Your Town Centre

Its summer in Great Yarmouth which means sun, sea, sand and shopping!

From national stores to unique independent traders, with a modern shopping centre and historic market, Great Yarmouth town centre provides plenty of choice in regards to eating, drinking and shopping all year round.

The pedestrian friendly Market Place is the hub of Great Yarmouth town centre with its open piazza allowing shoppers to relax and enjoy the free entertainment that is often provided. During the summer the market is open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with the covered part of the market open six days a week. Don't forget, a trip to Great Yarmouth isn't complete without a visit to the chip stalls on the market! This is also where many of the larger stores can be found such as Palmers Department Store, Argos, Burtons and Boots, as well as the majority of banks and building societies. From Market Place there are many directions to go, but directly from the piazza is Market Gates, the town's largest shopping centre.

Market Gates Shopping Centre hosts around 50 retail stores with a mix of high street brands such as New Look, Boots, Peacocks and Wilkinsons together with many independent stores. The shopping centre has recently undergone a major redevelopment bringing new retailers such as Debenhams and Starbucks to the centre. This family friendly place to shop has a packed calendar of promotions, events and entertainment during the summer months as well as the promotions that retailers have. Market Gates is well worth a visit.

Going south of the Market piazza you will find King Street, which is historically one of Great Yarmouth's most important shopping areas with many Grade I listed buildings. The part of King Street closest to the town centre has some of the high streets biggest names including River Island, Top Shop, Superdrug and WH Smiths. Beyond that there is a myriad of unique shops selling jewellery, computers and toys among other things. Whilst looking at the shops here don't forget to take a slight detour down to Victoria Arcade which manages to host a diverse range of shops whilst still retaining an ‘olde worlde' charm. King Street is also the main link to the town's heritage quarter that is home to the award winning Time and Tide museum and the Potteries.

King Street also has an eclectic mix when it comes to dining with Chinese, Thai, Indian, Portuguese and American style restaurants. There is also an opportunity to see the recently restored Green Flag winning St Georges Park from here, which not only provides a picturesque outlook but also connects King Street to the seafront.    

On the west side of Market Place lies the wrought iron canopy that is the entrance to Market Row, a narrow, quaint and historic shopping area that not only provides a delightful pedestrian route to the quayside but also hosts over twenty different independent trades selling a wide variety of services. Beyond Market Row is the wider Broad Row which leads onto George Street and the historic South Quay. From leaving Broad Row you will see the Town Hall and just beyond there, many of the town's museums and other places of interest can be found.

Finally, past the Market Place and Market Gates is the main pedestrian link between the seafront and town centre, Regent Road. This place provides visitors with ample opportunities to take home a unique memento of their stay in Great Yarmouth. This is the part of town where you know you are in one of the country's most popular seaside resorts. At night Regent Road is illuminated with a ‘ceiling of light' and many of the shops open late into the evening during the peak summer season. Not only home to many family run restaurants, from here also starts the vibrant night life of the town.

June 2010

Great Yarmouth's second attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as the Where's Wally book character in one place fell short by 123 when the final count of Wallies was completed. After a recount of registration forms submitted by people taking part in the attempt, Town Centre Manager Jonathan Newman admitted defeat, "We needed 1,053 to beat the existing record but despite a great turnout this afternoon we have only 930 registrations to count"

The climax of the attempt at setting a new Guinness World Record attempt took place soon after 1pm on Monday 31st May as everyone arriving in their Wally costumes of a red and white striped t-shirt, bobble hat and black spectacles gathered in the town's Market Place dancing and waving there arms to various photographers perched upon rooftops and window ledges of adjacent buildings.

Although unsuccessful in setting a new world record the event raised nearly £1,000 for charities and provided a spectacular event that drew much needed crowds, including many onlookers, into the town centre.

The event was put on with the help of the staff of town centre businesses including Boots, Books Inside, Palmers Department store and Market Gates Shopping Centre. The assistance of those many people involved along with Heart FM and the Great Yarmouth Mercury helping to promote the event and TMS Media in creating marketing materials, was greatly appreciated by Mr. Newman "Apart from not actually achieving the record, everything else went really well and it was all down to the invaluable assistance given by so many individuals and businesses."

Some great photo's from the day can be found on the facebook page, Wheres Walyy Guinness World Record Attempt Great Yarmouth and on the Heart FM website.

The latest addition to Great Yarmouth town centre's fashion offer Blue Inc celebrated the opening of their latest store on Thursday 27th May by sponsoring the t-shirts for the fourth Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival which opened on the same day.

Festival goers attending the fourth annual event were treated to a selection of over 120 locally produced real ales and ciders served by volunteers in the t-shirts sporting the Blue Inc logo. Located in the atmospheric Noble Hall at the Great Yarmouth Priory Centre, the festival had audiences of up to 300 attending the most popular evening sessions over the weekend. An estimated 10,000 pints were consumed by over 1200 people attending the event over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

Town Centre Manager Jonathan Newman was keen to point out that the continued success of the festival was very much a result of the support received from sponsors Blue Inc and Enterprise GY. He also wanted to thank media partners Archant and the Great Yarmouth Mercury, TMS Media for logo design, the Priory Centre staff and the local groups and individuals who volunteered their time over the weekend to help serve the beer. "The festival has become a very popular event over the last few years, and owes its much of its success to the winning combination of a fantastic venue, enthusiastic volunteers, valuable sponsorship, great entertainment and Blackfriars ability to put on a superb selection of beers and ciders over the entire weekend."

May 2010

Fashion retailer Blue Inc has signed up to take the former D2 store in Market Gates Shopping Centre. This is more good news for the Great Yarmouth town centre's premier shopping centre which has also recently let units to Gimme Gizmo and Aura Jewellery. With over 80 stores across the U.K. Blue Inc was founded in 1912, originally trading as A Levy & Sons and re-branded in 1997 as Blue Inc originally to cater for the men's fashions whilst more recently launching ladies wear departments since 2009 as part of it's offer.

Advance tickets are selling fast for the 2010 Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival being held at the Priory Centre over the May Bank Holiday weekend. The Friday and Saturday evening sessions look certain to sell out as in previous years however plenty of tickets remain available for the opening Thursday night session on May 27th and all of the lunchtime sessions beginning on Friday 28th May. As well as being able to choose from over 120 real ales and ciders available, mostly from brewers based in East Anglia, Festival goers will be entertained by some great local performers over the weekend. Opening on Friday night is popular folk singer/songwriter Tosh, Thursday night features Irish Folk/Rock with the Lorebreakers, whilst Pete ‘Kiwi' Keegan brings his Skiffle Band on Saturday night with the final session on Sunday taking on a Jazz flavour with the Eastern Stray Notes. More information can be found at http://www.gybeerandciderfestival.tk/

The attempt to set a new Guinness World Record on May 31st - Bank Wally-Day Monday - for the most number of people dressed as the book character Where's Wally has received the seal of approval from the books publishers Walker Books this week. Representing the publisher, Jo Humpries-Davis, said she was thrilled to hear that Great Yarmouth was having another go at beating the record it fell short of last year. As well as planning to feature news of the event on their website, Walker books kindly arranged for the authors (Martin Handford) agent to supply the Town Centre Partnership with a number of images of ‘Wally' to be used in the posters and website promoting the record attempt. Registrations to take part in the event and sales of the additional 1,000 Wally costumes ordered to help people take part have been brisk, particularly the smaller sizes for children. To try and avoid the issue of people buying the costumes, being sold at the cost price of £6 to support the event, and not actually taking part in the record attempt any costumes sold will only be available to collect on the day of the Record attempt. Everyone planning to take part, including those already possessing a Wally costume, needs to register and get a ticket, which costs £1 being donated to Macmillan Cancer Care and the Have a Heart appeal. Registering and ordering Wally Kits can be done online at www.gytcp.co.uk/wally or in person at Books Inside, Boots or Palmers Department Store.  

April 2010

The Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership has declared May 31st 2010 as Bank ‘Wallyday' Monday as they set about organising another attempt at the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as the Where's Wally book character in one place.

The official record attempt is being launched on Wednesday 14th April in Great Yarmouth Market Place with the restoration of a 55ft tall banner of Wally, or Waldo as he is also known. Members of the public will be asked to assist in re-painting the giant print of Wally that was originally completed by children from St. Nicholas primary school last year. The banner had been placed on the roof of Market Gates shopping centre in an effort to be caught on the Google Earth satellite, but the paint has since faded. Once the paint has dried it is intended that the 15m banner will be suspended for a short period from the upper floors of Palmers Department store on the Market Place, before being safely stored until May 31st when it will again be suspended from one of the buildings surrounding the Market Place.

 Following a turnout of 901 ‘Wally's' for the first attempt last October, Town centre manager Jonathan Newman is convinced that Great Yarmouth has an appetite for a second attempt, "Everyone had such a great time when we tried this before I am certain that many of those people who already have a Wally costume will want to give it another go" And in preparation for the day Mr. Newman has ordered another 1,000 red and white striped t-shirts and bobble hats to supply to potential Wally's who haven't already got a costume. However there is an element of caution being used as having sold 1,200 costumes in the run up to the previous record attempt only 900 of those actually turned up on the day. This time around the costumes can be pre-ordered at £6 each, however they will not be available to collect until the morning that the World Record attempt takes place at 1pm on Monday 31st May in Great Yarmouth Market Place. Anyone wishing to take part will need to register either on-line at www.gytcp.co.uk/wally or at Books Inside and Boots in Market Gates Shopping Centre and Palmers Department Store in the Market Place. Registering will cost £1 per person which is being equally split between two charities; Macmillan Cancer Care and the Have a Heart appeal which gives money to local children's charities. Where's Wally costumes can also be ordered from each of the shops listed.

The attempt is being supported by local radio station Heart 102.4FM who will be providing regular updates on the sales of Where's Wally outfits. The station's promotional team - the Heart Angels - will also be helping with the count on the day.

March 2010 

Dates for this year annual Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival have been confirmed as 27th - 30th May - the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. This will be the fourth year the event has been held and will again be hosted by the Priory Centre near St. Nicholas Church. More information and advance tickets for the evening and lunchtime sessions are  available on the 'Town Centre Events' pages of this website now.

Shop crime was in the spotlight again this month as the Town Centre Partnership held its first ‘open-day' of the year. The Partnerships Crime Reduction Coordinator, Street Wardens and Police were on hand to discuss crime prevention issues with retailers attending the event at the town's CCTV offices. Demonstrations of the Secure Incident Recording and Community Engagement System (SIRCS), which allows shops to securely access information and images of known shop thieves, took place along with a guided tour of the CCTV control room.

The Town Centre Partnership was successful in a funding bid to the Department for Business Skills and Innovation 's £20 million Transformation Fund. Through this, support is being made available for up to 100 local community groups interested in promoting learning and sharing local knowledge in one of three areas; cooking, history & heritage, and crime prevention. As part of the funding application the Partnership has established a ‘Local Learning Club' for retailers to better obtain and share knowledge regarding crime reduction. The grant of £1,250 is being used to equip the Partnerships Street Warden team with mobile technology to assist town centre traders without on-line facilities to access the SIRCS system in their premises. The Partnership will also be able to share best practice with similar clubs being set up across the country.

February 2010

As town and city centres up and down the country continue to struggle with a poor economy and severe winter weather Great Yarmouth is not immune, however, Springboard, the operator of the town centre footfall counters recently confirmed that Great Yarmouth is faring slightly better for town centre visitors than the majority of centres. The average January footfall for town centres nationwide was 7.5% down on last year, many blaming the wintry weather, whilst Yarmouth was 1.5% down. Although, this is small comfort to retailers that are struggling to keep their heads above water as the country slowly comes out of recession, it is another indication, along with the town's improved occupancy rate of shops, that Great Yarmouth has been less affected by the recession than many centres.   

Encouraging more people to stay longer and use Great Yarmouth town centre's only multi-story, car park operator Apcoa have launched a promotion advertising a £4.50 all day parking fee. This represents great value to car users as it reduces the normal daily cost of parking by 50% as the full price is generally £9.00 for all day parking.

A bid to attain ‘Purple Flag' status for the town's night-time economy was launched this month as public and private sector figures work together towards passing a stringent accreditation process that judges the way the town is managed between 5pm and 6am. A number of stakeholders representing key business and public interests have agreed to participate in working groups to tackle various aspects of the town's attractiveness to people of all ages in the evening. It is hoped that the town will be in a position to be audited for the Purple Flag award this summer.    

January 2010 

A Happy New Year for town centre retailers?

With the Christmas shopping rush behind us retailers large and small will be assessing how they fared during their most important trading period in what is proving to be an increasingly difficult and changing environment in which to trade. This past year has been an extremely challenging one for town centre retailers, with many shops dependant on a ‘good' Christmas for a large percentage of their annual turnover. Hopefully, the last minute rush and ‘record' Boxing Day sales announced by some national retailers will have been a relief to many. No doubt that there will have been winners and losers, and this may become apparent during the bleaker months of January and February as it did last year with the loss of Woolworths, Adams and Zavvi from Britain's High Streets. The big supermarkets will no doubt have increased their market share of the national spend on Christmas, along with the seemingly unlimited range of internet shopping sites available, of course high street retailers now have on-line presence and some use this to drive footfall into their stores with special offers and vouchers, which may be an example of how the internet can have a positive affect on the high street.

So in the face of increasing market share being taken by supermarkets, out of town shops and the internet, what does the future hold for Great Yarmouth town centre? In terms of availability of shops the town centre has a stronger offer than it has had for the best part of a year, with the former Woolworths premises taken over by Ethel Austin in November and The Works filling the vacant unit left by Currys in December. The overall presentation of Great Yarmouth town centre is one that has easy access, central parking, compact with a wide variety of high street chain stores and independents. The Victoria Arcade has had new life breathed in to it with a number of new traders, and the bi-weekly market is also a positive factor as there is still a clear increase in shoppers on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Footfall during 2009, although down on 2008 remained a healthy 2% to 3% better than the national average and it has a greater shopping offer now could potentially continue in 2010.

So the overall prognosis is for another tough but not disastrous year for Great Yarmouth town centre but a word of caution, the high street economy is clearly fragile and the health and vitality of our main retail centre is dependant on it being protected - within central government guidelines - from any additional, unwarranted expansion outside of the town centre.

December 2009 

Christmas Shopping in Great Yarmouth

As Christmas approaches Great Yarmouth town centre is set to get another boost as a number of new shops race to get their shelves filled and doors open in time for the peak shopping season. Ethel Austin incorporating Aux Naturalle (old Woolworths store, The Works (former Dixons store) and Paperbox (new into Market Gates Shopping Centre), are the latest three national retailers to expand into the town, following the completion of the Market Gates Shopping Centre expansion last year which resulted in bringing Debenhams and Starbucks to the town and a larger New Look store. The new chain stores are complimented by the growing number independent shops that have been opening in the town in recent months including Finishing Touches, Knitters Knock, Bambino's and Bella Gowns in Victoria Arcade, Shattered Mirror and Mocha on Regent St and  Thomas Burn Jewellers, Noble Crafts, Turnstyle, Headrush and Instant Furniture in Market Row.

The new shops will increase an already exciting shopping offer with hundreds of outlets large and small, national and independents, that together provide a range of shopping catering for most needs and likes with many, many Christmas gift ideas throughout the town.

Beyond the wealth of shopping that Market Gates offers, there exists around the Market Place and King Street more than one major department store set amongst a wide variety of the main high street chain stores to provide everything you need for a great Christmas. The uniquely independent Palmers and the new Vergo department stores, the latter with it's Christmas Grotto open from November 28th, along with the likes of Argos, Boots, M&S and British Home Stores provide the Christmas shopper an inspirational selection of gift ideas, whilst a plethora of fashion stores and make sure you find that party outfit you need.

Of course, Christmas shopping doesn't begin and end with the chain stores and Great Yarmouth town centre has a wealth of independent shops that cater for a variety of gifts and services, allowing you the opportunity to buy that someone special something special and different this Christmas. Between them the town's Market and Broad Rows, King Street, Regent Street and a re-invigorated Victoria Arcade are home to a range of quality jewellery, book, fashion, sports, antique, florist and gift shops. These places also are home to a variety of cafes and restaurants for somewhere to relax and unwind during or after that major shopping trip and salons to make sure you look your best for that big night out.     

Great Yarmouth Market, another place where you are guaranteed to find the best value from a wide variety of stalls, along with some great food stalls, is open Fridays as well as Wednesdays and Saturdays in December, so don't forget the plan a look round there during your Christmas shopping expedition.

November 2009

 The Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership has announced its list of events planned to celebrate Christmas and support town centre retailers during the most important trading period of the year. Town Centre Manager Jonathan Newman said "It's no secret that retail has been hit hard during the recession and the Christmas build up will be all the more important for that, this will probably be the most important Christmas trading periods  for many years as far as town centre shops are concerned. As the Town Centre Partnership we will be pulling out all the stops to encourage more people to use their local town centre for Christmas shopping whilst competition from the internet, supermarkets and other shopping centres will be fierce as everyone will be after a share of what is likely to be a smaller spend on Christmas by most people this year."

The Festivities will start with the traditional switching on of the Christmas lights on the evening of Wednesday November 25th by his Worship the Mayor plus special guests and an evening of entertainment on the Heart FM soundstage. Popular breakfast presenter duo, Rob and Chrissie, will present the evening which will conclude with a rooftop firework finale at 8pm which is the time that town centre shops will be staying open until as the first late night shopping evening of the Christmas period.

The Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre, which will this year be concentrated in and around St. Nicholas Church and the Priory Centre at the North end of Market Place, runs from Friday 27th November to Sunday 29th November. This annual Christmas craft and gifts event provides ample opportunity to find unique presents and speciality food s whilst enjoying a festive entertainment and atmosphere. The Fayre will once again be playing host to the group of Norwegian craft traders that have visited the event every year since it began 11 years ago.

THE Norwegian theme continues with a once a year opportunity to enjoy the fantastic Norwegian Christmas Carol concert on Saturday 28th November at St. Nicholas Church performed by the  Lardal Kantori. The 40 piece mixed Choir will be travelling from their home in South-East Norway to perform exclusively in Great Yarmouth, where they also enjoy doing a bit of Christmas shopping them selves!

On the weekend of December 4th and 5th the town centre will play host to ‘Italia in Piazza' a wonderfully Mediterranean themed market. Some 20 stalls will feature a range of foods supplied directly from the producers in Italy, including a wide range of cheeses, cured meats, olives and pasta. A number of stalls will have a festive flavour, in particular the ranges of cakes and sweets.

Late night shopping in the town centre starts with the Christmas Lights switch-on November 25th and continues on every Wednesday until Christmas. The majority of shops will open until 8pm on December 2nd and 9th and until 9pm and December 16th and 23rd. A variety of entertainment will take place each evening but a visit by Santa's reindeer and their friends the Christmas ‘Reindeer' Donkeys is promised on each of the Wednesdays in December.  

October 2009

On saturday 24th October Great Yarmouth will be hoping to set a new Guinness World record and raise over £1,000 for the Breast Cancer Care charity. 

The campaign to set a new Guinness World Record in Great Yarmouth is well under way with hundreds of people expected to turn out for this wackiest of events being held in the Market Place. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the current World Record for the number people dressed as the children's book character from "Where Wally" in one place 1,052. With many people already registered on the Yarmouth events official website www.gytcp.co.uk/wally it is hoped that Great Yarmouth can establish a new record to beat that total set in New York earlier this year.

£1 will be donated to the Breast Cancer Care Charity for every 'Wally' taking part in the attempt.

Preparations are in full swing now for Christmas as town centre retailer's debate store opening times in the run up to December 25th. The pressures of the economic downturn and the way the festive period has fallen across the weekend  is forcing many national traders to extend opening hours and days to include Boxing and New Years' Days openings. Great Yarmouth town centre will open for five late night shopping evenings from the date of the Christmas Light switch-on planned for Wednesday 25th November and the four following Wednesday's in December. Keep an eye on the Events page for further details on the events being held on the late night shopping evening as well as the Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre taking place over 27th - 29th November.

August 2009

Footfall in Great Yarmouth town centre recovered slightly in June and July after two months of negative growth in May and April. Following a buoyant start to the year with an average growth of 4.4% up to March, footfall figures measured by Springboard dropped drastically following Easter, with both April and May being down some 6% on the same months in 2008. However, following a 4% year on year increase for June, July's figures are static with no growth are decline. The current average growth for the year to date stands at -1.3% with still compares favourably with Springboards benchmark figure for all town s and cities of -3.9% and -8.9 for coastal resorts.

With four late-night ‘Summer Wednesday' shopping events in August, footfall in the town centre could get a further boost. The Town Centre Partnership has arranged entertainment and activities to tempt shoppers into town during the extended hours including Punch and Judy shows, donkey rides, live music and street dancing. Many shops will have in-store events of their own including demonstrations and special offers, whilst town centre car parking in Council run car parks is free after 4pm. With entertainment and a free firework display on the seafront from 9pm, the town centre is the perfect place to park, get something to eat and do some shopping, before walking down to Marine Parade for the fireworks.  The 'Summer Wednesdays' late night shopping runs until August 26th.

July 2009

Plans for Great Yarmouth's first summer of late night shopping evenings in the town centre hot up as retailers reveal a series of special events to tempt shoppers into their stores. Every ‘Summer Wednesday' from 22nd July to 26th August, traders will be opening for extended hours in the town centre supported by activities and events provided by the Town Centre Partnership and Market Gates Shopping Centre. These include donkey rides, trampolines, a climbing wall, family craft workshops, singers, dancers, face painters and a weekly competition to win £100 of shopping vouchers. As well as having some great Wednesday night exclusive promotions, a number of retailers have arranged their own ‘in-store' events to add even greater interest to the weekly event. Book signings by top authors and celebrities have been organised by independent bookshop ‘Books Inside', whilst Boots will be having a weekly Makeover event and Fashion Show. Game has arranged for a special ‘Singstar' console in it's Market Gates store for one of the evenings, whilst Peacocks will have a Beautician on hand in their store to offer free advice on hair and facial care. As an extra incentive, Apcoa, the company that runs the shopping centre multi-story car park, is bringing in a one-off fee of £1.50 from 3pm on each of the ‘Summer Wednesdays' until the car park closes.

The Town Centre Partnership's ShopSafe retail crime reduction scheme welcomed three new members during June. Retailers Store 21, Select and 99p Stores all took delivery of their hand held radios last month, allowing them to participate in the town wide scheme to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. And with the launch of new ‘Red Card' town centre exclusion scheme in May, the scheme is even better place to have an impact on retail crime.

Shoppers and businesses in Great Yarmouth welcomed the news that the Market Place Co-op Department Store is to be saved after a deal was done by East of England Co-op to sell the shop along with 11 other stores to Liverpool based Vergo Retail. East of England Co-op Chief Executive, Richard Sampson, confirmed in a press release last month that the deal would secure the employment of staff as his own company moved away from non-food retailing.  The store has been under threat of closure since March when it was announced that potential buyers were being sought.

 June 2009

This Summer retailers in Great Yarmouth will be opening for extended hours every Wednesday from 22nd July to 26th August. Traders in the town centre will be attempting to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn by opening until 8pm on one of the busiest days of the week during the town's peak tourism season. Using the title of ‘Summer Wednesdays', the initiative is being supported by the Town Centre Partnership with a programme of free entertainment and activities in the Market Place. A combination of radio and press advertising plus a special voucher booklet featuring special offers from retailers and town centre eateries, will promote the late night shopping to residents and visitors alike.

The 3rd Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival held at the Priory Centre over the Spring Bank Holiday was hailed a major success with numbers up 22% on the previous year and over 40% better attended than year one. Organisers, the Town Centre Partnership and Blackfriars Brewery, are already looking forward to next year when forthcoming improvement works at the Priory Centre will allow for larger attendances still. The 2010 Festival will once again be held over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend that has become the traditional time for the event to be held.

The Town Centre Partnership re-launches its town centre exclusion scheme this month with a new ‘Red Card' approach to shoplifters and trouble-makers. The exclusion scheme is part of the Partnership's ShopSafe Retail Crime Reduction initiative and has been in place for a number of years. To date, persons caught shoplifting in member stores have been served an exclusion notice on a detailed form which required copies in triplicate. Following the re-launch, retailers will be armed with ‘Red Cards' that can be issued to persons caught shoplifting or for other offences including bad and/or threatening behaviour, which will inform the offender that they have been banned from all of the scheme's member stores, a total of over 70 retailers in Great Yarmouth.  

May 2009

Tickets are selling fast for the Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival being held at the Priory Centre over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. A combination of over 100 locally produces real ales and ciders, with great music and entertainment, in this wonderful historic venue, help make this annual event really special.  As every year, the staff at the festival are all volunteers, and this year the organisers are delighted that a number of local organisations are to bring teams of volunteers to ‘man' the bars for many of the sessions. The International Lions and the Royal Society of St George are just two groups that will be bringing volunteers to help out. The Festival opens for the first session at 5pm on Thursday 21st, where the Salt Box comedy club will be kicking off the proceedings with a night of laughter with top local comics. More details on this and the rest of the Festival can be found on the events page of this website.   

Footfall in Great Yarmouth Town Centre continued to buck the national downward trend for the first four months of 2009. According to the Springboard/ATCM High Street Index, Great Yarmouth footfall during January to April was 1.8% higher than last year, this compares very favourably with Springboards ‘All Towns and Cities' average of -3.8% for the same period. These figures go some way towards supporting the widely held belief that Great Yarmouth and East Anglia is being less affected by the national economic downturn than other parts of the country. And, with the prospect of an increase in Britons holidaying in the U.K. due to the weak sterling, with Great Yarmouth being Britain's third largest seaside tourism destination, traders in the town centre look set to capitalise on a further increase in footfall during the summer.

April 2009

Great news for Shoppers in Great Yarmouth! - Town Centre car parks operated by Great Yarmouth Borough Council are now free from 4pm. Councillors agreed the surprise initiative in light of the current economic pressures facing many of the town centre's businesses. It is hoped that having the free parking from 4pm will see more people make late shopping visits to the town, perhaps staying and eating in one of the many restaurants situated in and around the town centre, without being concerned about getting a parking ticket.

The 99p shop opened its doors for the first time in Great Yarmouth this month as it replaced the former Clothing Direct unit on the Regent Road side of Market Gates shopping centre. Trade was particularly brisk on the first day as earlybird shoppers were rewarded with a number of special offers.

The good news continues as, despite the economic gloom that pervades the country, Great Yarmouth is bucking the trend as more and more people are shopping the town centre compared to last year. The footfall counters have measured a 1% increase for the first three months of the year, whereas most town and city centres are experiencing significant decreases. And with Easter holidays this month and talk of 20% - 30% increases in summer bookings with the Borough's holiday parks and hotels, this trend could continue throughout the summer. It is important therefore that the town's shops, services and cafe's are prepared for what could turn out to be a bumper season for the town's tourism industry as the poor value of the pound encourages holidays ‘at home'. Town Centre retailers are already planning to open their doors longer on Wednesdays during the peak weeks of summer as the town embraces the influx of visitors. Late night shopping and events and entertainment in the town centre will be scheduled from July 22nd to August 26th if plans are agreed between retailers and the Town Centre Partnership for additional marketing to promote the shops being open until 8pm. The aim is to encourage greater use of the town centre after 4pm when car parking becomes free on council car parks with people being incentivised with special offers to stay longer, have a meal and do some extra shopping visiting the other attractions open late during the summer.  Watch this space as plans unfold.....

Tickets for the Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival went on sale last month through the pages of the Yarmouth Mercury. The Festival is being held from May 21st to May 24th, more details are available on this site's events page.

March 2009

With another store closing on Great Yarmouth Market Place, as Curry's Digital consolidate the number of stores they have nationally, there is a concern that the town will appear less attractive to both shoppers and potential new retailers. However, despite the withdrawal of this and two other high street shops in the last two months (Adams and Woolworths) Great Yarmouth is still in a much better position than many towns and cities affected by the economic downturn. Whilst plans for new shopping centres and town centre improvements are being shelved by developers up and down the country, Great Yarmouth was fortunate to have the Market Gates extension and it's new retailers secured ahead of the start of the ‘Credit Crunch' last year. The benefit this has brought to the existing town centre shops can be expressed by the number of additional shoppers the development has brought to the town, which continues to be up on last year, whereas nationally the average number of shoppers in town centres has continued to fall. And, whilst there are vacant units in the new area of Market Gates, agents for the landlords continue to market the shopping centre and Great Yarmouth to potential new retailers. Similarly, the landlords of Victoria Arcade, where the high number of empty units were already a problem before the economic downturn, and now serve to exaggerate the problem, have appointed new agents with instructions to increase the occupancy rate. To this end, some very favourable terms are being made available to potential tenants that should result in the reduction of empty shop units in the coming months.           

The role of the Town Centre Partnership in all this becomes more important than ever in promoting Great Yarmouth town centre as a clean, safe and friendly place to shop and visit. Crime and the perception of crime has been an issue for town centres for many years, ensuring that shoppers feel safe when visiting the town centre is vital. Retail crime, expected to increase as a result of the economic situation, is a big threat to small retailers as they try to cope with lower sales and reduced margins, the Partnership's ShopSafe scheme is well placed to assist traders to combat retail crime.  Putting on events, such as the Italian Market on the 13th and 14th March, to attract additional visitors to the town is also much more important as shoppers look for added value when deciding where to visit. Raising awareness, sometimes by simply reminding visitors of the wealth of traders around them, is also key in assisting independent traders that occupy the streets off the Market Place. To this end, the Partnership has just replaced the weathered plastic covers and obsolete information boards with bright new signage to ‘announce' the town's unique traders in Market and Broad Rows and King Street. The Partnership's website, http://www.gytcp.co.uk/, which has information on coming events, news and shopping, also offers the towns smaller retailers a presence on the World Wide Web, guiding potential customers to their doors.

Retail is just one part of an economy that is under increasing pressure with people's jobs at risk in all sectors, and, as in any town, retail is likely to be affected if any jobs are lost in other industries. The national downturn has claimed a number of retailers since Christmas, Woolworths and Adams being two that have had stores close in Great Yarmouth. However, it's not all ‘doom and gloom', as a number of national retailers with shops in Great Yarmouth have announced Christmas sales above last year, including New Look, Poundland, JD Sports, Matalan, Game, and Peacocks, so despite the newspaper headlines, there is some room for optimism.

With so much focus in the press on national companies, it seems overlooked that our local retailers are as likely, if not more so, to be affected by the downturn. Without the backing of national resources and with working capital scarce, local businesses need all the support they can muster, and whilst we cannot always expect them to be as competitive, they will have other positive factors that set them apart from the nationals, e.g. local knowledge, local goods/products,  customer service and wider choice. It is estimated that every pound spent with a local trader stays in the local economy for up to five further transactions.

The town centre Christmas season is in full swing now with the lights switched on and shops tills busy. There are plenty of bargains to be had as retailers tempt shoppers with big price cuts for limited periods. Many led by national campaigns by the like of M&S and Boots, these short campaigns, supported by national press advertising, have certainly brought more shoppers in to the town centre.

As well as the exceptional mark downs and special offers, the opening of Debenhams, Starbucks and Poundland in Market Gates is already attracting more shoppers to the town centre. A healthy increase is being seen in footfall compared to the same period last year, bucking the trend of the ‘Credit Crunch' affect on footfall over the last few months. During most of this year, as in most town and city centres, the number of people visiting the town centre has been down on 2007, however, during the first three weeks of November the average footfall for the town centre has been up more than 10%. And during the week of the Christmas Light Switch on and Christmas Fayre this exceeded 25%. Of course it doesn't necessarily follow that shoppers are spending more in the town, national figures suggest that this is far from the case, but I think most retailers will agree that having more shoppers spending in the town, is better than less. And from what I am being told by both our oldest and newest town centre Department stores, trade in the town centre has been pretty brisk lately.

According to national press, another effect of the ‘Credit Crunch' on the high street has been a sharp increase in retail theft that many of the national chains are reporting. This trend has encouraged a number of retailers to join the Town Centre Partnerships retail crime reduction scheme ‘ShopSafe'. Debenhams and Poundland signed up to the scheme as soon as they opened. Other retailers, already trading in the town centre, have also recently taken advantage of the combination of measures that have been accredited with the Home Office ‘Safer Business Award'. The scheme has contributed to reducing retail crime in the town centre by more than 20% in consecutive years since 2006. This has been achieved by close partnership working between Police, CCTV, Street Wardens and shop staff. Any businesses wanting to learn more about the scheme should contact John Pond, the Retail Crime Reduction Co-ordinator, on 01493 745828.

So, whilst analysts predict that regional and out of shopping centres will bear the brunt of the current decline in consumer spending on the high street, Great Yarmouth town centre, with its predominant value and discount retail offer coupled with a bus interchange on its doorstep, is already well placed to weather the twin threats of reduced disposable income and rising fuel costs. However, if you add to this the extension of Market Gates shopping centre, the most significant development in the town centre for over 20 years, the enriching of the town's retail mix about to be enhanced by the opening of Debenhams, Starbucks and an increased New Look, then optimism in the town centre should be expected.