Project location & overview:
Greyfriars Project Management is currently leading on the client-side project management for Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s Market Place public realm works. This £4.3m heritage project to redevelop Great Yarmouth’s Market Place aims to sympathetically improve the functionality of the space whilst being sensitive to the location’s heritage.
Redeveloping Great Yarmouth Marketplace
The project, which is supported by the Future High Street Fund, will deliver improved public realm and landscaping to complement the historic setting and make the market brighter and more inviting.
On project initiation, and in line with PRINCE2 practice, we worked with our client to produce a project initiation document (PID). A carefully considered PID is a crucial starting point to a project and can often determine a scheme’s success. Without one, a project can quickly lose direction and risk scope creep and budget / time overruns.
Key Facts:
Client: Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Staff lead: Tom Warnes
Location: Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Sector: Local Authority
Project length: 2022 - March 2025
Project cost: £4.3 million
Project value: Delivering an improved public realm and landscaping to complement the historic setting, making the market brighter and more inviting
A Revived Marketplace with Historic Values
The redevelopment in the heart of the historic Market Place will support the wider town centre economy and forms part of Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s town centre regeneration project that will revive the high streets as a vibrant economic, cultural and community hub.
The marketplace is a key milestone when entering the town from the railway station and, having already supported Great Yarmouth Borough Council in completing the new 6 Day Marketplace, Greyfriars is excited to see the positive impact on the Town. The material palettes have been carefully crafted to respect the heritage of the Town, including new Yorkstone from UK quarries, and Greyfriars has even had the pleasure of organising the installation of “Yarn with Ernie”, a sculpture of the late potter and painter Ernie Childs!
Services We Provided:
- Client project management
- Contract management
- Design team management
- Overseeing the main contractor
- Programme management and critical path
- Risk management
- Budget management
- Stakeholder management and engagement
Managing Impact On Key Stakeholders
Working closely with our client, we have identified key internal stakeholders and used a series of workshops to develop a robust set of objectives for benchmarking the project as it moves through each RIBA Stage.
The project is set in a key trading area of the Town, including the market itself and surrounding businesses. Keeping stakeholders up to date as the project evolves and progresses has therefore been extremely important. Consultation with stakeholders was carried out during the design stages and Greyfriars continue to hold “drop-in sessions” on-site for local businesses and traders to meet the project team and discuss any queries or concerns they may have. Efficient and proactive stakeholder engagement is a key factor in the public’s perception of a project’s success.
Adding Value
With the marketplace being such an historic site, Greyfriars identified the risk of groundworks early on in the project. It can never truly be known what ground conditions will be found once construction commences and Greyfriars ensured that this risk was highlighted using our comprehensive risk register. A budget allowance was made against this risk, which benefitted the scheme when a large number of old power cables were discovered on-site. Therefore, risks have been managed effectively from both a programme and financial perspective on the project.
Construction commenced in June 2024 with Tarmac operating as Main Contractor and is expected to finish in Spring 2025. The north area of the marketplace has now been opened to the public on programme.
Greyfriars is looking forward to opening the remaining area of the marketplace to the public and taking a seat in the new space, probably with some chips off the market!
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