After the Second World War

Now that the fishing industry had disappeared from Great Yarmouth the open area on the South Denes was free to be filled. No tourist facility was ever going to be built here because it was too far away from Regent Road and the Britannia Pier developments, (the central tourist area), and so the search was on to find something that could kick-start the economy. In 1945 Birdseye frozen foods was set up on the Denes which attracted many smaller companies, but still there was no major upturn, until the 1960's when the search for North Sea Oil began and Great Yarmouth became the largest offshore marine base in Europe.

Meanwhile the tourist Industry was again at its peak, as after the war, people needed to relax and unwind.

By 1959 Beach railway station had closed due to the increase of car ownership which gave people greater mobility and the freedom to travel when and where they wanted. This was the beginning of the decline of all British Seaside towns. Another era had arrived, and just as Great Yarmouth had changed from the Victorian health resort, to a working class seaside attraction, so the need arose for yet another change. This time the change was in the accommodation base of hotels and boarding houses to caravan and chalet parks, which were located to the North of the town. Due to this greater mobility, visitors were able to leave the town during the day and go on trips to other towns and attractions, so spending their money elsewhere. This trend was to continue throughout the 1960's.

Holiday camps were not an entirely new concept to Great Yarmouth as in 1906 a Mr John Fletcher Dodd had established a self contained holiday village for the Independent Labour Party. This had been located in Caister, but due to the lack of entertainment facilities it never prospered.

This rapid change in fashion had to be reflected with the buildings in the town, and in 1954 the Wellington pavilion was refurbished. After the fire at the Britannia pier in 1954, a new one was rebuilt along with the present pavilion (see Figure 22), being opened in 1958.

Figure 22: The Britannia Pier

In 1960 the swimming pool was reconstructed with new terraces and shops, and the Jetty was improved by fronting it with shelters and shops. Whilst the holiday makers where all migrating to the holiday parks on the outskirts of the town, the boarding houses and hotels were closing down, and so an alternative use was needed. An answer was provided from the introduction of the slot machine which provided entertainment to the masses. By remodelling the ground floors of many of the now obsolescent hotels and boarding houses they gave the perfect housing for the new seaside “amusement arcade”.

So from the late 1950's, Marine Parade changed its face from the Victorian and Edwardian image to the bold and bright fashion of the 60's, with whole facades of buildings being changed from the small windowed fronts to their open nature with large name signs above them.

The building that typifies this era is the Tower Complex, which was opened in 1965. It stands on the site of the old coastguard station which was demolished in 1964 after its functions were transferred to Gorleston in 1963. As its name suggests, it 'towers' above everything on the seafront, with its 72 bedrooms, restaurant, ballrooms and discotheque. It was designed in the style of the hotels as seen on the continent, with all the bedrooms having balconies. When it first opened it had a large ground floor ice skating rink which closed after only 19 months due to lack of support. This area was then divided up into small shopping units, selling holiday goods.

In 1968 the Victoria Building Company was finally wound up on the 28th August, due to the effects of double taxation (from income tax and a 40% corporation tax). In the years previous they had sold the freehold reversions to the Shadingfield lodge, Melton Lodge and 'Seafield'. In 1955 they had applied to the Ministry of works to demolish the Wellington arches, as they could not afford to maintain them, but were refused. So after 127 years from the original concept they never fully finished what they set out to accomplish. However the area of the Victoria Building Company has always remained the 'upper class' tourist area of Great Yarmouth and never became commercialised like the North end of the Marine Parade. This is partly because of the rules set out originally by the company but also down to it being designated as a conservation area in 1969 under the Civic Amenities Act of 1967 and The Town and Country Planning Act of 1968, for its special architectural and historic interest.

This conservation area status meant that the local authority were and still are required to pay special attention to the character and appearance of the area when exercising their planning control functions. Permitted development rights are taken away from the area, such as the demolition of buildings and the felling of trees, as any such development would now need conservation area consent before planning permission is granted. Any changes to the facades of the buildings or the townscape in general also requires conservation area consent, as it must be in keeping with the area. The maximum penalty being up to 12 months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

By the time 1970 arrived two thirds of the 100,000 bed spaces were in chalet and caravan parks. The entrance to the Britannia Pier had been modernised once again (see Figure 41), and in 1967 Southtown station had closed, due to the increasing trend of car ownership.

Great Yarmouth was about to be dealt yet another blow from the increase in cheap package holidays abroad. The attraction of different locations and cultures together with good weather, all put forward with the latest marketing techniques made it difficult to compete with, and so 'Holiday Makers' to Great Yarmouth during the 70's declined. By 1978 only 47% of all domestic holidays were taken at the seaside.

To counteract this, it was decided that new facilities were needed to improve Great Yarmouth's image, and in 1979 the Marina open air theatre and swimming pool were demolished to make way for the Marina Leisure Complex, which opened in 1981. This building is situated opposite the tower complex and contains facilities for all types of sports, along with amusement arcades and a multi-purpose dance hall/theatre.

Even though the late 1980's economy was experiencing a 'boom' period, the town's tourist industry was still declining because the resort relied on longer holidays (7 nights or more), and was more susceptible to overseas competition. Great Yarmouth had not captured a large share of the short break market and overseas visitors were not particularly attracted. The infrastructure, accommodation and attractions were outdated as the highly seasonal nature of the resort made it difficult to attract investment.

To try and recapture the holiday market Great Yarmouth Borough Council produced the Seafront local plan, in 1989, to set out their aims and objectives on addressing the problem. Their overall aim was to safeguard the present level of tourist activity in the borough, and to fulfil the potential of new activity by using public and private investments.

In 1991 a purpose built Sealife centre (the largest development on the seafront for just over a decade) was constructed on South Beach Gardens. This attraction was not only popular for its own success, but with it being sited at the southern end of Marine Parade, encouraged visitors to venture further along the “Golden Mile”.