Latest news with #amusementarcade
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Plans to double Great Yarmouth arcade pier size set for approval
Plans to almost double the size of a pier's amusement arcade are being recommended for approval, despite concerns over the scale of the owners of the Wellington Pier in Great Yarmouth submitted proposals last year to expand the site on to derelict land which was once used for an outdoor roller skating England objected, warning the new-look building would be "large and utilitarian", while failing to preserve the local conservation it has welcomed the revised proposals and a report by Great Yarmouth Borough Council advises councillors to give planning permission. The heritage organisation said it still had concerns about the size of the building and that any harm it might cause should be weighed against the public council's conservation officer also voiced opposition to the original plans, but has since worked with the pier's owners - Family Amusements Ltd - on a compromise. The pier owners have agreed to limit the height of the extension to 7.5m (24ft), rather than 9.2m (30ft) - and the footprint of the building would not be as report for councillors said the changes to the amusement arcade would bring a number of positives including employment and "bringing back an underused site in the conservation area into use".It said that its verdict was "finely balanced" but said harms to local heritage were outweighed by longer-term social and economic benefits to jobs and tourism.A decision is due to be made on the plans on Thursday. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman arrested after allegedly trying to abduct baby in Blackpool
A woman has been arrested after allegedly trying to abduct a baby in Blackpool. Police said it was reported that a woman had approached a baby in a pram on Central Drive, near to the Coral Island amusement arcade in the seaside town, at around 11.55am on Saturday. Members of the public and the baby's parent intervened, Police said, adding the baby was unharmed. A 51-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction and police assault. More UK news: Enquiries are ongoing and the force has advised people to avoid speculating about the incident online. Chief Inspector John Jennings-Wharton said: "We know that something like this can be very concerning for the community to hear about. "We are in the early stages of our investigation and are working to establish the full circumstances." He added: "If you do have information or footage that could assist those enquiries, we ask you report them to us through the appropriate channels."
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Tunnels below New Brighton arcade became secret wartime factory
Even at the height of World War Two, the women who worked at New Brighton's amusement arcade turned up for their shifts as they were no longer there to sell tickets, run the stalls, or to serve seaside snacks in the they were there to toil in a secret underground factory producing millions of bullets and shell casings for the war effort. Later this year, the tunnels below the original Art Deco arcade in the Merseyside seaside resort will open to the public as a museum. The factory become so important to the war effort that, after a 1944 concert at the nearby Liverpool Empire, Dame Vera Lynn showed her appreciation for the factory's women by singing for for the Allies - including the US forces who took over the ground floor in 1943 as an ordnance base - knowledge of the factory was a closely guarded secret.A Luftwaffe aircrew bombing map, uncovered by local historian Cathy Roberts, shows that Nazi Germany was totally unaware of what was really going on inside the Wilkie arcade. "With all the shells and fuel in there, if it had been hit it would have taken out most of New Brighton," she said. The New Palace Amusement Centre, next to the Floral Pavilion, was opened by Whilma Howe "Will" Wilkie in August 1939, at a cost equivalent to nearly £1m in today's money. But within a matter of weeks, fun was the last thing on anyone's mind. On 3 September, Britain declared war on Germany, which had invaded Poland two days before. Wilkie answered the call from the government for safe and secretive places that could be used for the war effort. The 100-year-old tunnels were cleared of sand, debris and stalactites and converted into an underground munitions factory. Many of the women who had worked on the dodgem cars, shooting galleries and bagatelles went to work below ground making the arcade's manager became the factory's foreman. With more than 100 acres of tunnels, there was plenty of space in which the women could week, they made more than 250,000 bullets and as many shell cases. In 1943, the arcade building would become even more crucial to the war preparation for the Allied invasion of occupied Europe, US forces arrived in New Brighton. The ever-enterprising Wilkie once again answered the call to action, converting the ground floor of the arcade into a base for American engineers and technicians. Because the Americans' army vehicles and trucks were shipped in flat-pack form, they had to be assembled on a result, the New Brighton arcade became US Ordnance depot O_616. To make way for the US servicemen, the ground floor was cleared, with all the rides, stalls and attractions being moved out into the car park. To this day, the outdoor area is still home to fairground attractions. "Wilkie was quite canny," said Ms Roberts. "So he kept promoting the amusement arcade with press advertisements so no-one would think it was anything else." From the June 1944 D-Day landings onwards, the building continued to play a vital Army vehicles damaged on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion were shipped back and repaired in the arcade. And the advancing Allies relied upon the bullets and shells that were continuing to be produced by the women working in the munitions factory traces of the factory survive to this day, and the arcade remains in the Wilkie family, with Whilma's grandson David at the helm. LISTEN: Hidden Merseyside - the tunnels under New Brighton's arcade Ms Roberts and other volunteers have been working to turn it into a museum to honour and remember the efforts made by everyone who worked there during the opened to the public on Thursday's 80th anniversary of VE ticketed tour, with free entry for service personnel, was sold out. Ms Roberts said she hoped the museum would become a popular attraction when it reopens later in 2025."We always knew this place was important to the war effort," she said. "But over the years we have learned just how important it was." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
