Plans for 12 houseboats and homes on scenic River Bure redrawn

New houses are set to spring up along the River Bure at Great Yarmouth if a planning application is approved Photo: Liz Coates (Image: Archant)

Essex-based East Anglian Group ran into opposition with its proposal for Marina Quays at Bure Park in Great Yarmouth with neighbours worried about access and a footpath.

Under the scheme there was a question mark over the future of waterside walks which looked likely to be cut off to make way for new homes with private moorings and gardens running down to the River Bure.Problems with the scheme were highlighted by Mike Sedgwick, of River Walk, whose determined opposition rallied people who used the area to question the plan and make suggestions for how it could be improved.

Now developer Ian Newman said he had listened to local feedback saying: “We assumed too much.”

Following a public meeting he had brought in a whole new design team and gone back to the drawing board, he said.

The former Hoseasons offices which will be remodelled as a marina office and storage area under plans for 12 houseboats and four riverside homes Picture: Liz Coates (Image: Archant)

Mr Sedgwick said the scheme had broadly addressed all local issues although there was still a concern over the 12 houseboats and their impact on the natural beauty of the riverbank.

Under the scheme there will be seven homes.

Three of them will be roughly aligned with those in River Walk, and four will be more towards the river bank.

Mr Newman said the dilemma was how to protect privacy while still giving the public access to the riverside walk, but that had now been achieved with the new plan.

One of the plots close to the river which will see a single-storey home with private mooring if plans are agreed Picture: Liz Coates (Image: Archant)

The silver-lining of the scheme Mr Sedgewick said, was the protection in law of the footpath which, because of the housing scheme, now had proper status and linked in with other coastal routes, guaranteeing its future.The application area includes 750m or prime riverside and the only place in Yarmouth where such walks exist.

If the plans are approved access to the homes will be via Caister Road.

Mr Newman said: “In hindsight we did a poor job in our first application. We have now come up with a scheme we feel addresses the issues and still makes it a viable project for us as developers.”

People can see the plans for themselves and meet the developer at Great Yarmouth and Caister golf club on May 1, 4-8pm.

New plans have been drawn up for houseboats and homes by the River Bure Picture: East Anglian Group (Image: East Anglian Group)