The Place

THE PLACE

A building given back to its town

Learn more about how the former Palmers Department Store in Great Yarmouth - a heritage building - has been reimagined into a library, university and civic space...Contents

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For nearly two centuries, a building at the heart of Great Yarmouth’s Market Place shaped daily life.

First as a modest drapery in the 1830s, then as Palmers; a department store that grew with the town itself and became a place where errands turned into rituals and shopping trips into shared memories.

When Palmers finally closed in 2020, it felt like more than the loss of a retailer. The building stood vast, empty and exposed in the middle of the town centre - too prominent to ignore, too important to fail. Left unused, it would have become a symbol of decline. Instead, it became a catalyst for change.

Today, the same building has been reimagined as The Place: a new library, university and adult learning hub, registry office and civic space. It is not a new build. Its power lies precisely in the fact that it is recognisable, rooted in place and repurposed with intent.

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£15m project value
Delivered on time and budget
10/10 customer satisfaction
£6.8m social value invested
£6.4m local spend (<20miles)
370 apprentice weeks
228 volunteer hours

Click to hear about the journey

Respecting what came before…

From the outset, the challenge was clear: how to adapt a much‑loved historic building without erasing what made it matter.

The easier option would have been to retain the façade and remove everything behind it. Instead, the project committed to keeping as much of the original structure as possible.

As the interiors were stripped back, layers of the building’s history were revealed; old routes

through the footprint of the structure, stained glass that hadn’t seen daylight for decades, ornate ceilings previously hidden above retail fit‑outs.

These details weren’t treated as relics, but as anchors, carefully woven into a modern layout.

Design decisions were subtle but deliberate. Changes in flooring mark where historic ‘rows’ once ran through the site.

Original features are highlighted rather than replicated. The result is a building that tells its own story, without becoming a museum to itself.

At the same time, the refurbishment had to meet contemporary needs: full accessibility, inclusive design, light-filled spaces and a calm, welcoming atmosphere. Heritage was not preserved at the expense of usability; the two were designed to coexist.

A collaborative effort with a single purpose

Transforming one building into a shared home for so many services required trust, flexibility and sustained collaboration.

Multiple organisations - education providers, libraries, local authorities and delivery teams - had to align around a single purpose.

That purpose was not just regeneration in abstract terms, but impact that could be felt: footfall returning to the marketplace, learning happening in plain sight, and services brought back into the everyday rhythm of the town centre.

The building itself had surprises in store, as all projects of this age do.

Constraints emerged as work progressed, but the approach remained consistent; solve problems together, without diluting the ambition. What emerged was not a series of compromises, but a stronger shared outcome.

It was a positive journey, a positive customer experience. We were listened to, and when issues arose there was a collaborative approach to resolving them so we didn’t compromise the project. We felt prioritised and they cared about the end product, leaving a legacy with us which we can be proud of.

Sheila Oxtoby, Cheif Executive, Great Yarmouth Borough Council

Learning made visible

One of the most profound shifts created by The Place is the visibility of education.

Learning is no longer hidden away on the edge of town or behind closed gates; it is woven into the high street.

The offer is intentionally broad. People can walk in to read, sit quietly, use a computer or attend a library event. Others arrive to build confidence through basic skills or discover new interests. Some move further, progressing into qualifications, degrees and professional pathways, all without leaving Great Yarmouth.

This visibility matters. It normalises learning at every stage of life and challenges the idea that higher education is something that happens elsewhere, or is reserved for a select few.

The building also became part of the learning experience itself. Students engaged directly with the refurbishment process, with real work placements on site leading to apprenticeships and long‑term opportunities.

Pictured: Dylan
and Richard
who secured
full-time
employment
after bricklaying
work experience
on the project

The team really cared about employment outcomes - I'm going to give you a really practical example of that. Two of our Bricklaying students came on a work placement with Morgan Sindall. They then got apprenticeships with Morgan Sindall. They came onto the site, they saw what it was like. and they did some work experience and through that they got inspired. That's what it's about.

Paul Padda, Chief Executive, East Coast College

A place people have reclaimed

Since opening, The Place has quickly become busy in ways that feel significant rather than performative.

Library use has risen three-fold. Families are returning week after week. Students flow through the building alongside people who simply want somewhere warm, welcoming and free to spend time.

Former shoppers still recognise where departments once were. Old memories surface as new routines are formed. The building now hosts first steps and life milestones, from early literacy sessions to civil ceremonies.

Most importantly, it feels used. The building is no longer something people talk about from a distance; it is something they walk into, inhabit, and claim as their own.

More than a building

The Place does not pretend to solve every challenge a seaside town faces.

What it does offer is something quieter, and arguably more powerful: confidence.

Confidence that Great Yarmouth’s heritage has value. Confidence that education belongs in the centre of town. Confidence that a building once written off can be turned into something useful, generous and forward‑looking.

At its core, The Place is not about architecture or regeneration funding.

It is about what happens when a town chooses to invest in itself, and when a building that shaped the past is allowed to help shape the future.

It's such an iconic building and the quality of the finish really makes you feel like you're somewhere special. For the first time ever, we are a University Town, and I'm so proud we delivered what we said we would.

Sheila Oxtoby, Chief Executive, Great Yarmouth Borough Council

It was great sadness to us to see the department store closed and obviously I wish it was still a department store, but if it can't be that, then what has been done here is as good as you can possibly find.

Bruce Sturrock, Former Chairman, Palmers Department Store

It's truly transformative and builds up a sense of pride. The students and staff love it. It feels like a University centre right here in Great Yarmouth, which we could only have dreamed of, but its happened.

Paul Padda, Chief Executive, East Coast College

To bring something like this into the town centre, so that more people can access it freely, has been incredible. People who've never been in a library are now coming in and everybody stops me to say how lovely it is.

Sarah Brewer, Norfolk Libraries

A transformation like no other

Throughout the project, our digital team would use Oculo - a 360^o camera technology that enables us to create scans of the building.

On the Oculo platform, we are then able to look back through time and compare the transformation of the building!