Great Yarmouth Towns Fund: Government grant of £20m awarded

Great Yarmouth will receive £20.1m from the Towns Fund pot

A seaside town in Norfolk has been awarded £20.1m by the government to help boost the local economy.

The Towns Fund cash, announced in the Budget, was given to Great Yarmouth to help it create jobs and support economic regeneration.

The coastal town will also use the money to "tap into and grow a thriving arts and cultural scene".

Great Yarmouth has been awarded a total of £42m of government cash in the last seven months.

"We are overjoyed to have secured 81% of the funding ask towards delivering the vision," Great Yarmouth Borough Council leader, Conservative Carl Smith, and Labour group leader Trevor Wainwright said.

Projects include the £26m new Marina Centre and the £120m Third River Crossing, currently being built.

Chairman of the town deal board, Henry Cator, added the cash would help Great Yarmouth "to realise a vibrant and inclusive coastal economy".

• Resort pins recovery bid on London Eye-style wheel

• Chancellor announces £1bn for 45 areas of England

• 'Our school, the fourth emergency service'

The town was one of 101 places eligible to submit a bid, with 45 areas of England chosen to benefit from the initiative.

The government said it would help to "level up" towns and aid recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the government's most recent Index of Multiple Deprivation (2019) , a quarter of Great Yarmouth's 61 neighbourhoods were among the most deprived 10% in the UK.

Across the borough, earnings, life expectancy, GCSE results, and major health measures were worse than the national average.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]