Great Yarmouth Ice House revamp leads to scaffolding row

But today the atmosphere surrounding the Ice House in Great Yarmouth is far from chilled. 

Instead, work to revamp the Grade II listed building has led to an unruly dispute between a scaffolding firm and organisers of an international circus festival.

Contractors employed by Out There Arts, which runs an annual festival in the town, were attempting to carry out work on a sewer pipe as part of efforts to revamp the historic Ice House.

The thatched building along the banks of the River Yare once played a pivotal role in the town's fishing industry, and is now being turned into a community arts venue and circus school. 

This required the engineers to readjust scaffolding poles holding up the Haven Bridge pub, a controversial site that was devastated by a fire in 2022, to access a manhole cover.

Quinn Construction workers were attempting to carry out sewer pipe work outside the Haven Bridge pub in Great Yarmouth, which is held up with scaffolding (Image: KB Scaffolding)

However, KB Scaffolding, the company which erected scaffolding following the fire, forced them off the site.

It claimed the workers were putting their own lives at risk by tampering with the structure, saying it could have been "catastrophic" and that it was illegal.

The fallout has led the chief lawyer for Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) chief to get involved, warning the police could be called if the work is not allowed to be completed.

Out There Arts intends to revamp the Ice House and turn it into an arts centre and circus school (Image: Out There Arts)

WORK 'ON ICE' 

The owner of KB Scaffolding, Michael Black, said it had refused access to the site due to the need to alter the scaffolding to provide safe access to the drain.

This is due to an ongoing row between the scaffolding firm and GYBC, with the company claiming the authority owes it more than £400,000 in unpaid costs for erecting the scaffolding in 2022.

The council refutes this and says the owner of the pub is responsible for paying for the scaffolds.

He said: "This would have cost us lots of money. We are not prepared to put any more money into it until we are paid."

However, on Monday November 11, Mr Black and his employees discovered contractors for Out There Arts had moved parts of the scaffolding and used a railway sleeper to hold it up to gain access to the drain.

Quinn Construction workers were attempting to carry out sewer pipe work outside the Haven Bridge pub in Great Yarmouth, which is held up with scaffolding (Image: KB Scaffolding)

The engineers were hoping to make a connection to the Ice House with the sewer pipe opposite, which sits next to the Haven Bridge pub. 

They intended to use a jackhammer to dig up the ground, according to Mr Black. 

Following this the Quinn Construction employees were forced off the site. Out There Arts reported the incident to GYBC, complaining workers had been verbally abused during the incident.

Scaffolding outside the Haven Bridge pub, which covers the manhole cover entrance to the sewer (Image: KB Scaffolding)

Caroline Whatling, the authority's solicitor and monitoring officer, intervened, saying she had advised Out There Arts to contact the police if there is any further interference.

She said: "There is no reason of which the council is aware that the intended sewer works for the Ice House would impact either on Haven Bridge Pub or the scaffolding supplied to the building owner by your company."

The Ice House in Great Yarmouth, viewed from across the River Yare (Image: Denise Bradley)

'LIVES AT RISK'

Mr Black insists his company's actions were due to concerns for the safety of the workers; and not related to the ongoing conflict with the council.

He worried that the alterations could have undermined the security of the scaffolding.

"This could have been catastrophic," he said.

"It is illegal to go within our scaffolding boundary. Their actions put the safety of these guys and anyone in the area at serious risk of injury or even death.

"Anyone would have done the same thing."

The Haven Bridge pub has been covered in scaffolding since 2022 (Image: KB Scaffolding)

According to the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation, the interfering or modifying of scaffolds by non-qualified persons can result in prosecution.

Mr Black has reported the incident to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the government watchdog that deals with health and safety complaints. 

He says his firm has now "put right" what was dismantled, at its own cost.

REVAMP LIMBO

The situation has left Out There Arts' multi-million pound revamp of the Ice House in limbo.

The non-profit organisation is currently turning the structure, which was once used to store ice used to chill fish caught in the North Sea before its transport to fish markets, into a national centre for outdoor arts and circus skills.

The sewer connection work is important for the venue to have working facilities.

Mr Black insists the work needed will require the scaffolding to be moved, but he refuses to do this currently.

It remains to be seen what this means for the revamp project, which is due to be completed in February 2025.

Quinn Construction and Out There Arts have been approached for comment.

The thatched Ice House after it became a grain store (Image: Newsquest)

FROM FISHING TO ACROBATICS

The Ice House was once a key part of Great Yarmouth's thriving fishing industry and was used to store freshly caught fish packed in ice.

The catch would then be transported to London's Billingsgate fish market for sale. 

The building had a capacity for 42,500 cubic metres which meant packed ice could stay frozen for months, ensuring a steady supply of fresh herring to the capital and beyond.

But modern advances in freezer technology made it redundant and it was later used as a grain store.

Plans to transform it into an arts and cultural centre were approved in 2021.