Work to revive one of Yarmouth's most historic quarters and breathe fresh life into the rundown St George's Chapel is to start on Monday.The initial phase of the �8.

Work to revive one of Yarmouth's most historic quarters and breathe fresh life into the rundown St George's Chapel is to start on Monday.

The initial phase of the �8.5m scheme to regenerate the King Street area with its 18th century merchant houses to make it more pedestrian friendly was given the go-ahead after final funding approval for the project was secured yesterday.

From Monday, changes will be made to the area's roadways, including the introduction next month of a new one-way system southwards from the Market Place to King Street and northwards along Deneside.

When the first phase of the �8.5m work is finished next Easter, people will be able to walk along a green corridor with newly planted trees from nearby St George's Park to the top of King Street.

Also included in the work will be the widening of pavements in King Street, improvements to parts of Regent Road and the installation of cycle links and better street lighting.

Once the work is completed the next stage of the major regeneration will start to gather pace - the opening up of the grade I listed fenced-off St George's Chapel for the community and the construction of a purpose built pavilion.

Barry Coleman, leader of Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “This is the final piece of the jigsaw in the whole regeneration of the town.

“I am really excited about it as the green corridor and St George's Chapel will be a tremendous draw and have a huge impact on Yarmouth.”

The new look chapel could be open in April 2011 and will be at the centre piece of the plans to transform the area into a vibrant cultural quarter with a public square, art galleries, street cafes and specialist shops.

Monday's work will see the new one way system in King Street and Deneside come into operation in mid-November.

Other changes to the area will see the bus stop on Deneside by the Friends Bistro moved to King Street, new or longer hours parking bays and more parking in Theatre Plain.

Yarmouth Way will also be realigned so that St George's Chapel can be restored to its historic footprint.

The �8.5m regeneration project is jointly funded by the government's Sea Change programme, English Heritage, the East of England Development Agency and Yarmouth Borough and Norfolk County Councils.