At first glance, it's an unusual union - Norfolk County Council and the USA city of Virginia Beach.

The 43rd biggest city in the United States, with an Atlantic Ocean waterfront full of motels and high-rise buildings, might seem to have little in common with rural Norfolk.

But council chiefs say there are shared opportunities to develop business links and this week leaders signed a memorandum of understanding to foster the connection.

They say both Norfolk and Virginia Beach have miles of coastline, which the wind power industry is keen to harness.

Atlantic Avenue in Virginia BeachAtlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach (Image: Wikipedia / Hanc Tomasz / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

And the Norfolk link to Virginia Beach and the state of Virginia goes far back.

A man from King’s Lynn, called Adam Thoroughgood, was one of the first European settlers there in the 17th century.

At the age of 18, he had contracted as an indentured servant to pay for passage to the USA to better his life.

He earned his freedom and became a leading citizen in the area.

It is believed he helped name New Norfolk County in 1637, drawing on his home county for inspiration.

The Adam Thoroughgood House in Virginia BeachThe Adam Thoroughgood House in Virginia Beach (Image: Wikipedia / PumpkinSky / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

One of the oldest buildings in the city is named after him, but was actually built by his great-grandson.

The US city of Norfolk is just 20 miles away, considerably closer than the transatlantic 3,749 miles to the UK Norfolk.

The Back Bay Wildlife Refuge at Virginia BeachThe Back Bay Wildlife Refuge at Virginia Beach (Image: Wikipedia / Lago Mar / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

The memorandum of understanding was signed by leaders from Norfolk County Council, as well as counterparts from Suffolk and Essex and Virginia Beach, at the US embassy in London.

The idea is that the four areas can share advice and expertise and encourage trade and investment.

It succeeds a similar arrangement which the now defunct New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership had with the US city.

Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig and Amanda Jarratt, deputy city manager of Virginia Beach, sign the memorandum of understandingNorfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig and Amanda Jarratt, deputy city manager of Virginia Beach, sign the memorandum of understanding (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Kay Mason Billig, leader of Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council, said: “Offshore wind has a significant role to play in our future prosperity, with the huge windfarms being developed off our coast and the Operations and Maintenance Campus in Great Yarmouth.

”We also have a burgeoning technology sector, so there are obvious areas where Virginia Beach and Norfolk can mutually benefit from this agreement.”

Amanda Jarratt, Virginia Beach’s deputy city manager, said: “There is a huge amount of common ground between East Anglia and Virginia Beach.

”Our city is one of the main hubs for the US offshore wind industry, as well as technology sectors like software and cybersecurity – and companies from East Anglia are already doing well there.”

 

LOWDOWN ON THE RESORT CITY

Modern Virginia Beach was established in 1906.

It has a population of about 460,000 and is nicknamed the Resort City.

The city used to have a professional ice hockey team called the Norfolk Admirals, but they moved to San Diego in 2015.

The city hosts the annual East Coast Surfing Championships, featuring the world's top professional surfers and an estimated 400 amateur surfers.

One of the world's largest collections of First and Second World War aircraft is at the Military Aviation Museum in the city's Pungo area.

The newspaper which covers Virginia Beach is the Virginian-Pilot

Mark RuffaloMark Ruffalo (Image: Jonathan Brady / PA Wire)

Famous people with links to Virginia Beach include Hulk star Mark Ruffalo, who was raised there, singer Pharrell Williams and record producer Timbaland.