Stephen Wilkinson, president of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), visited the town to find out how the borough council is working with partners across the public and private sectors to support growth and job creation.

As part of his tour he visited Veolia-Peterson's £1m decommissioning facility at the outer harbour and saw turbine parts for the £1.5bn Galloper offshore wind farm, being constructed by Innogy SE.

Mr Wilkinson said: 'A strategic, joined-up approach to planning and economic development is critical to deliver fairer, more coordinated economic growth.

'I was pleased to see how the council closely aligns strategic planning with economic development and inward investment to deliver a wide variety of projects.'

Council leader Graham Plant said: 'We were pleased to welcome the RTPI delegation to Great Yarmouth to showcase our proactive partnership work to support growth, jobs and prosperity for our businesses and communities. The Outer Harbour is just one example of this.

'The visit was well timed to capture a bit of economic history, with the Outer Harbour supporting simultaneously, for the first time, a large-scale offshore wind project and a major decommissioning project, both representing major growth areas for the borough.'

Another stop on the tour was the enterprise zone at Beacon Park, where the council is delivering a £7.7m headquarters for energy business Proserv, keeping 190 jobs in the borough and providing capacity for further expansion.

He also visited Great Yarmouth town centre and found out more about the borough council's Town Centre Masterplan.