Great Yarmouth Festival of Bowls, the biggest outdoor open bowling event in the country, is getting underway at Great Yarmouth seafront, with some 1,100 bowlers competing over four weeks.
Organised by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and managed by Brian Grint and the Festival of Bowls Committee, this year’s festival is taking place on the Britannia Bowling Greens between Sunday, August 25 and Friday, September 20.
Tournament coordinator Brian said: “This year’s festival looks to be another big year. Great Yarmouth is the UK’s bowls capital and the seafront is the best bowls venue in the country – you can’t beat it for atmosphere, and people come back year-on-year to meet old friends as well as for the high standard of play.
“It’s not just about playing bowls, it’s about Great Yarmouth as a place. The players bring their families and go to the different attractions in Great Yarmouth. Everyone enjoys fish and chips, a cup of tea with a doughnut and you can’t go to Great Yarmouth without having an ice cream.”
Attracting novice and expert players of all ages from across the UK and further afield, the annual festival is free to watch, withparticipants competing in men's, ladies’ and mixed teams for singles, pairs, triples and fours titles.
Cllr Graham Plant, chairman of the council’s economic development committee, said: “This free-to-watch festival attracts hundreds of players from all over, who stay in our hotels and guest houses, eat in our restaurants, visit our other attractions and really boost the economy. It’s also a great attraction for local residents too.
“Having the UK’s biggest outdoor open bowling event in Great Yarmouth is something to be truly proud of. I look forward to seeing the bowls start rolling again this year. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the festival sponsors, as well as the volunteers on the Festival of Bowls Committee, whose support makes this unique event possible.”
The sponsors in 2019 are Eastern Counties North East Branch of N.F.R. Newsagents, Beach Terrace Tea Rooms, The Prom Hotel, Peers Premier Apartments, Sentinel Leisure Trust, Brewer's Chip Saloon, Potters Bowls Shop, Ocean Spray Restaurant, Belt Up Badges and Archant. Significant donations have also been received from Steve Smith, Bob Green, Mal Dixon and John Grey.
The Grand Reopening of Great Yarmouth’s historic Venetian Waterways has taken place following a year of major restoration works, with the Boating Lake and Island Café back in use for the first time in about a decade.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council, working with Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and dedicated volunteers, has led an ongoing £2.7m restoration of the unique Grade II-listed seafront park and tourist attraction, supported by The National Lottery, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and the Government.
First opened in 1928, the park was commissioned by the council as an employment relief programme after the First World War. It was hugely popular with generations of holidaymakers until it declined in the latter 20th century, leading to the loss of historic features and planting in the Waterways, and the draining of the Boating Lake in 2014.
Since restoration started in June 2018, the project has seen the Boating Lake and Island Café faithfully refurbished, the Venetian bridges and thatched weather shelters restored, and volunteers working alongside the new Waterways gardeners to reinstate the original beautiful and bold planting scheme, which was praised at the time by the RHS.
Families will have the first chance in years to row out across the Boating Lake and visit the Island Café, as part of the Grand Reopening of Great Yarmouth’s historic Venetian Waterways, on Tuesday, August 20, from 2pm to 6pm.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council, in partnership with Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust, has led an ongoing £2.7m restoration of the Grade II-listed seafront park and tourist attraction, supported by The National Lottery.
Following the successful reopening of the Waterways site at Easter and the Boating Lake gardens last month, the restored Boating Lake itself and the Café Island will reopen to the public from 2pm as part of the special Grand Reopening Gala.
For the first time in around a decade, people will have the chance to hire a rowing boat or pedalo and take to the water, with the site managed by Access Community Trust, a social enterprise and charity.
Great Yarmouth’s historic Venetian Waterways have scooped a coveted award that recognises well managed parks and green spaces around the world.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council, in partnership with Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust, has led an ongoing £2.7m restoration of the Grade II-listed seafront park, supported by The National Lottery.
Following the successful re-opening of the Waterways site at Easter, judges for the Green Flag Award visited. Successful sites must show that they manage a quality space with a clear idea of what they are trying to achieve, why, and who they seek to serve.
Today, it is announced that the Waterways has not only achieved Green Flag status but also Green Heritage Site Accreditation, which is awarded to public green spaces that are managed to Green Flag Award standards and whose owners actively understand, identify and promote the heritage that make that site unique.
Great Yarmouth’s historic Venetian Waterways is to re-open on Easter Sunday following major and ongoing restoration work, with people invited to celebrate at two fun family events.
Since June 2018, the Grade II-listed seafront park has been closed for a flagship £2.7m restoration, led by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and supported by The National Lottery.
While contractors finalise refurbishment of the Boating Lake site ahead of its official opening later this spring, major engineering and landscaping works at the Waterways site are now complete, meaning the Waterways site can re-open from Sunday, April 21. Volunteers will continue to restore the park over the coming years.
On Easter Sunday, families are invited to re-discover the park by taking part in an Easter Adventure Trail organised by the council, from 11am to 2pm. This will be followed at 2pm by the Duck Race, organised by the Great Yarmouth Haven Rotary Club.
Great Yarmouth has been named as one of just five ‘Future Places’ in England to participate in a new national programme recognising and supporting local councils with ambitious and innovative visions for shaping their areas’ futures.
The borough council made a successful submission to the Future Place programme, setting out its overarching vision for the area and how it is currently working closely with partners on a range of exciting work to support communities through place-leadership.
The initiative is run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, Chartered Institute of Housing, Local Government Association and the Royal Town Planning Institute, which considered 43 expressions of interest from around 90 local authorities. Homes England has also joined as a partner.
The five chosen ‘Future Places’ were selected as exemplars of high-quality place-making in England, based on their overall visions, ambition and innovative approaches. All five are determined to deliver meaningful change which will enhance people’s lives, improve community well-being and create sustainable environments.