The search for a site for a massive granite monument to Great Yarmouth celebrating its charter year has switched and settled permanently on the Market Place.

The search for a site for a massive granite monument to Great Yarmouth celebrating its charter year has switched and settled permanently on the Market Place.

The vision of three giant rock boulders chosen to represent the town in its charter year looked decidedly shaky when expert underground probing revealed the preferred leafy spot outside the Fisherman's Hospital was unsuitable and would see project costs to lighten the load rise to a prohibitive £35,000

But following a meeting on Tuesday the spotlight has shifted to where the failed big screen used to stand allowing the King John's Charter Committee to press ahead at a spot where the foundations have already been tested.

Committee chairman Bert Collins: “We have decided to put it outside Burtons where the screen used to be. We had a huge screen there and that ground has already been examined and we can put it there without any problem. It will be much cheaper and more prominent.”

Artist Ernie Childs of Great Yarmouth Potteries who is creating the monument to the 800th anniversary of the signing of the King John Charter with stonemason and former school chum Colin Smith said he was disappointed at the setback but still very enthusiastic about the project.

“The only thing in my mind is to do the best for Great Yarmouth. We have got to have something good - 800 years does not come around too often. I do not want just a little old thing.

“We have not got a lot of money and we were only given £10,000 whereas other towns got £40,000. But the outer harbour did not even charge us for the rocks so that was wonderful.”

The monument involves joining the three six-tonne rocks and carving out panels charting old and new Yarmouth from King John's day to the construction of the outer harbour, as well as creating a huge compass using granite sets from the fishwharf.