Great Yarmouth’s businesses have gladly welcomed the regeneration plans of the Golden Mile area with a new Casino and Hotel complex that is meant to be situated next to the local Pleasure Beach. The Edge casino and leisure centre could become one of the major factors for the revival of the area of Great Yarmouth, after it takes local wasteland that has been empty for many years.
An outline approval of the casino and hotel complex proposal was granted by the borough council last week, with its full support for the planned casino, restaurants and cinema. What is more, business owners that operate in the region have also backed the project which is called The Edge.
One of the business owners in the area, Susan Gray, said that the project had her support and explained that such a complex would make the seafront better. She also shared her hopes that the complex would result in extending the holiday season, which in her opinion was exactly what the seafront needed. As far as competition is concerned, Ms. Gray explained that such rivalry would probably bring more benefits, rather than negative effects.
Another business manager commented that the busier the town becomes, the better. Mr. Reece Withers shared that the seafront needed more night life and entertainment. He expressed hopes that the project would make the region more lively, which on the other hand could extend night-time trade.
The casino and leisure complex plans were officially revealed at the end of January 2017. The wasteland redevelopment project in Great Yarmouth became available for the public, when Albert Jones has made a proposal for such a complex to be built on wasteland near his Pleasure Beach complex on South Denes.
This was not the first time when a renovation plan was revealed. Ten years earlier, a similar scheme for the South Denes region was revealed. This time, however, local residents have been officially urged to consider the project and share their opinion on the matter.
Local borough council has considered plans for the area revival for the third time. Back in 2006, another project got an outline form approval, and then, in 2011 a hybrid project for a casino and leisure complex was passed to the council.
As mentioned above, a previous project for a leisure and entertainment complex was released in 2007, with the casino and leisure centre estimated to approximately £35 million. This was the time when Great Yarmouth was announced as future home of one of the eight large casino venues that came as part of the UK Government plans for the country. Under the provisions of the legislation, the so-called “large casinos” were required to be located at a minimum space of 10,760 sq ft and host as many as 150 slot machines.
Half a decade ago, The Edge project was chosen by the local borough council to be the large casino for the region of Great Yarmouth, rather than a competitive bid made by Palace Bingo and Casino. The latter already runs a smaller gaming venue in the town.
- Author
Daniel Williams
