Great Yarmouth learning centre work to start as funding secured

The former Palmers department store was bought by Great Yarmouth Borough Council in 2021

Work can start on converting an empty department store into an educational facility after £15.3m worth of funding was secured, a council said.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council said a new library and university learning centre would be built at the former Palmers building in the Norfolk town.

Carl Smith, the Conservative council leader, said it was a "massive vote of confidence" for the town.

It should be open for students and the public by next year.

East Coast College, which serves the Yarmouth and Lowestoft area, and the University of Suffolk, which is based in Ipswich, have formally committed £3.5m to the project.

The college will teach degree-level course at the Palmers building, accredited by the university.

The Norwich-based University of East Anglia is also involved and plans to offer remote learning facilities for its students there, along with professional development courses.

The building was bought by the council last year.

Palmers department store in Great Yarmouth (pictured in 2012) closed in 2020, just before the coronavirus lockdown

Norfolk County Council is providing £2m and will relocate the town's library to the Market Place building.

About £7.5m will come from the government via Great Yarmouth's Town Deal programme and £2.4m from the Future High Streets Fund, secured by the borough council.

With funding of £15.3m now secured, work on the five-storey building could begin, the council said.

"We are determined to improve the lives of residents, and this investment in education and learning is part of our drive to help employability and the borough's economy," said Mr Smith.