Council bosses say the "ambitious regeneration" of Great Yarmouth's Market Place is on track to be completed on time.

Work to give the area a facelift - which will eventually see new paving, benches, lighting and planters installed - should be completed by April of next year.

The revamp, which is part of a £5.8m public realm improvement project, started back in June this year.

It has proven a matter of discontent among some market stallholders who complain that the work has harmed trade.

But Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC), which is leading the project, says the disruption caused is "short-term pain for long-term gain".

On Wednesday traders were given an update on the scheme.

The work is expected to be completed by April 2025The work is expected to be completed by April 2025 (Image: Bruno Brown) "We understand that this has been disruptive and frustrating for businesses, and especially for market stall holders," a spokesman for the project said.

"It was important for us to be here and present on the market today (November 13) to listen to the concerns of the people here and answer any questions they have.

"But ultimately, though challenging at the moment, the new covered market and the work to revitalise the former Palmers department store into a new community library and learning hub, The Place - means we will have a town centre that can thrive for years to come.

"It is an exciting and high-quality regeneration that we believe will be an attractive, successful and vibrant space."

The team had hoped that part of the southern piazza could have been open by Christmas for the town's light switch on.

However, when digging workers found a shocking discovery of a network of unknown power cables which they believe have been buried for up to 100 years.

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"We have had to get specialist Vac-Ex, vacuum excavation equipment, brought in to carry out the removal of the cables," a GYBC spokesman said.

"Some of the cables are high voltage so we do have to work very safely around these.

"The discovery of the cables has dealt a small blow and meant that it’ll not be possible to get the part of the piazza open for Christmas but the good news is that the development is still on target to be completed by Easter."

The area has been fenced off while the revamp work is ongoingThe area has been fenced off while the revamp work is ongoing (Image: Bruno Brown)