By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Been away for the weekend in a Haven park up near Yarmouth, and as my boy got a bike for his birthday we elected to across to the town yesterday so he could ride it around as more space there etc
It's sad how run down the whole town is there, admittedly going to a seaside town out of season on a fairly miserable day is never going to show it in a flattering light, it is just totally run down from top to bottom.
Everything is dated, everything is cheap and tacky and everyone seems down on their luck, admittedly again this was a Monday so most of those who do work would be at work.
These are Brexit towns, but putting that aside, is there anything that can be done to turn these sorts of town's around, I'd guess they are just too far gone.
Regardless, I had an enjoyable day, I do like a seaside town, and my over arching emotion was sadness at a town which used to be booming back in the summers
Same here, I've got plenty of fond childhood memories. It's not all doom and gloom. It's also not too far away from lovely spots like Burgh Castle. Burgh Castle is a nice place to walk the dogs. The only slight downer on Burgh Castle is my mother-in-law had her window smashed in the main car park there in recent times and her phone was stolen from inside the car. Gorleston beach is beautiful on a lovely sunny day. I also enjoy watching Gorleston vs Yarmouth play but sadly they are in different leagues this season as Yarmouth got relegated last season. That said, the way Gorleston are going they could be in the same leagues again come next season. Gorleston were recently thumped 1-7 at home by Woodbridge!
Gorleston seem to be struggling this season, last season they did pretty well overall though considering their small budget.
I too have many happy memories of the place and family ties on my late mums side. I used to especially love it in winter, oddly enough. Yes, the Pleasure Beach etc would be shut (or blown down), but I love the sight sound and smell of the sea when it is cold and wintery and would walk from the town along the seafront to my grandmothers house imagining sailing ships, shipwrecks and all that sort of thing.
There is plenty to do in that area and so many beautiful places around it. I believe Yarmouth could be so much better than it is and I hope it’s fortunes rise and I’ve no doubt they will one day. One thing surprised me after not going there for so long was getting in and out of it. The roads in and out are pretty much unchanged. Improvement in that would certainly help.
On wind farms - that's a shame to hear it's not more involved that that - I was hoping it was. I would argue that it's an industry that is perfect for a nationalised entity. Create a front-to-back nationalised company that would need people from various walks of life and which would invest in the towns and locations where the turbines are needed.
- Apprenticeships for the manufacture and maintenance of the turbines straight from school or 6th form
- Engineers and Programmers from university to design the turbines and provide the software (although could also have apprenticeships for this as well)
If all went well you could even have an export industry in the turbines over the longer term which requires sales, marketing etc.
SB
So it seems JC reads TWTD and gets some policy ideas from here:
Am heading back this weekend to visit my Dad in Gorleston. Will also be running the 10 k race on Yarmouth front. Agree with most of the comments in the thread. Great day out with kids in summer and some nice beaches. Pretty bleak in Winter though. Very fond childhood memories of Joyland, pleasure beach, burgh castle, somerleyton hall, fritton lake, pleasurewood hills, Gorleston beach, and of course Quasar above the mint. Politically is in a bad but understandable place. Majority of Dad's local Facebook mates were very pro Farage and co ahead of the referendum. Turned out to be an accurate predictor for the town and the country. I head back there 5 or 6 times a year and still love the place. Gorleston more than Yarmouth tbf. Gorleston park run is great too. Also a big fan of Boxing Day local derby match at Emerald park or the Wellesley.
Forgot to say, good luck with your 10k run at the weekend.
They are building a ridiculous amount of houses in Bradwell (village just outside Yarmouth) and on the outskirts of Gorleston. Emerald Park where Gorleston FC play also looks set to be demolished for houses as well, see here: https://www.edp24.co.uk/edp-property/plans-to-demolish-emerald-park-revealed-1-5 There are plans for another 600 houses to go into Bradwell soon and there are absolutely loads of new builds being built already. https://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/exhibition-over-plans-to-build-600-n As a result, it's getting very hard to get a doctor or a dental appointment, a lot of people are even queuing up outside the the doctor surgery each morning nearby to me to try and get an appointment for the day, as the phone lines are jammed first thing. The same is true for the local dentist. I know this is true as my elderly father who has a serious heart problem has had to do it more than once for both this year. The infrastructure (i.e. roads, jobs, schools, doctors, dentists, hospitals etc.) just isn't in place for the huge growth in houses. One time my son broke his collarbone playing football in goal on the Saturday and when we took him to A&E they were very busy and said they didn't think it needed an X-ray. When he went to school on the Monday the school called us concerned that he still appeared uncomfortable so we took him back to the hospital that morning asking for a second opinion and this time they did X-ray him and it showed he had broken his collarbone. There's a big homeless problem in Great Yarmouth as well, worse than I've ever known it previously. Occasionally I'd be asked for change when I went into town a few years ago, now I am asked from somebody nearly every time I go to the town centre. A lot of them are sleeping in the church yard between Sainsburys and Northgate Street in Great Yarmouth. I spoke to a homeless guy the other day and he said he'd been beaten up walking between Yarmouth and Gorleston (you could see he'd been set upon as he was black and blue) by some youths which just made my blood boil. The infrastructure is cracking at the seams. It seems like they put the Haven Bridge up for a canoe which brings the whole town to a standstill for I don't know how long! When the traffic gets bad in the summer holidays with all the holiday makers I can walk to Yarmouth, which is 3 miles away, much quicker than I could drive. The town clearly needs a third crossing. The outer harbour hasn't been the silver bullet like a lot of people had hoped, although I was never convinced with Felixstowe not that far away. And we've been waiting for the Acle Straight to be dualled (somebody I used to teach had their daughter killed on that road - it's a real accident blackspot) for what seems an eternity. Every new MP promises to push to get it dualled but they all fail to deliver. Drugs problems seem to be getting totally out of hand in Yarmouth with national coverage about county lines in the town. Some of the schools are having to provide food banks for hungry children. You can see why some people just give up hope and turn to drink and drugs. When people have nothing left to lose, they lose it. Back in 2013 Yarmouth council got one of the worst settlements in the country, see here: https://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/publicity-stunt-claim-over-great-yar It was cut by about 19% I believe, we had Mr Eric Pickles to thank for that as far as I could gather and our MP Brandon Lewis was accused by Labour councillors at the time of being complicit (in a morally wrong sense). I know there are many other towns up and down the country that feel forgotten and severely damaged by austerity, so I'm sure Yarmouth isn't alone, but all I can do is tell of the experience I see first hand living here and I have to say it's not a pretty sight.
[Post edited 9 Oct 2019 11:27]
a harrowing, fascinating post, thank you for making it.
In the spirit of reconciliation and happiness at the end of the Banter Era (RIP) and as a result of promotion I have cleared out my ignore list. Look forwards to reading your posts!
Ere Footers, a couple of mates went to that First Light festival in Lowie over the summer, and had a lully old evening/ morning.
Afterwards I heard that the council had allowed for 3k people turning up, and 30k actually did. Offies all sold out of booze, BnBs all booked up etc etc....
Was this actually the case? Cos next year's festival will inevitably be even bigger, if so. Just the sort of thing the town needs, I'd suggest.
I went too and had a great day. Being an old Lowestoftian (left when I was 19, but visit regularly for family and nostalgic beer trips...although most pubs are gone now....) I was pleased that the town had put on such a great show. Reports are that the council were totally unprepared for the huge influx of people, but hopefully the event will be just as successful next year and people will be more prepared.
Additionally I went on a night in Yarmouth last month and other than a few decent real ale pubs in town the place was dreadful.
Thank you for posting this. It really highlights the problems talked about in the thread. It’s such a depressing problem, unless you are one of the truly awful people making money from it. Only will, resources, education and a lot of investment are going to dent this everlasting national problem.
In the spirit of reconciliation and happiness at the end of the Banter Era (RIP) and as a result of promotion I have cleared out my ignore list. Look forwards to reading your posts!
And I’m sure you’ll also completely ignore lines like ‘The heroin is everywhere’, ‘£2,000 worth of heroin’, ‘scored wraps of heroin and crack cocaine’ plus the pictures of needles and foil, and continue to associate the country lines problem with middle class people enjoying a nosebag on a Saturday night...
Highlighting crass stupidity since sometime around 2010
And I’m sure you’ll also completely ignore lines like ‘The heroin is everywhere’, ‘£2,000 worth of heroin’, ‘scored wraps of heroin and crack cocaine’ plus the pictures of needles and foil, and continue to associate the country lines problem with middle class people enjoying a nosebag on a Saturday night...
You doubt the problem is in part to do with exactly those middle class people you mention? Amazing if so. I don't ask addicts to not be addicts, even when I do doubt addiction really exists. I ask that those very people you mention stop doing what they are doing, accounting as they do for so many drug buys in this country. Who can imagine why I attract such opprobrium for this simple position?
[Post edited 16 Oct 2019 10:27]
In the spirit of reconciliation and happiness at the end of the Banter Era (RIP) and as a result of promotion I have cleared out my ignore list. Look forwards to reading your posts!
You doubt the problem is in part to do with exactly those middle class people you mention? Amazing if so. I don't ask addicts to not be addicts, even when I do doubt addiction really exists. I ask that those very people you mention stop doing what they are doing, accounting as they do for so many drug buys in this country. Who can imagine why I attract such opprobrium for this simple position?
[Post edited 16 Oct 2019 10:27]
You doubt that addiction exists? I would argue that their are different levels of dependency, but to deny the existence of addiction flies in the face of most scientific research. Of course, US tobacco executives argued for years that nicotine was not addictive.
You doubt the problem is in part to do with exactly those middle class people you mention? Amazing if so. I don't ask addicts to not be addicts, even when I do doubt addiction really exists. I ask that those very people you mention stop doing what they are doing, accounting as they do for so many drug buys in this country. Who can imagine why I attract such opprobrium for this simple position?
[Post edited 16 Oct 2019 10:27]
I think you catch some plop for this because you're not even handed in your logic my luv. If you were, you'd be condemning all car drivers, all drinkers, all people who knowingly eat badly, all people who fly too much or people who don't pay as much tax as they should or give enough to charity. Basically all people in one sense or another.
Has anyone ever looked at their own postings for last day or so? Oh my... so sorry. Was Ullaa
I think you catch some plop for this because you're not even handed in your logic my luv. If you were, you'd be condemning all car drivers, all drinkers, all people who knowingly eat badly, all people who fly too much or people who don't pay as much tax as they should or give enough to charity. Basically all people in one sense or another.
It's very hard to run a family or have a job without a car. I do condemn people who fly too much, especially those who then moan about the environment. Everyone pays as much tax as they *should* or they are breaking the law. Charitable donations are to each their own although i do think part of the reason Tories love charities is because they want them to do the state's work for them. Finally on drinking or indeed fags, if they werent available and we knew what we know now about the products & Diageo wanted to start selling them, would they be so readily available? Just because some poisons are for sale does that mean they all should be?
[Post edited 16 Oct 2019 10:42]
In the spirit of reconciliation and happiness at the end of the Banter Era (RIP) and as a result of promotion I have cleared out my ignore list. Look forwards to reading your posts!
You doubt that addiction exists? I would argue that their are different levels of dependency, but to deny the existence of addiction flies in the face of most scientific research. Of course, US tobacco executives argued for years that nicotine was not addictive.
I do doubt it yes. I certainly don't buy this "addiction is a disease" dialogue.
In the spirit of reconciliation and happiness at the end of the Banter Era (RIP) and as a result of promotion I have cleared out my ignore list. Look forwards to reading your posts!
It's very hard to run a family or have a job without a car. I do condemn people who fly too much, especially those who then moan about the environment. Everyone pays as much tax as they *should* or they are breaking the law. Charitable donations are to each their own although i do think part of the reason Tories love charities is because they want them to do the state's work for them. Finally on drinking or indeed fags, if they werent available and we knew what we know now about the products & Diageo wanted to start selling them, would they be so readily available? Just because some poisons are for sale does that mean they all should be?
[Post edited 16 Oct 2019 10:42]
Condemn drinkers then - the fact it's illegal shouldn't matter (i don't think the illegality is your problem with drugs is it?) but more about the affect it has on society. And imagine how much more usefully all that drink money could be spent.
Fag smokers are worse - every fag cost 50p now - I often think to myself as I smoke one: shouldn't I give this 50p to some homeless bod instead?
Only people in rural areas actually *need* a car. If work's not close enough, move.
Tax avoidance is only available to those with enough money to spend on it. Ban it! Take the money at source.
Has anyone ever looked at their own postings for last day or so? Oh my... so sorry. Was Ullaa
I do doubt it yes. I certainly don't buy this "addiction is a disease" dialogue.
Not everyone who has a dependence on a drug or habit is "addicted". But plenty become so dependent that they find it near impossible to give up their vice.
You doubt the problem is in part to do with exactly those middle class people you mention? Amazing if so. I don't ask addicts to not be addicts, even when I do doubt addiction really exists. I ask that those very people you mention stop doing what they are doing, accounting as they do for so many drug buys in this country. Who can imagine why I attract such opprobrium for this simple position?
[Post edited 16 Oct 2019 10:27]
The cocaine supply chain has its own problems without doubt (not least where it’s produced), however the county lines endemic is specific to the supply of drugs like heroin and crack, and an increased demand for those that has been fuelled by societal factors. Whether I, you, or anyone else enjoys a few lines or not on a Saturday night doesn’t make a jot of difference to that quite frankly
Your overall point is valid - but you completely undermine that point by continuing to link it to something which is completely different
Highlighting crass stupidity since sometime around 2010
Such a shame, a lovely building that's just sat there for a decade, unused and unloved.
I thought it was close to getting full funding (National Lottery?) a few years ago, something to do with Gryff Rees-Jones, sounds like there is lots going on in the background, it's protected/listed so the money will have to be found to 'fix' it, I just wonder how they will bring it back into use to make it pay for itself.
Such a shame, a lovely building that's just sat there for a decade, unused and unloved.
I thought it was close to getting full funding (National Lottery?) a few years ago, something to do with Gryff Rees-Jones, sounds like there is lots going on in the background, it's protected/listed so the money will have to be found to 'fix' it, I just wonder how they will bring it back into use to make it pay for itself.
I really hope it is restored and a good use is found for it. I just hope the problem isn’t fixed by an ‘accidental’ fire or a bulldozer accidentally driving into it.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
