Great Yarmouth and Hemsby have their names up in lights, but what about Gorleston?

Its nine giant letters are still tucked away in storage with some saying they hate the idea.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council had intended all three resorts would announce their names in twinkling mesh selfie signs costing more than £25,000.

But a bid for "Gorleston" to be suspended on 6m poles at the bandstand met with resistance. A planning application was quietly withdrawn and the letters never saw the light of day.

One person responding via the borough council's planning portal tagged the Gorleston letters "a waste of money" and "extremely tacky".

They said: "Gorleston is a lovely little traditional seaside town.

"One thing that holidaymakers say is how nice it is to see a traditional beach that isn't cluttered with commercialism like Yarmouth.

"But the council seems intent in ruining our beach and turning it into a little Yarmouth.

"These letters will look ridiculous and ruin the overall look of the bandstand area.

"During the daytime, when unlit, they will likely just resemble a messy heap of metal.

"Here's a better idea: throw them off the pier."

Ward councillor Emma Flaxman-Taylor said the sign issue had "drifted into the background" as the council focussed on other Gorleston issues like the new kiosks.

"I don't know if they would be installed now," she said. "It doesn't get dark until late."

She said residents consulted over the Gorleston masterplan wanted to keep the seafront as low-key as possible, providing a sedate contrast to Yarmouth.

And within the masterplan committee there were also concerns about how the lights would fit with the quieter ethos of the resort, she added.

Council leader Carl Smith said officers were still looking for a location and had somewhere in mind.

Other options talked about included along the riverside, on the green close to Pop's Meadow, and on top of the Ocean Room building - which the borough council owns.

"You can't please everyone," he said, adding there was little prospect of the lights going up this year.

Under the terms of the planning permission the letters at Great Yarmouth and Hemsby can be displayed from April 29 to October 1, and be illuminated from dusk to midnight.

A spokesman for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: "The large place name signs have been very well received in Great Yarmouth and in Hemsby, and help promote them as destinations through people sharing on social media.

"We still hope to bring one to Gorleston and we are looking at potential locations that would be suitable, and will apply for planning permission in due course.”

Do you think Gorleston should have its lights? And if so where should they go? Email: liz.coates@archant.co.uk