What do you think of Great Yarmouth?

[bramling]

Because these towns never reinvented themselves after the high days of miners and factory workers wakes week. Instead they hoped and still hope, desperately, that those days will return instead of trying to attract modern visitors

Once cheap foreign travel became a reality for the working class they chose to go aborad in thier droves. Now the people who have disposal income would prefer a cheap flight to Europe over a weekend in a grotty b&b in some dreary, dead end, depressingly boring faded costal town.

These days many of them even fail to attract granny tours on coaches who should be a captove market for these sort of horrible places!

Think that sums it up. There are seaside places which are remain reasonably successful, either the smarter ones, or those who have managed to find another purpose, be it as a commuter town, night scene, university town or whatever. However two things have killed the traditional working-class holiday, firstly the package holiday a few decades ago, and more recently the advent of budget airlines has further nailed the coffin.

It is the traditional “working class” holiday destinations which are now suffering, places like Yarmouth, Rhyl, Hastings, Blackpool and the likes. Other resorts still seem to be doing reasonably well, Llandudno springs to mind.

I seem to remember part of Theresa May’s manifesto promised some attention towards seaside towns. It’s a shame this doesn’t seem to have come to anything, like most of the rest of any domestic agenda at the moment!

 

[londiscape]

Great Yarmouth?

Should really be called "So-so Yarmouth" or "Meh Yarmouth"... with the slogan "Hey, at least it's not Blackpool!"

In the off-season, they could call it Shut Yarmouth.

I think you did a typo there. Understandable though, the I and the U are right next to each other

 

[433N]

Because these towns never reinvented themselves after the high days of miners and factory workers wakes week. Instead they hoped and still hope, desperately, that those days will return instead of trying to attract modern visitors

Once cheap foreign travel became a reality for the working class they chose to go aborad in thier droves. Now the people who have disposal income would prefer a cheap flight to Europe over a weekend in a grotty b&b in some dreary, dead end, depressingly boring faded costal town.

These days many of them even fail to attract granny tours on coaches who should be a captove market for these sort of horrible places!

Which is all true of course but then, post 9/11, the security checks and faff and transfers make a flight to Europe for a short break a bit less attractive. There's also the point that the eco-conscious young, really don't want to be doing that because they, literally, all lose sleep over their carbon footprints.

I guess the thing that fascinates me is the fact that they seem clueless as to how to reinvent themselves. Morecambe seems to be trying (not sure how successfully), Rhyl has tried and (IMHO) failed. Since we're talking Dutch, which has many of the 'beauties' of our climate, where are the British equivalents of Scheveningen or Oostende or Berck-sur-mer ? Why is it that Britain is so good at grim, seaside ex-resorts ?

 

[507021]

I think "Great" is an exaggeration based on my experience, "Alright Yarmouth" is probably more accurate.

 

[brad465]

I'm going there in mid-June for a cycle event, and discovered B&Bs are quite cheap, having spent just over £50 for 2 nights across a weekend, where in other parts of the country at the same time you'd be lucky to spend £50 for 1 night.

Among trivial history I also heard, from QI years ago, is that in the 1960s an elderly care home in GY closed down after two "incidents" included a old woman doing a "striptease", and a man dressing up as Death, caused a few residents to die from shock, and others to need medical attention (source)

 

[bramling]

I think "Great" is an exaggeration based on my experience, "Alright Yarmouth" is probably more accurate.

No one locally calls it Great Yarmouth anyway.

 

[Cowley]

No one locally calls it Great Yarmouth anyway.

As in this poster...


(Amusing railway type poster showing the rougher side of Yarmouth with the caption Yarmouth “Great” Pending)

 

[433N]

Strange that no one seems to be petitioning to take the 'Grim' out of Grimsby.

 

[HOOVER29]

Only been Grimsby once on a delivery run. That was 30 years ago. I’d like to think it’s changed in that time but I’m not holding my breath.
Although I did have to do that around the docks

 

[yorksrob]

Think that sums it up. There are seaside places which are remain reasonably successful, either the smarter ones, or those who have managed to find another purpose, be it as a commuter town, night scene, university town or whatever. However two things have killed the traditional working-class holiday, firstly the package holiday a few decades ago, and more recently the advent of budget airlines has further nailed the coffin.

It is the traditional “working class” holiday destinations which are now suffering, places like Yarmouth, Rhyl, Hastings, Blackpool and the likes. Other resorts still seem to be doing reasonably well, Llandudno springs to mind.

I seem to remember part of Theresa May’s manifesto promised some attention towards seaside towns. It’s a shame this doesn’t seem to have come to anything, like most of the rest of any domestic agenda at the moment!

I think many places do well with the daytrip trade.

Hastings for exampe, has plenty going for it, if you consider the old town and the castle, as well as the seafront. It's a very nice place to spend a few hours and have some fish and chips.

Blighty has some really good seaside destinations. Whitby has the whole gothic fishing village thing going for it, whilst Weymouth has an excellent area of pubs and restaurants around the old harbour.

Eastbourne also has a very well kept 1950's vibe (perhaps in keeping with a lot of the clientelle).

Yarmouth perhaps has to somehow reinvent itself beyond just the seafront.

 

[bramling]

I think many places do well with the daytrip trade.

Hastings for exampe, has plenty going for it, if you consider the old town and the castle, as well as the seafront. It's a very nice place to spend a few hours and have some fish and chips.

Blighty has some really good seaside destinations. Whitby has the whole gothic fishing village thing going for it, whilst Weymouth has an excellent area of pubs and restaurants around the old harbour.

Eastbourne also has a very well kept 1950's vibe (perhaps in keeping with a lot of the clientelle).

Yarmouth perhaps has to somehow reinvent itself beyond just the seafront.

Hastings is okay in itself (used to go there quite a lot when the DEMUs were still running), however it’s *very* drossy, to the extent that I’d be wary of taking a family there for the day. It’s the only place in Britain I’ve known someone start on an 11-year-old! I guess part of the reason it has been left behind is that the journey from London takes that much longer compared to other south coast towns like Brighton or to a lesser extent Margate. Southerners don’t seem too inclined to make a long journey to the seaside compared to up north!

Whitby has the advantage that it’s also a gateway to the surrounding area which includes the North Yorks Moors national park. Having said that, go a bit further north along the coast from Whitby and one encounters some very deprived places, culminating in Redcar, although Saltburn seems okay.

I wonder if another issue with some seaside towns is that they’re not that straightforward to get to. Yarmouth is a pretty horrible journey by road even from nearby.

 

[trainophile]

Whitby isn’t exactly a doddle to get to, depending where you are coming from I suppose.

I rather liked Redcar when we popped over from Saltburn last year for a Wetherspoons dinner. So much so that we’ve booked to go back at the end of June and stay in Redcar.

Liked Hastings very much, especially via the HST. Starting from St Pancras is always a treat.

 

[cactustwirly]

Which is all true of course but then, post 9/11, the security checks and faff and transfers make a flight to Europe for a short break a bit less attractive. There's also the point that the eco-conscious young, really don't want to be doing that because they, literally, all lose sleep over their carbon footprints.

I guess the thing that fascinates me is the fact that they seem clueless as to how to reinvent themselves. Morecambe seems to be trying (not sure how successfully), Rhyl has tried and (IMHO) failed. Since we're talking Dutch, which has many of the 'beauties' of our climate, where are the British equivalents of Scheveningen or Oostende or Berck-sur-mer ? Why is it that Britain is so good at grim, seaside ex-resorts ?

You overestimate the "security faff", ok it's annoying, but, it's only 10 minutes of your life, and I don't think it's too bad.

 

[yorksrob]

Hastings is okay in itself (used to go there quite a lot when the DEMUs were still running), however it’s *very* drossy, to the extent that I’d be wary of taking a family there for the day. It’s the only place in Britain I’ve known someone start on an 11-year-old! I guess part of the reason it has been left behind is that the journey from London takes that much longer compared to other south coast towns like Brighton or to a lesser extent Margate. Southerners don’t seem too inclined to make a long journey to the seaside compared to up north!

Whitby has the advantage that it’s also a gateway to the surrounding area which includes the North Yorks Moors national park. Having said that, go a bit further north along the coast from Whitby and one encounters some very deprived places, culminating in Redcar, although Saltburn seems okay.

I wonder if another issue with some seaside towns is that they’re not that straightforward to get to. Yarmouth is a pretty horrible journey by road even from nearby.

I think the fact that some places (such as Sheringham for example) are so difficult to get to, makes them preferable.

 

[433N]

I think the fact that some places (such as Sheringham for example) are so difficult to get to, makes them preferable.

With Hunstanton being a notable exception.

I went hoping to see the place that Betcheman famously went to on a dmu - it's not like that now!

 

[yorksrob]

With Hunstanton being a notable exception.

I went hoping to see the place that Betcheman famously went to on a dmu - it's not like that now!

Fair point, although Wells is still very nice.

 

[Groningen]

Wikipedia says that GY within its borough it had 17 stations; now 1 remaining. It was serious affected by the Beeching cuts.

 

[eastdyke]

Wikipedia says that GY within its borough it had 17 stations; now 1 remaining. It was serious affected by the Beeching cuts.

True but the trains did not go to the Town Centre and could not easily be used for 'cross town' journeys. Bus was more effective for both.

For 'bus buffs' pictures here of vehicles in the service of Great Yarmouth Corporation Transport, the colour ones show the distinctive blue and cream livery
Scroll down for the pictures, lots of them, mostly undated.
http://www.ourgreatyarmouth.org.uk/page_id__589_path__0p3p41p.aspx

 

[Typhoon]

I seem to remember part of Theresa May’s manifesto promised some attention towards seaside towns.

Many of which are represented by the Conservatives (quite prominent ones at that). The votes are in (or not), its time to move on.

It’s a shame this doesn’t seem to have come to anything, like most of the rest of any domestic agenda at the moment!

Much like the Portas Pilots from the coalition years. According to https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41906964

A survey of 12 government-funded "Portas Pilot" towns found nearly 1,000 shops had disappeared in five years*. The towns were awarded a share of a £1.2m fund, government support and access to retail guru Mary Portas. But Ms Portas was critical of the scheme, saying it was a "weighted PR campaign" that hadn't kick-started growth.

We've had the photo opportunities, and the TV series; time to move on.

You are right, it needs a sustained effort, and not just an emphasis on leisure. The best these places can expect is day trippers or weekenders, who will spend a lot at the services on the way down, something on food and ice cream (and, maybe, overnight) at the resort - hardly enough to sustain the town.

If they can something special to attract visitors, fair enough, but, like most, Great Yarmouth hasn't found it. And it has to be special. Much has been of Margate and the Turner Contemporary - I live an hour away and been twice. Not special enough.

* - As of 08/11/17 according to the above source

research, carried out by the Local Data Company (LDC) for BBC Radio 4's You and Yours, found that in total there had been a net loss of 969 retail units.

 

[Calthrop]

Wikipedia says that GY within its borough it had 17 stations; now 1 remaining. It was serious affected by the Beeching cuts.

Being a bit pedantic: many of the above losses, in fact occurred pre-Beeching (his report was issued in 1963). A fair number of the losses concerned, were consequent on the closure early in 1959, of the former Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway's main line from Melton Constable and further west, into Yarmouth Beach terminus. As well as said terminal station's closing -- the last six or seven miles of the line involved, running into it from the north: featured approximately that number of stations and halts, serving various holiday camps and small resorts.

 

[Howardh]

It is a dump and should be bulldozed into the sea. I lived there for a period. It is horrible.

Well with much of the eastern coastline just wait a couple of years or a half-decent storm and nature will do that for you! But frankly I'd rather stay at home than go to a large British seaside resort; maybe a couple of exceptions such as Poole and surrounding area (is that a resort though??) Seaford/Sussex and I'm sure there are others I haven't been to which are lovely. But I'd sim for the smaller, more quaint/quiet resorts - eg Devon/Cornish coasts, and up here Arnside/Grange. Pity the sea's to cold for whimps like me to bathe in!

 

[Howardh]

As for the future for our coastal towns, if we manage to get the workforce working a 4-day week (even if it means longer working days to compensate) would that free up time for families to have longer weekends and use our coastal towns, get them vibrant again? That being said, a three-day weekend is just enough to fly out to the Med and back again (been there, done that etc). Or Eurostar to Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam?? Maybe we should tax flights more.....**puts tin hat on and ducks**

 

[yorksrob]

You are right, it needs a sustained effort, and not just an emphasis on leisure. The best these places can expect is day trippers or weekenders, who will spend a lot at the services on the way down, something on food and ice cream (and, maybe, overnight) at the resort - hardly enough to sustain the town.

If they can something special to attract visitors, fair enough, but, like most, Great Yarmouth hasn't found it. And it has to be special. Much has been of Margate and the Turner Contemporary - I live an hour away and been twice. Not special enough.

* - As of 08/11/17 according to the above source

Dreamland used to be a real destination in itself when I was a child growing up in Kent. It's not been the same since the developer bandits ran it down.

 

[yorksrob]

As for the future for our coastal towns, if we manage to get the workforce working a 4-day week (even if it means longer working days to compensate) would that free up time for families to have longer weekends and use our coastal towns, get them vibrant again? That being said, a three-day weekend is just enough to fly out to the Med and back again (been there, done that etc). Or Eurostar to Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam?? Maybe we should tax flights more.....**puts tin hat on and ducks**

I agree wholeheartedly about the move to a four day week. It would give people more time to spend money in the economy.

I heard on the radio this morning that an Australian tec firm has found that it's workers are more productive if they have the Wednesday off.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

.................... and up here Arnside/Grange. Pity the sea's to cold for whimps like me to bathe in!

If I remember correctly, there isn't ( or not often) any sea at Grange-over-Sands !

 

[Typhoon]

Maybe we should tax flights more.....**puts tin hat on and ducks**

Look on the bright side, no Extinction Rebellion activists glued to your door.

 

[eastdyke]

But back to Yarmouth (having once lived in Norfolk for over 40 years, I never called it Great Yarmouth) enabling improvement needs investment, lots of investment.
I see that plans for the third river crossing are advanced to the extent that £98million of DfT funding has been secured towards an estimated project cost of £120million.
Contracts have been let for a twin leaf bascule bridge with a likely start in late 2020.
The Secretary of State has confirmed that the project is Nationally Significant, however a Development Consent Order (DCO) under the Planning Acts is still to be obtained.
Project aims and funding listed here:
https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/roads-an...r-questions-answered/project-aims-and-funding
Part quote(my bold)):

• To support Great Yarmouth as a centre for both offshore renewable energy and the offshore oil and gas industry, enabling the delivery of renewable energy NSIPs and enhancing the port’s role as an international gateway
• To improve access and strategic connectivity between Great Yarmouth port and the national road network thereby supporting and promoting economic and employment growth (particularly in the Enterprise Zone)
• To support the regeneration of Great Yarmouth, including the town centre and seafront, helping the visitor and retail economy
• To improve regional and local access by enhancing the resilience of the local road network, reducing congestion and improving journey time reliability
• To improve safety and to reduce road casualties and accidents, in part by reducing heavy traffic from unsuitable routes within the town centre
• To improve access to and from the Great Yarmouth peninsula for pedestrians, cyclists and buses, encouraging more sustainable modes of transport and also reducing community severance
• To protect and enhance the environment by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and minimising the environmental impact of the Proposed Scheme

Perhaps we should also consider what's best about Yarmouth?
From my own memory- and I have lots - the (almost) unique wooden roller coaster (scenic railway) at the Pleasure Beach would certainly be on my list. Each 'train' employs a brakeman too.
Other member views?

 

[Typhoon]

Dreamland used to be a real destination in itself when I was a child growing up in Kent. It's not been the same since the developer bandits ran it down.

It did. The problem is that that whole part of Margate is extremely run down - a shame because it is sea-facing so has potential. There needs to be some sort of sympathetic planning across that whole area. I suspect that developers are the bane of many coastal towns. Just interested in the money.

 

[yorksrob]

It did. The problem is that that whole part of Margate is extremely run down - a shame because it is sea-facing so has potential. There needs to be some sort of sympathetic planning across that whole area. I suspect that developers are the bane of many coastal towns. Just interested in the money.

Indeed. I visited the seafront a couple of years ago and it was still quite nice. Dreamland in the 80's though had rides to rival anywhere in the country, including Blackpool

 

[Darandio]

I rather liked Redcar when we popped over from Saltburn last year for a Wetherspoons dinner. So much so that we’ve booked to go back at the end of June and stay in Redcar.

Blimey, there is a phrase I very rarely see these days. Just don't expect to do any shopping while you are here as there is little left, by the end of June there might be nothing left!