A local Great Yarmouth businessman has made an impassioned plea to the borough council for the proposed large casino development, one of only eight in Britain, to be sited at the heart of the Golden Mile. Peter Jay, owner of the Hippodrome Circus and other buildings on the seafront, considers that any other location would be a death knell for existing businesses.

The Norwich Evening News reports that the borough council is at the consultation stage of formulating a casino licensing policy and that Mr Jay has written to them expressing his point of view and stating that picking the casino site will be the “most important decision the authority will ever make.” There are at present two other casino schemes being considered. One has been proposed by the Pleasure Beach owner for a £30 million complex next to the outer harbour, and another could be presented in due course by the owner of the town’s Palace Casino for a riverside location.

The seafront site taking in the Marina Centre, which could be used for the new casino if Mr Jay and others are successful, is council owned. In February 2007 Great Yarmouth Borough Council approved the promotion of the prime seafront site for redevelopment and adopted the Golden Mile Planning Brief, which acts as a material consideration in the determination of any future planning application relating to the site, at the end of that year.

English Heritage has recently withdrawn its objections to the rival proposal for a Pleasure Beach casino complex after design plans for the project were altered to leave a statue of Horatio Nelson clearly visible. The tourism industry is the biggest single employer in the Great Yarmouth area, directly and indirectly, and the council is committed to ensuring the town remains a leading destination. Having one of Britain’s eight large casinos should help maintain Great Yarmouth’s popularity with tourists, wherever the complex is finally sited. (E-02.24.09)

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