Beccles Quay is set to be transformed next summer with investment and upgraded facilities as well as discovery hubs and a summer festival.

A £250,000 investment will include replacing play park equipment and refurbishing the toilet block, while facilities for boat owners will also be improved.

Andrew Farrell from the Broads Authority also announced plans for discovery hubs and a Heritage and Arts Festival for the Quay as part of their ‘Water, Mills and Marshes’ project.

He expressed he is keen to work with local Beccles businesses during an information evening held on Monday, November 8, which was organised by town councillor Gillian Birrell, chair of the council’s assets and environment committee.

The discovery hubs will act as tourist information point to promote the Broads, and it will be maintained by a Broads Authority Ranger.

The project will also improve signage for anyone using the Angles Way and other walks along the river.

The festival will give locals and visitors the chance to enjoy arts events and try various activities on the river itself.

He said: "This is about celebrating the unique landscape that the Broads has to offer.

"This will be about attracting new communities out to the Broads and Beccles who haven't seen the town before.

"The discovery hubs are an exciting new project aimed to get people out into the Broads, starting here at Beccles Quay.

"It would be great to get that local support from the community in Beccles because people love this place."

Last month, Beccles Town Council confirmed plans for a £250,000 investment and upgraded facilities at the quay by next summer.

The project has been supported financially by several organisations, including the Alan Boswell Charitable Trust, who gave a grant of £5,000, Tesco, who donated £1,166, and a further £6,790 raised as part of former town mayor Elfrede Brambley-Crawshaw’s mayoral appeal.

The remaining balance will be funded by the town council.

Speaking at the announcement of the plans, Beccles mayor Richard Stubbings said: “The Quay is an important facility for the town, and the council have been planning improvements for some time.

"These have been held up the Covid-19 outbreak, but we are now pressing ahead with our plans."