Blog: A closer look at the projects working hard to secure the investment funds available and help Margate Thrive 365

Much has been written about the £22.2m awarded to Margate from the government’s Towns Fund to support jobs, economic recovery and our vision: to help Margate Thrive 365.

This weekend, the community was able to see early concepts of our selected projects and learn more about how they will help build a stronger and more resilient local economy.

Nearly 400 people attended the Community Exhibition at Turner Contemporary on Saturday 26 February. Thank you for giving up your time. It was wonderful to see so many of you getting involved, asking questions and offering views on how best to drive footfall to the town, support the community and make Margate a better place for everyone to enjoy.

Have your say

Your positivity, comments and suggestions will help inform business case development work over the next seven weeks. If you weren’t able to attend, you can see the exhibition materials online and there is also a google form within each of the project pages to leave comments. These will be open until midnight on Tuesday 15 March.

The projects

The scope of our projects provides something for everyone. They will contribute towards the revitalisation of Margate by supporting our rich heritage, improving our coastal environment and providing enhanced connectivity between key areas of the town.

We have updated the project section of our website so you can learn more about each project and what they hope to achieve. These pages will continue to be updated as the projects are developed, through the writing of the business cases. For reference, our plans are grouped into the following four categories:

• Scaling creative production and skills
  • Establishing a Creative Land Trust
  • Improvements to the Theatre Royal

• Coastal wellbeing
  • Improvements to Walpole Bay
  • Oval Bandstand and Lawns
  • Skatepark

• Active movement and connections
  • A series of highway and public realm interventions

• Heritage assets
  • Repurposing the cinema building at Dreamland
  • Winter Garden future options appraisal

Good news

One of the projects, to provide a skatepark on the former crazy golf site in Ethelbert Crescent in Cliftonville, reached a significant milestone earlier this month when Thanet District Council, who own the site, granted Margate Skateboard Club a 20 year lease to move forward with plans. This, coupled with Tracey Emin’s generous donation towards the project, is great news for the district. The skatepark will be a fantastic asset, breathing new life into an unused area and providing opportunities for young people in a safe and fun environment.

In other news, works are near completion to refurbish the roof and do a full strip-out, including asbestos, of 53-57 High Street in Margate. This was an accelerated capital project provided to Thanet District Council alongside the Town Deal status allocation. This investment will help restore a significant space within a key part of the town centre.

Next Steps

The summary document for the Creative Land Trust was submitted to the Government in October 2021 and the remaining business case summaries will be submitted to the Government in April 2022.

We expect this to be a busy month for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, so we don’t have a timetable of when we will receive sign off.

We will continue to keep you posted on the Town Deal and you can sign-up to receive updates straight to your inbox by emailing the project team and requesting your subscription: margate-town-deal@thanet.gov.uk.

Brian Horton
Chair of Margate Town Deal Board