Google Maps show how Clacton has changed in 10 years

We've taken a trip down memory lane using pictures from Google Street view taken between 2008 and 2019.

Take a scroll through our gallery below to see Clacton as you remember it.

The following picture shows Clacton Pier in 2009 before major refurbishments were undertaken by the Ball family.

Google's image from 2019 shows the pier after millions of pounds of investment, including a new bowling alley and bar.

Other new attractions include adventure golf and children's soft play.

The resort's landmark was this year named as National Piers Society's Pier of the Year.

While the seafront - including Clacton Pier and Clacton Pavilion - have seen major investment, many shops in Clacton town centre have been lost in recent years.

Those to have closed their doors since 2008 include Woolworths and Marks and Spencer, once a staple of Pier Avenue.

Here is a view of the stores from West Avenue in 2008...

The town centre is now in need of a major overhaul and Tendring Council is hoping to win up to £25million from a Government fund aimed at saving town centres.

Today the former Marks & Spencer building is a much sorrier sight than a decade ago.

In contrast, it was Clacton seafront that was looking somewhat rundown in 2010.

Clacton Pavilion was boarded up and had been labelled an "eyesore" by councillors.

But following millions of pounds of investment by director Billy Peak, it is now one of Clacton's biggest attractions.

The Pavilion, pictured below in 2019, now includes new restaurants, family fun park, bowling alley and splash park.

This year an outdoor bar was opened as well as a children's adventure soft play area.

Clacton's Royal Hotel was also looking sorry for itself in 2010 after years of refurbishments.

In the background of the below picture you can also see the Liquor Lounge bar, which was once home to The Lighthouse pub. 

But by 2019 the hotel had been reopened and now also features the Big Fat Greek Taverna and All That Jazz beauty bar.

But the Liquor Lounge has now been demolished and the site has yet to be developed.

The Waverley Hall Hotel was one of the earliest hotels to open in Clacton and was a key part of the town's heyday.

It was a Comfort Inn in 2009, but the once-grand hotel became run down and eventally made way for a new Premier Inn.

Here the new hotel is pictures in 2019.

Even Clacton's beach has seen big changes in the past 10 years

Here it is pictured in 2009 before a major £36 million coast protection scheme.

The project, which saw 270,000 tonnes of rock delivered from Norway, created 23 new beaches to the east of Clacton Pier.

Here it is pictured in 2018:

Clacton town centre has lost numerous pubs in recent years, including the Rocking Horse, the Lighthouse, and the Crab and Pumpkin.

Here is The Carlton, in Rosemary Road, pictured in 2009.

The building was demolished and was still vacant in 2019.

The historic Osborne Hotel was built in Rosemary Road in 1871.

It became the Nelson pub in 1985, but was most recently the Sandles Inn Chinese restaurant, until it was demolished after becoming derelict in 2012.

The site, pictured below in 2018, remains empty after plans for a £6million hotel, shops and restaurant complex were rejected.

East-West Design and Build wanted to construct a new seven-storey building made up of a 51-unit aparthotel along with three retail or restaurant units at the site.

Do you think Clacton has changed for the better? Let us know in the comments section below or email cf.gazette@newsquest.co.uk.