The Ocean Room in Gorleston has been sold by Great Yarmouth Borough Council to Ocean Pavilion Ltd, a subsidiary of King's Lynn-based Bespoke Construction Group, for £500,000.

The company's early plans for the site include a wellness centre, spa, family entertainment facilities, cafés and upgraded public toilets, with the existing building potentially being demolished because of its deteriorating condition.

The Ocean Room closed in March 2024 when its tenants went into administration and has stood empty ever since.

The Ocean Room in Gorleston closed in March 2024 and has now been sold to a Kings Lynn based developer. (Image: Great Yarmouth Borough Council)

Over more than eight decades, the venue hosted everything from dinner dances and boxing events to nightclub evenings and live music performances and bingo.

The new owners said they wanted to create "an exciting new facility" that could be enjoyed throughout the year while generating up to 50 jobs.

Proposals include a wellness centre with treatment rooms and health spa facilities, alongside a soft play area, indoor games space featuring pool and table football, and coffee shops.

How the new Ocean Pavilion in Gorleston could appear under new plans to replace the Ocean Room. (Image: Feilden Mawson Architects)

The plans also envisage improvements to the surrounding area, including opportunities to better link the site with the Pavilion Theatre and bandstand.

No planning application has yet been submitted.

A public consultation will be held at the Pavilion Theatre, with a date yet to be confirmed.

'THE LOSS OF A MUCH-LOVED LANDMARK'

A queue outside the Ocean Room when Blur played the venue in September 1995. (Image: Archant)

Ocean Pavilion Ltd said structural surveys had identified major problems with the building.

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