Great Yarmouth Borough Council secures £100,000 to help revive heritage gems
Great Yarmouth Borough Council has secured a total of £100,000 from a national Government fund aimed at boosting heritage sites that are important to coastal communities.
The council and its Coastal Community Team have made two successful grant applications to the Coastal Revival Fund, to support the wider restoration of the Venetian Waterways and to assist with improving the Wellesley Recreation Ground.
Work is nearing completion to restore the Grade II-listed Waterways, including the Boating Lake, with the council's contractors working alongside the community and Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust.
The £2.7m project is funded by a £1.7m National Lottery grant awarded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Big Lottery Fund, plus further support from the borough council, New Anglia LEP and the Government.
The additional £50,000 from the Coastal Revival Fund will support repairs to the concrete basin of the Waterways, over and above the scope of the wider restoration project, and will also help to enhance the water quality.
A further £50,000 has been secured to undertake repairs to the historic tennis pavilion, grandstand, and ticket office at the Wellesley Recreation Ground. All are Grade II-listed, with the grandstand now considered to be the oldest football grandstand in Britain and possibly the world.
This will support the council's ongoing project development work with the community to explore options to improve facilities and usage at the Wellesley.
Kate Watts, Strategic Director at the borough council, said: "This really welcome money, secured by the council from the Coastal Revival Fund, will help to breathe new life into two of the borough's most loved heritage gems.
"Since ground was broken last summer, the Waterways and Boating Lake have transformed under the hands of our contractors and valued volunteers, and we are excited about the Waterways re-opening to the public in the coming weeks.
"The restoration aims to involve the community in enhancing a unique community facility, tourist attraction and heritage asset, supporting the local economy, boosting civic pride and providing people with meaningful opportunities to improve skills.
"While the Wellesley requires further project work and significant external funding, this grant supports the council's ambition to safeguard the listed buildings and unlock the full exciting potential of the whole site for improved facilities and usage."
Photo of the Venetian Waterways - credit to Debby Besford Photography.
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