Norwich is a city facing constant change and redevelopment and 2024 is set to be no different.
Next year is set to see several major projects make significant progress, with the redevelopment of a city square set to be completed, major housing projects to start and the closure of historic buildings.
Here are six major projects you can expect to see more of in 2024.
The transformation of Hay Hill, which will see planters, more seating, and a water feature installed is finally set to conclude early next year.
The city centre square, which sits between Next and Primark, has been undergoing a major transformation since January 2023.
While most of the work is set to conclude early next year, fresh plans have recently been submitted for a new home for Giuseppino Ices, an ice cream kiosk which has served generations, on the hill.
A controversial set of sculptures dedicated to polymath Thomas Browne, including one of a giant brain, which previously lived on the square, have still not found a new home and remain in storage.
Roundabout revamp
The revamp of the Heartsease roundabout has proved controversial, with complaints that the work will take too long.
The £4.4m upgrade of the busy junction started in September and was expected to last eight months.
Despite work having already begun County Hall only took ownership of some of the land it needed in December.
And the county council is still in the midst of a legal process to buy some other plots of land on either side of Harvey Lane.
Brutalist eyesore demolition
Plans to redevelop Anglia Square have hit multiple stumbling blocks over the years but finally took a major step forward in April when City Hall signed off on the scheme.
Developer Weston Homes, with investment firm Columbia Threadneedle, applied to demolish the eyesore brutalist shopping centre, along with the neighbouring Sovereign House and Gildengate House.
In their place 1,100 homes will be built across 12 blocks, ranging in height from two to eight storeys.
Weston Homes also wants to construct 8,000 square meters of commercial space, a community hub and 450 car parking spaces on the land.
While the plans have now been approved, the scheme remains controversial with major public upset at the developers being spared a £2.3m tax intended to help community projects.
This is the second time the council has approved the redevelopment of the shopping centre.
A previous, larger, bid was ultimately thrown out by Robert Jenrick, the then secretary of state for housing.
Castle Keep complete
The long-awaited reopening of Norwich Castle's medieval keep after a multi-million-pound revamp is expected to take place next summer.
Work on the major £15m redevelopment, called Royal Palace Reborn, started in the summer of 2020.
After four years, visitors will be able to walk into the keep once again next summer.
The project was initially intended to be open in 2023 but Covid and other delays pushed back the opening date.
Work on the castle includes reinstating original medieval floors and room spaces, bringing alive the sights and sounds of the palace of the Norman kings.
A new permanent Gallery of Medieval Life will showcase exceptional artefacts from the Norman Conquest to the reign of Henry VIII.
The Halls close
The Halls, in St Andrews Street, is set to benefit from a £3.6m renovation which will help transform the 700-year-old structures.
St Andrew’s Hall and neighbouring Blackfriars’ Hall were revealed to require urgent repairs in March, with fears the walls and roof risk “complete failure”.
For work to be carried out the Halls will close after the New Year's Day Concert on January 1 and will not reopen until spring 2025.
Plans include essential structural works to the medieval friary complex's roof, stained glass windows and secondary glazing.
Norwich City Council, which owns the venue, said the project will transform "this unique city centre heritage asset into a multi-use performance venue for concerts, trade fairs, corporate meetings, film sets and weddings".
East Norwich regeneration
The East Norwich Masterplan is a major project to build some 3,362 homes and create 4,000 jobs in the city.
While building work is not expected to start until 2025, further details about the plans are likely to emerge next year.
In July, Mike Stonard, the leader of Norwich City Council said the plans remained “on target”.
And for the masterplan to go ahead it will need to be included in the Greater Norwich Local Plan - a blueprint for where almost 50,000 homes could be built in and around Norwich by 2038.
Mr Stonard expects that to happen in 2024.
The masterplan covers four main areas - Carrow Works, home of the former Colman's and Britvic factories; the Deal Ground and May Gurney sites; and the Utilities site near Whitlingham.
Some planning applications have already been put in, including a 670-home scheme on the Deal Ground, which was submitted in June.
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