The town we are based closest to is Great Yarmouth (if you ignore Gorleston, a town technically nearer, we know, we know).
Yarmouth has had its moments in time – a favourite of Queen Victoria’s no less, long associations with Lord Nelson, with Charles Dickens setting part of “David Copperfield” there (the famous beach chase scene), but in recent decades, its splendour from the 19th century has faded somewhat and is often much derided for its amenities.
In fairness, though, it does have many things going for it – the seafront is attractive, the beach is inviting. It has the oldest wooden rollercoaster in the world at its Pleasure Beach, as well as a historic Hippodrome circus, two historic naval hospitals and market chips that are probably the best in the UK.
Great Yarmouth is dry
Its climate is dry, the property prices there are affordable for Norfolk and crime is low.
Yarmouth does have an end of the line feel, admittedly, with its geographical isolation playing a part and has lost its herring industry that supported much of the town’s wealth. It is a town though showing green shoots of recovery, with its developing offshore energy industry and transport improvements.
That herring loss is nominally commemorated now though with a third river crossing – the Herring Bridge, to supplement the other two (the relatively modern Breydon Bridge) and the historic Haven Bridge, a gateway near the town centre.
The three bridges of Yarmouth
Breydon Bridge crosses Breydon Water, a vast expense of river / sea where the Yare widens as it approaches the Bure (the Yare is of course joined by the Waveney) and is often a bottleneck in tourist seasons.
Haven Bridge crosses the narrower Yare as it heads to the North Sea, along South Quay, but has been plagued in recent years by mechanical failures. It was opened in 1930, and some 94 years on, spare parts for its lifting are apparently hard to source.
Cue Herring Bridge
Or queue?
Like its rival down the road, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth has finally pipped it to the post with the unveiling and opening, last week, of the Herring Bridge. This connects the top end (the Gorleston part) of Southtown Road (and Harfreys Industrial Estate) with the north, industrial side of Yarmouth.
It’s been a long 36 months in planning and construction, at a cost of £121 million, and has been a complex project. It has a new 5 point roundabout, a new dual carriageway (remember Norfolk is one of the few UK counties without a three lane motorway). It is now operating, with its two “leaves” actually constructed in Belgium (another place famed for chips), with its parts shipped to Yarmouth for construction on site. It is a bascule bridge too with fast opening and closing times – within 90 seconds, twenty-plus times per day.
Makes economic sense
The bridge’s economic value to the town has been estimated too at £20 million per annum, so will break even within 6 years.
It opened officially on Thursday 1st February, but failed just two days later, due to a technical fault.
Norfolk County Council said in a statement:
“A technical issue with Herring Bridge was identified by the operators on Saturday afternoon, which meant that the bridge was temporarily closed to road traffic for a few hours over Saturday and Sunday to allow for investigations and testing to be carried out, although for the most part the crossing has remained available for use by road traffic.”
Once the issues have been ironed out, though, we’re sure the third river crossing will add to the town’s hopefully brighter economic future. It’s a project we wholeheartedly support at HSEQ-360 Limited.
Great Yarmouth has a restored Venetian Waterways on North Drive, now we can add another to the roster – the Bridge of Sighs, perhaps.
