seek funding from a variety of sources both locally and nationally with a focus on creative industries; partner/collaborate with other organisations to access funding opportunities; conduct internal/community fundraising; and, identify and work with organisations that will support this type of social enterprise.

7. The Council received no letters of support. One letter of objection was received from the Council's property department, as landowner of the nominated asset. The reasons for objection are outlined below:
   • the Ocean Room was intermittently open providing its services on Friday and Saturday nights only (not every week) the vast majority of the time the building was closed to the public
   • the function of the Ocean Room was a Night Club, not a venue important to the social wellbeing of local residents, with much of the live music events now being adopted by the local operators such as the Empire in Great Yarmouth
   • the site is not located in the heart of a community but located in a seafront area, not densely populated by residential dwellings in close proximity
   • the site has been closed for over 15 months
   • the current condition of the building as supported by independent surveys would require significant investment to ensure that the building is compliance and could operate in a previously similar manner

Assessment and Reasons for the Decision

1.  In order to qualify as an asset of community value, an asset must satisfy either the present and future conditions in Section 88(1) of the Act or the past and future conditions in Section 88(2) of the Act.
2. Having considered the representations made, GYBC are of the view that the criteria for listing under section 88(1)(a) & (b) and 88(2)(a) and (b) has not been satisfied.
3. Section 88(1)(a) provides that the actual current use of the building or other land that is not ancillary should further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community. The nomination form details that the current/last known use of the venue is a 'Nightclub/leisure venue'. This is not disputed. However, the venue permanently closed in March 2024, and its closure was widely reported across local press and social media channels. Therefore, there is no 'actual current use', to be determined under Section 88(1)(a).
4. Having determined that the land in question does not meet the criteria for listing under section 88(1)(a) of the Act, there is no requirement to consider the second stage of the test as set out in section 88(1)(b).
5. As the nomination is not considered to fully satisfy Section 88(1) of the Act, the Council must consider whether the nomination meets the criteria to satisfy Section 88(2) of the Act.   
6. Section 88(2)(a) provides that there should be a time in the recent past when an actual use of the building or other land that was not ancillary use furthered the social wellbeing or interest of the local community.
7. The building was operating as a nightclub/leisure venue until March 2024 and is currently being marketed for its freehold sale by estate agents operating in the local area and on Rightmove as a bar leisure venue. Therefore, there is clear evidence that the use of the building as a nightclub/leisure venue was its primary use and occurred in the recent past.
8. The nominating group describes the venue as originally opening in 1939 as the 'Floral Hall', and states that it was a family and community focused dance hall where families, adult and children all partied and danced together. However, the nomination lacks sufficient detail as to how these furthered the social wellbeing or social interest of the community. No evidence has been provided of any time periods, frequency of such events, articles or photographs to provide greater detail and whether this occurred in the 'recent past'.
9. The nomination states that the venue was rebranded as the 'Ocean Room' in 1975 and asserts that since then it has always been part of the of the Borough's culture including hosting concerts, live shows, club nights, dance events, award shows, ceremonies, boxing and wrestling and local presentations. However, the nomination lacks sufficient detail and evidence as to when these took place, and over what time periods to indicate that the range of activities occurred in the recent past and what contribution these potentially provided to further the social wellbeing or social interest of the community. Furthermore, the nomination states that the previous owners "seemed to step away from the venue being used for more community purposes", suggesting that such range of social events had apparently ceased.
10. Before the Ocean Rooms closed in March 2024, the recent use of the venue was a nightclub/leisure venue. Whilst there is no other nightclub venue within Gorleston, there are several leisure venues within Great Yarmouth and Gorleston that regularly operated during the time that the Ocean Room was open, and continues to be regularly operated. This includes the Pavillion Theatre (directly adjacent to the Ocean Room) which hosts a range of cultural and leisure events including live music. In Great Yarmouth, a range of nightclubs and venues offering live music and entertainment also exist. There is insufficient evidence provided through the nomination as to how the Ocean Rooms may have furthered the social wellbeing or social interest of the community in the context of availability of other similar uses that were provided in the recent past.The nomination form asserts that the public house provided a hub for the local community to support social interactions and community spirit as part of its primary use, supported by a recently refurbished outside area that provided space to socialise, particularly in the summer months with holiday makers. Furthermore, the nomination asserts that the building has supported community events such as quiz nights, live music, pub team competitions as well providing a venue to support other social events and celebrations including christenings, wakes, birthday parties and anniversaries.
11. In summary, the nomination lacks sufficient detail and evidence on the range of social activities that occurred in the recent past and therefore it cannot be reasonably concluded that the Ocean Room furthered the social wellbeing and social interests of the local community in the recent past.
12. Having determined that the nomination does not meet the criteria for listing under Section 88(2)(a) of the Act, there is no requirement to consider the second stage of the test as set out in Section 88(2)(b).

Recommendation

1. It is considered that the nominated asset does satisfy the statutory test set out in section 88(2) of the Act for the reasons set out in this decision report.
2. In accordance with GYBC's Scheme of Delegation, it is not recommended that the nominated asset be listed as an Asset of Community Value on GYBC's List of Assets of Community Value. The Council's website will be updated to show this as an unsuccessful nomination.

Kim Balls
Principal Strategic Planner
2 July 2025

Decision

1. Not to list:
   Nominated Asset: The Ocean Room
   Site Address: Pier Gardens, Gorleston on Sea, NR31 6PP
   
   As an Asset of Community Value in accordance with either Section 88(1) or 88(2) of the Localism Act.
   
   Signature of Delegated Officer
   Nick Fountain
   Strategic Planning Officer
   7 July 2025