End of line for historic jetty

Tuesday 10th January 2012

Work started this week on demolishing an historic Great Yarmouth jetty which is believed to have been used by Lord Nelson when he returned to England after the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

Councillors decided that there was no way of meeting the £300,000 bill for refurbishment of the jetty.

Charles Reynolds, the council’s cabinet member for tourism, agreed that it was a sad end to the jetty and a difficult decision for members to take. But the final straw came when English Heritage said the current jetty had no historical interest which meant grant funding was unlikely.

Campaigners to save the jetty were distraught to see the start of demolition work which is expected to take 6-8 weeks.

Michael Boon, the former chief executive of Great Yarmouth Port Authority, said it beggared belief that the council could destroy a part of Yarmouth’s history. He thought the original jetty dated back to the 1560s but the council says that the most recent reconstruction, in the 1960s, was its 15th rebuild.

As part of the £80,000-plus demolition project, the jetty will be marked with a plaque at the sea end. The council-owned structure has been closed to the public since 2009 because of its decaying timbers and loose cladding.