GREAT Yarmouth’s historic Venetian Waterways re-opened 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. Volunteers will continue to restore the park over the coming years.
On Easter Sunday, families were invited to re-discover the park by taking part in an Easter Adventure Trail, followed by the Duck Race, organised by the Great Yarmouth Haven Rotary Club.
Kate Watts, Strategic Director at the borough council, said: “The re-opening of the Waterways site is an exciting and major milestone in the ongoing restoration. The Easter activities are a fun way for residents and visitors to re-discover the Waterways and to celebrate the exciting and significant work completed so far by contractors with the help of our volunteers.
“While work remains underway, the attraction will only get better as the restoration continues and the Boating Lake and Island Café open, with people once again able to go out on the Boating Lake in rowing boats and pedloes.”
The restoration has been funded by a £1.7m National Lottery grant awarded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund, £250,000 from New Anglia LEP through the Growing Places Fund plus further support from the borough council and the Government. In addition, approximately 78 people have so far contributed a collective total of 1,290 volunteer hours towards the project.
Doug Field, chair of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said “Opening the new Venetian Waterways will provide a welcome boost for Great Yarmouth’s visitor economy as we head into the summer season. Reviving this iconic feature will give new life to the seafront and support the creation of new jobs. This is great news for the town.”
The project aims to involve the community in enhancing and interpreting a unique community facility, tourist attraction and heritage asset, supporting the local economy, boosting civic pride and providing people with meaningful opportunities to improve skills and access further training or employment.
Discover more about the Waterways at www.venetianwaterways.com
