Great Yarmouth Tourism Body Accused of Prioritizing Fireworks Over Lifeguards Amid Budget Review

Local tourism officials are facing accusations of prioritizing fireworks over lifeguard services amidst a dispute concerning financial allocations. Great Yarmouth Borough Council is currently re-evaluating its annual expenditure of £29,300, which is allocated to support RNLI beach lifeguards across Great Yarmouth, Gorleston, and Hemsby. The council has requested that the resort’s Tourism and Business Improvement Area, known as Visit Great Yarmouth, assume responsibility for this financial commitment. The chairman of Visit Great Yarmouth previously stated to the BBC: “What sort of place are we if we can’t make the beaches in this borough safe for the holidaymakers that come? It’s a very sad time.” During a cabinet meeting, Council leader Carl Smith remarked that the tourism organization “would rather have fireworks than lifeguards”. Asa Morrison, chief executive of Visit Great Yarmouth, commented: “We are currently in discussions about the funding and we are expecting to meet with council representatives in January next year.” This marks the second consecutive year that the council has sought to reduce its expenditure on beach lifeguards, as part of its broader effort to identify £300,000 in savings. The borough is home to three of Norfolk’s most frequented beaches. The previous year, the authority temporarily halted the planned saving to explore alternative funding avenues. Although the RNLI covers the costs of training and supplies lifesaving equipment and lifeguard stations, the council’s contribution amounts to £29,300 towards the lifeguards’ salaries. However, the Conservative-led council aims to transfer this expense to Visit Great Yarmouth, an entity that generates £500,000 annually via a levy imposed on tourism businesses. Council leader Carl Smith stated at a recent cabinet meeting: “I am meeting with the GYBID but it seems they would rather have fireworks than lifeguards.” He further commented that the group’s leaders “don’t like councillors challenging them”. It is understood that GYBID allocates approximately £130,000 annually to fireworks, an expenditure that Trevor Wainwright, leader of the Labour opposition group, has denounced as an “obscene amount”. Mr. Wainwright has advocated for these funds to be reallocated to lifeguard services, which he considers crucial for bolstering tourism. Mr. Wainwright remarked: “If one person loses their life on the beach, it will mean the tourism industry will be sunk. “It is a risk to the reputation of the area.”