What Do We Want At Acle Bridge?

[MauriceMynah]

Right back at you Peter. He has the site, The buildings there will have to be demolished rather than allowed to become derelict, so I put this question to you... No, I put it to all readers.

The Doctor has, in a fit of temper resigned and handed control of the BA to you. You are asked by Whitehall "What are you going to do with the Acle Bridge site?" Your reply is?

[Ray]

Clear all the buildings and debris, plant grass, repair the mooring where needed, add electric points and water, supply waste bins.

[Guest]

Easy develop the site into what was originally intended ie better moorings , save the cash and then use said cash on repairing the existing infrastructure that is in many places falling apart .

Most of the tourism in Norfolk comes from the boating side , without moorings that will die along with visitor numbers with or without a new visitors centre .

In other words get the basics right first before building landmark buildings , just because you have found a sum of money in your back pocket doesn't mean you have to spend it and certainly not on the first thing that enters your head .

[ZimbiIV]

A landmark eh!

A nice block of flats in a building like a scaled down Shard, gated entrance and private moorings.

That should top the coffers of the BA up to bursting point.

paul

PS I hope non of you spilled your coffee reading that.

[ChrisB]

28 minutes ago, Ricardo said:

 

Most of the tourism in Norfolk comes from the boating side , without moorings that will die along with visitor numbers with or without a new visitors centre .

 

I am sorry Ricardo but you are not correct. If you go to the Visit Norfolk site ( can't paste as on my phone ) Boating is way down the list of tourism by value for Norfolk.

Serviced accommodation, self catering, static caravans and even camping ( which includes motorhomes and touring caravans ) outstrip boating. Norfolk's wild life tourism is a worldwide 52 weeks a year attraction. Visit the NWT centre at Cley in the foulest of weather in any season of your chosing and it will be rammed with people spending. Just look at what NWT have aquired in the last five years or so. It stands as a testiment to their earning power.

[ChrisB]

27 minutes ago, ZimbiIV said:

A landmark eh!

A nice block of flats in a building like a scaled down Shard, gated entrance and private moorings.

That should top the coffers of the BA up to bursting point.

paul

PS I hope non of you spilled your coffee reading that.

I will buy one off plan.

[Vaughan]

57 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

"What are you going to do with the Acle Bridge site?" Your reply is?

I have always believed, and so did my father's generation, that the Broads is a place that can only properly be seen by boat. So where does Acle bridge fit in?

It is a river crossing which goes back to the Romans (sorry Timbo) and forms the geographical limit for a cruise on the north rivers. In this respect the only "overnight" attraction is the pub.

It is also the main place where boats stop to wait for the tide in Yarmouth.

It has boatyards, as it is by the road and was always served by a railway station. These are cabin cruisers, not day boats, as it is not a good cruising place for them owing to the tidal current and nothing but miles of reedbeds in either direction. I would advise the BA that dayboats are only commercial in the right location, where they have a good cruising area to offer, and a "captive audience" of passing trade. Hence they congregate in places such as Wroxham and Potter. You could not safely operate electric dayboats at Acle because of the tides.

So what visitor attraction is there to offer to the day tripper coming out from Yarmouth or Norwich? Nothing, is there? Just flat, windy marsh without even a windpump to climb up. This is why you don't see coach parties there.

So I see no future or need for an information centre there, after several others have already been closed down. I think the vision of engaging a wider public, in this place, is a delusion.

It therefore needs to be maintained for its core purpose, with a well maintained overnight mooring, public toilets which are actually open, RUBBISH BINS, water and maybe shore power. I don't believe it needs any more than that.

So am I BA bashing, with this opinion? Or am I taking a dispassionate view of the problem, based on local knowledge and prior experience? 

You choose.

[MauriceMynah]

In fairness to Ricardo Chris, I think he was talking about the broads and the BA rather than the entire county.

Thus far it seems that the previous clamouring for the return of a shop selling the basics plus a bit has evaporated with the morning dew. The Chicken & Egg situation remains. I wonder how many Americans sat in their cars in the middle of the Nevada desert thinking how nice it would be if someone built a casino. Not a lot, me thinks.

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, ChrisB said:

I am sorry Ricardo but you are not correct. If you go to the Visit Norfolk site ( can't paste as on my phone ) Boating is way down the list of tourism by value for Norfolk.

Serviced accommodation, self catering, static caravans and even camping ( which includes motorhomes and touring caravans ) outstrip boating. Norfolk's wild life tourism is a worldwide 52 weeks a year attraction. Visit the NWT centre at Cley in the foulest of weather in any season of your chosing and it will be rammed with people spending. Just look at what NWT have aquired in the last five years or so. It stands as a testiment to their earning power.

Oh come on now , how can you compare a visitors centre built in the correct place and what's planned at acle , as I said before its all down to location , that's the reason it's a success + there's lots more to do there hence an unfair comparison really .

Building a visitors centre doesn't guarantee its success , do BA have any projection's on visitor numbers for acle ? And the first rule of visitors centres is not the centre its self its the attraction it supports , where exactly is the attraction at acle there is nothing there where as at Cley there is n that's the difference .

 

[Vaughan]

Having once run a riverside shop, at Womack, I can well understand that the shop at Acle must have closed because it was simply not commercially viable. This does not bode well for anyone thinking of re-opening it.

Please don't take this as criticism but I don't think that visitor centres in bird reserves or wildlife marshes are a fair comparison in this case, since the people go to these places deliberately to see them, and enjoy the facilities. So they are, in themselves, the destination for the tourist.

Acle bridge, both by road and by river, is just one of those places you go through on the way to somewhere else. It is not a holiday destination in its own right. So it doesn't need a visitor centre.

I also feel that the BA are there to manage the Broads, but not to spend money on marketing it. There are plenty of others, to do that.

[Meantime]

Maybe The BA could team up with one of its members to provide nice riverside glamping pods. Improve the toilet facilities and add showers and it could be a nice way to draw in extra tourists to the area.

[ChrisB]

6 minutes ago, Ricardo said:

Oh come on now , how can you compare a visitors centre built in the correct place and what's planned at acle , as I said before its all down to location , that's the reason it's a success + there's lots more to do there hence an unfair comparison really .

Building a visitors centre doesn't guarantee its success , do BA have any projection's on visitor numbers for acle ? And the first rule of visitors centres is not the centre its self its the attraction it supports , where exactly is the attraction at acle there is nothing there where as at Cley there is n that's the difference .

 

I was only trying to say whilst important especially as many peoples livelyhood depend on leisure boating it is far from the top performer whatever measure you use for tourism in Norfolk.

[Vaughan]

2 minutes ago, ChrisB said:

I was only trying to say whilst important especially as many peoples livelyhood depend on leisure boating it is far from the top performer whatever measure you use for tourism in Norfolk.

That may be true, but the holiday cottages and other attractions that you mention, are not at Acle bridge

[grendel]

In business in general if you have a profit in the bank at the end of the year on your budget, your next years budget is reduced as you obviously dont need the size budget you have - thus a lot of companies at this time of year are trying to spend their allocated budget, having scrimped and saved through the rest of the year.  If you can instigate a big project you can segregate that money out of your budget to pay for the up and coming project, ensuring good continuity in next years budget. what happens then when the plans for your big project fall through - why then the pot of money goes back into this years budget.

Now while I am not saying this is what the BA are planning, it is something I have seen happen through the years in other companies that relied upon an outside source for their main budget.

[JennyMorgan]

11 hours ago, batrabill said:

This really is too much!

The site was secured to provide the moorings, something that many, many people were clamouring for.

Now, it's for JP's vanity???

 

Bill, that's utter nonsense, apart from the fact that the site was secured to provide moorings. Have you read JP's report? Have you read the details of the competition? It's ill considered pie in the sky, surely even you can see that? No, I don't suppose you will.

[marshman]

Anyone spot a continuing trend here that begins to typify what is  beginning to stand out as the norm for this Forum??

Its OK folks, I am not going anywhere!!!

[JennyMorgan]

11 hours ago, Ray said:

Clear all the buildings and debris, plant grass, repair the mooring where needed, add electric points and water, supply waste bins.

Plus showers and toilets. As for the idea of any form of catering, let's see how the proposed mobile kiosk pans out.

Back to the idea of education, is it really the duty of the BA to provide a schoolroom? I don't expect that schools will be clamouring to pay for coaches etc in order to visit Acle.

[JennyMorgan]

4 minutes ago, marshman said:

Anyone spot a continuing trend here that begins to typify what is  beginning to stand out as the norm for this Forum??

Its OK folks, I am not going anywhere!!!

Yes, Marsh, I can!!!!!! 

[marshman]

But probably a different one to me!! Each to their own as they say!! 

[grendel]

well I see a pattern in both posts and responses, so at least both sides are getting a crack at the whip, me I see both good and bad from that direction, I see praises handed out where they are due, and castigations also handed out where they are due. and others sort of hovering in the mid ground between the two.

[Wussername]

I  see constructive criticism on this forum from the discussion. I also see a degree of desperation from those who are unable to grasp the concerns of those who are unable to identify any positive  outcome from this proposed venture. 

[quo vadis]

1 hour ago, Wussername said:

I  see constructive criticism on this forum from the discussion. I also see a degree of desperation from those who are unable to grasp the concerns of those who are unable to identify any positive  outcome from this proposed venture. 

Very cleverly put, I like it

[Gracie]

Great stuff people but instead of all this faffing about can we just have the little shop back please?

Grace

[Chelsea14Ian]

1 hour ago, Gracie said:

Great stuff people but instead of all this faffing about can we just have the little shop back please?

Grace

I know Grace,shoes,chocs and wine!

[grendel]

41 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

I know Grace,shoes,chocs and wine!

but that would make it a big shop.