The Partnership was established in 1997 to work with all stakeholders to make Great Yarmouth Town Centre a more vibrant and attractive place to work, shop and live. The Town Centre Partnership (TCP) is a not-for-profit organisation funded by local businesses and supported by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Norfolk Police and Norfolk County Council. In 2006, town centre businesses voted in favour of the formation of a Business Improvement District (BID), which led to the formation of Great Yarmouth Business Improvement District (gyBID) which has been managed by the TCP since in April 2006. Following five-years of the delivering projects and initiatives summarised below, another ballot was held in February 2011 to secure gyBID for a further five years until 2016.

The objectives of the Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership are straightforward enough with the main elements being around promoting a Clean & Safe and Friendly town centre:

A Clean and Safe town centre
CCTV, a retail radio link, Street Wardens, shared intelligence, Secure Incident Reporting and Community Engagement System (SIRCS), exclusion orders and civil recovery have played a significant role in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre as part of the Town Partnerships ShopSafe scheme. The success of this combination of measures has resulted in significant reductions in business crime, anti-social behaviour and street damage in the town centre and gyBID area, therefore promoting a much safer environment for people to work and visit.

A Friendly town centre
Raising the profile of Great Yarmouth Town Centre as an exciting shopping destination is a key aim for the TCP and gyBID. Frequent high quality events and promotions in and around the town centre are a vital part of maintaining the attraction for visitors. Christmas and Summer are the high volume trading periods for the town centre and the Partnership maintains a significant level of events and marketing at these times, however, the importance of seeking to bring new events at other times of the year has not been overlooked. Training courses and access to business support for town centre traders is also a key role for the TCP in promoting a ‘Friendlier' town centre.

Further details of the gyBID projects and initiatives and the improvements they are bringing can be found can be found at http://www.gybid.co.uk/.