Traders voice their fears over regeneration plans

Stallholders in Great Yarmouth say they are worried a proposed £100m project to regenerate part of the town will "destroy everything".

Details of the North Quay project in the Norfolk coastal town were announced this week, with a multi-screen cinema, 70 shops, 120 homes and a hotel among the plans.

A public consultation will be launched in 2026, with a full planning application likely to be submitted in May.

But while Great Yarmouth Borough Council says the project could bring in two million visitors a year, some traders in the town centre have doubts.

"It's just going to destroy everything," market stallholder Sharon Esherwood said.

"I don't think it's going to be a particularly good idea for the town centre, as people will go down there... We already have a cinema on the seafront."

Ms Esherwood, who runs Soaps and Scents 4 All, said the development could result in people not bothering to visit the town centre at all.

Paul Howlett, of Jack's Flower Stall, is also not convinced.

"We need to try to sort the town centre out before we start building out-of-town yet again," he said.

"It's just a shame we're losing shops. We've got plenty of shops to let anyhow, and [now they plan] to build some more that they can't fill."

Glen Rowland's business, Manorfield Cars, sits within the planned redevelopment site.

He supports the scheme, but said he thought the council had allowed the area to get worse so it could "force compulsory purchase".

"I think it's been a long, drawn-out process that we're nowhere near concluding. I'm not in receipt of an offer that I'm willing to accept for my land," he said.

"I also own a property next door that's a house with a family [living there]. They're on edge over whether they've got to leave. It's difficult."

Sheila Oxtoby, the council's chief executive, said the project would "complement, not replace" attractions in the town centre.

"We're so excited about the fact that it's a retail outlet, a village outlet," she said.

"It's a very different model; outlets are outperforming across the country and internationally against traditional retail.

"It's not replacing what's in the town centre, it's an additional attraction. We don't have any of those particular shops in the town centre, anyway – it's additional."

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