Lifeboat station set to move to new location

Andrew Turner
BBC News, Norfolk
Andrew Turner/BBC A blue sign on a building says' Lifeboats Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station." It is on the side of a brick building. Andrew Turner/BBC
A lifeboat station is expected to relocate to a new building

A lifeboat station is set to be relocated, meaning the RNLI can bring a new vessel into service after a two-year delay.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station is set to move to the old Pilot Station on Riverside Road.

The Shannon-class George and Frances Phelon was delivered to the station in September 2023, but was taken away again because of unsuitable moorings.

In a post on Facebook, the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat said: "We now have a berth for our Shannon 13-44, the RNLI's first ever Legacy Lifeboat."

The move comes after the RNLI delivered, then withdrew, the George and Frances Phelon vessel, saying the moorings were unsuitable.

"With plans to relocate the pilots over the river, the Port Authority decided to offer the station to the RNLI," the statement added.

Andrew Turner/BBC A brick building sits next to water. It has two entrance at the bottom and four windows at the top. Concrete stairs lead up to the building. Andrew Turner/BBC
The former river port pilot station is located in Gorleston-on-Sea

The new station, the former river port pilot station, will provide suitable moorings to be built away from conditions that could risk damaging the vessel, the station added.

The George and Frances Phelon was named after a couple who bequeathed £3m to the charity.

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