Nine months after a town’s seafront attraction was closed for major refurbishment, its grounds are set to reopen to the public as it hosts its first event.

The Venetian Waterways in Great Yarmouth will be open to the public on Sunday, April 21, for the Rotary Club’s Duck Race.

A spokesman for Great Yarmouth Borough Council confirmed the Waterways would be open for Easter Sunday but said residents would have to wait for an official opening.

Work on the boating lake remains ongoing with a completion date yet to be set.

The council hopes its £2.7m flagship project will re-establish the Waterways as one of the town’s most popular features.

Volunteers have been working alongside gardeners and a horticultural apprentice to bed in more than 6,500 plants.

The final phase of the project has seen joinery and carpentry work being carried out on the wooden and steel bridges, while contractors complete heavy landscaping and engineering work to the boating lake.

The project is being funded by a £1.7m National Lottery grant awarded through the Heritage Lottery fund and Big Lottery fund.