The Anonymous Widower

Yarmouth Harbour To Be ‘Completed’ In £60m Project

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

A major port is set to expand to prepare for construction work linked to several national infrastructure projects.

These first two paragraphs, which give more details.

Peel Ports said it would invest between £50m and £60m in Great Yarmouth’s Outer Harbour by developing the southern terminal, creating a roll-on roll-off (RORO) lift ramp and a large storage area.

Port director Richard Goffin said the construction work, which is set to begin in 2026, would “complete” the port as laid out in a business case in the early 2000s.

This image from Peel Ports Group shows how the Port of Great Yarmouth will look after the the proposed development.

And this Google Map shows the port as it is today.

Note.

1. The large triple shed, with the cross-wise middle section can be picked out in both the image and the map.
2. The label by the shed says Origin Fertilisers, so I suspect the three objects on the quayside, which are visible in both the image and the map could be conveyors for loading and unloading ships with fertiliser.
3. The two breakwaters are visible in both the image and the map.

It looks like the development would mainly involve filling in the Southern part of the current harbour.

With only a quick look and scant details, it looks to me, that it is a development that could be easily realised.

I have some thoughts.

Rail Access To The Port

There is no rail access to the port and I couldn’t see how it could be provided, without demolishing half of the town.

But there are carriage sidings at Great Yarmouth station, which are described in this Wikipedia entry like this.

New sidings were provided at the western end of the station to cope with the additional services operating into the station, following the closure of the M&GN system. It is a crescent-shaped site between the A47 road and Wherryman’s Way at the northernmost point of the River Yare, about 1⁄4 mi (400 m) north-west of the station. It had fallen out of use in the 1980s when Norwich Crown Point depot was built.

In 2010, the unused sidings were purchased by Great Yarmouth Borough Council; they were intended for use as a freight terminal, despite the lack of rail connection to the town’s port. It was hoped that 10,000 tonnes of sugar cane per week would be carried from Yarmouth to Cantley. The need to use a lorry shuttle between the docks and the rail yard, along with a £3.2 million quote for replacing the sidings at Cantley, saw the plan dropped.[19]

In May 2020, Eastern Rail Services commenced a lease with Norfolk County Council and Network Rail for Yarmouth Vauxhall sidings. Managing director James Steward said the siding “matched ERS’s requirement for an East Anglian site to base its rolling stock.” Following extensive de-vegetation works, Direct Rail Services 37402 became the first locomotive in 19 years to run into the sidings on 26 May 2020, followed the next day by it delivering five former Greater Anglia Mark 3 coaches for storage. On 6 July 2020, ERS was authorised a licence exemption permitting them to operate trains within the site

The Port of Great Yarmouth appears to be keen to do its part in the construction of Sizewell C. Could components for the power station, be brought into the port through the new roll-on/roll-off berth and then transferred to rail in the former carriage sidings?

This 3D Google Map shows the carriage sidings.

Most of the rolling stock appears to be retired Mark 2 and M3 coaches.

Road Access To The Port

This Google Map shows Great Yarmouth and the Port and roads in the area.

Note.

1. The red arrow indicates Great Yarmouth station.
2. The Port of Great Yarmouth is in the South-East corner of the map.
3. The A 47 runs down the West side of the town.
4. The River Yare runs from the railway station to the sea, just below the port.

There is a road on the East bank of the River Yare, that connects to the A 47 and could easily connect to a rail cargo terminal to the North-West of the station in the derelict carriage sidings.

I can certainly see Nimbies not liking the new roll-on/roll-off ferry creating traffic in the town.

The Construction Of Sizewell C

Sizewell C is very similar to Hinckley Point C and this extract from the Wikipedia entry for Hinckley Point C describes some of that power station’s construction.

In March 2017, EDF, after the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) gave approval to start building, the building of the first parts of the plant proper began with a network of tunnels to carry cabling and piping. Work was also under way on a jetty to land building materials, a seawall, and accommodation blocks.

In January 2018, EDF said that they were on track to start generating electricity by 2025 and that they planned to start constructing above-ground structures for the power station by June 2019.

The approximate 2,000 cubic metres (71,000 cu ft) concrete pour for the first reactor started on 11 December 2018. It was completed over a 30-hour period, creating the first part of the unit one 4,500 tonne base, a platform 3.2 metres (10 ft 6 in) thick. The reactor building will be built on the (to be completed) platform. This construction start marks the first new reactor build in the UK after a 30-year break, and the second PWR in the UK, after Sizewell B.

Completion of the base for the first reactor, the final 8,954 cubic metres (316,200 cu ft) of concrete, was achieved in June 2019. Completion of the base for the second reactor, 8,991 cubic metres (317,500 cu ft) of concrete, was achieved in June 2020.

Construction utilises the world’s largest crane, the Sarens SGC-250 double ring crane, which is responsible for lifting Hinkley Point C’s heaviest components. More than 600 heavy fabrications, including the five major parts of each unit’s steel containment liner and dome, are positioned by the SGC-250. The crane, named Big Carl, was delivered in modular form, consisting of over 400 deliveries.

In February 2023, the first nuclear reactor pressure vessel was delivered to site via the Bristol Channel Hinkley-dedicated wharf at Combwich. The pressure vessel was built in France in 2022 by Framatome.

In May 2024, the first of the 520 tonne steam generators was delivered to site in the same manner as the reactor pressure vessel.

Note.

1. A good proportion of the power station and the materials to build it were brought in by sea.
2. The size of everything is huge.
3. Big Carl seems to make appearances in all big projects.
4. According to the BBC, Peel Ports are spending £60million on a new roll-on/roll-off terminal, 350 metres of quay and ten hectares of high quality storage space.

I wouldn’t be surprised, if they have the contract for Sizewell C’s logistics, that Peel Ports will be laughing all the way to the bank.

If nothing else, after Sizewell C is completed, they will have a high-class port facility at the end of the A 47 from Birmingham, Leicester, Peterborough and Norwich, which could open up possible ferry routes to Europe.

Between Great Yarmouth And Sizewell

If the components come in to Great Yarmouth on trailers on the RORO ferries from France, they could be taken to Sizewell on the A 12 road.

Smaller components may be taken by road, but I wouldn’t rule out a transfer to rail in the carriage sidings at Great Yarmough, as I indicated earlier.

July 28, 2025 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel, World | Development, Ferry, Freight, Hinckley Point C Nuclear Power Station, Nimbies, Peel Ports, Port Of Great Yarmouth, Sizewell C Construction, Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station, UK Port Development | 2 Comments