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.
Redevelopment of Great Yarmouth’s 40-year-old Marina Centre is scheduled to start on Monday, February 3, with demolition crews moving in to clear and prepare the seafront site for construction of an exciting new state-of-the-art Water and Leisure Complex.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s once-in-a-generation £26m investment will be a major year-round boost to the economy and community for decades to come, acting as a catalyst for potential further investment, whilst supporting health and well-being across the borough.
The new Marina Centre will create a truly year-round anchor attraction on the Golden Mile, including a six-lane 25m pool with full disabled access and suitable for competitions and galas, a confidence water area and learner pool with moveable floor, leisure water with fun play features, two water flumes and a splash pad.
Updated unique designs have been revealed for the redevelopment of Great Yarmouth’s Market Place, a key part of Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s exciting vision to regenerate the town centre.
The investment will see the market facilities significantly improved in the heart of the Market Place, with new units under anarchitecturally-striking canopy, designed to ensure the market is brighter, more inviting and compliments the historic setting.
This updated design has been shaped over the last 18 months, through public engagement around the initial ideas and original design, followed by individual detailed conversations with the six-day market traders.
Great Yarmouth’s recently-restored historic Venetian Waterways have gone on to win two more awards only months after opening to the public.
The £2.7m renovation was led by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, in partnership with Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and with key support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The main works were completed between June 2018 and August 2019 by community groups, volunteers and the council’s main contractor Blakedown Landscapes.
The restoration included refurbishing the Boating Lake and Island Café as well as the Venetian bridges and thatched weather shelters and faithfully restoring the planting scheme. After the successful opening of the Waterways site at Easter, the Boating Lake itself and the Café Island also reopened in August with Community Access Trust managing the concession.
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.