Get Involved

The Theatre Royal, located in the heart of Margate, was first constructed in 1787. The current building is Grade II* listed and retains its Victorian interior which dates from 1874. The Theatre Royal is the UK’s second oldest working theatre and is of national  significance. It was listed in 1955 and in 2018, it was added to the Theatre Trust’s At Risk Register.

The new vision is to combine the Theatre Royal and 19 Hawley Square. These places have a long and shared history. They will be preserved, restored and modernised, with the aim of  creating a performing arts hub in Margate. The aim is to establish a circular theatre economy to promote performing arts and create a supportive environment to:

• Provide opportunities for young people to get involved in performing arts and creative careers

• Attract local, national, and international performances and events

• Create theatre productions featuring professional and local actors to be enjoyed by audiences worldwide

The new vision for the Theatre Royal focuses on heritage, performance and financial sustainability. 19 Hawley Square will be developed into a theatre production space with a bar, cafe, studio theatre, recording studio and rehearsal rooms. It will also have offices and accommodation for touring theatre companies.

The Theatre Royal project has been allocated £2.2m of Margate Town Deal funding. The ambitious scope of the project means that we need to secure funding from external sources for the project to succeed. An application is in process for a further £3.2m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We are talking to the Arts Council about applying for the Cultural Development Fund, which will be launched in 2024.

We are inviting both the public and potential operators to engage with the new vision and plans which can be viewed in full here.

Public feedback can be submitted until 4pm Wednesday 20 December, on Your Voice Thanet 

The operators’ feedback questionnaire can be submitted until Wednesday 24 January 2024, via our website.

To ensure you receive updates about any further engagement activity in relation to the Town Deal projects including the Theatre Royal project, you can join the Margate Town Deal mailing list.

In October 2023 we invited members of the public to learn about the regeneration projects taking place at Walpole Bay. Part of the Margate Town Deal, proposed plans include improved access, and new beach facilities.

A public drop-in session on Thursday 5 October at the Walpole Bay Hotel provided an opportunity for local residents and stakeholders to meet and engage with the council’s project team. There were boards on display showing sketches of the proposed concepts for the new beach, and wellbeing facilities. Architects and designers were on hand to answer questions and there was an opportunity to give initial feedback about some of the information on display.

Following the event, the information boards remained on display at the Walpole Bay Hotel for two weeks. This provided a chance for anyone unable to attend the event to view the boards and share their feedback. The exhibition was open daily from Monday 9 October for people to drop in between 10am and 7pm and closed on Monday 23 October.

It was also possible to submit feedback and thoughts during this period, via an online and paper survey.

To ensure you receive updates about any further engagement activity in relation to the Town Deal projects including Walpole Bay, you can join the Margate Town Deal mailing list.

For further information about this engagement activity visit the project page on the council’s engagement platform Your Voice Thanet.

Thanet’s success in securing over £40m of capital investment from central government through the Levelling Up Fund and Towns Fund means there are a wide range of projects to be delivered across the district by March 2026. It is important that local suppliers and contractors are aware of the opportunities this brings for their businesses. The council and its partners are using a number of different procurement routes for the design and delivery of the Town Deal schemes in Margate.

We would like to make opportunities to get involved with the Town Deal projects accessible to local suppliers where possible. This page provides information on where we advertise work for consultants and contractors, as well as some of our current opportunities.

For general enquiries, please contact the Margate Town Deal project team: margate-town-deal@thanet.gov.uk

London Construction Programme (LCP) Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)

We are a member of the London Construction Programme (LCP) Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), managed by the London Borough of Haringey. It allows suppliers of all sizes to sign up and submit proposals and quotations for Thanet District Council and other public sector procurements free of charge, subject to standard due diligence checks.

Sign up to the LCP DPS to find out more about our projects.

Alternatively, you can contact the LCP direct at lcp@haringey.gov.uk who are able to assist suppliers with on boarding to the DPS.

The Kent Business Portal

The Kent Business Portal is used to advertise local authority opportunities in Kent.

You can sign up free of charge to the Kent Business Portal.

A People’s Panel is an innovative democratic tool used all over the world. It brings together a randomly selected group of people who broadly represent the wider population. Those who attend learn about important issues, discuss them with one another and then put forward ideas about what should happen and how things could change. People’s Panels are used by statutory agencies to identify local priorities and to engage people on specific issues.

The Panel, of around 65 members, was set up in October 2020 and worked with the Town Deal Board and project team to develop the Town Investment Plan which has provisionally secured up to £22.2 million of funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

The People’s Panel wanted a representative from the Margate Town Deal Board as their Chair. Eddie Kemsley was happy to take on the role and has the skill set and experience required. The Town Deal ratified the decision for Eddie to Chair the People’s Panel.

The Panel was set up in October 2020 and worked with the Town Deal Board and project team to develop the Town Investment Plan which has provisionally secured up to £22.2 million of funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The People’s Panel was not itself a decision making body, so the membership was not made public. Its role was to help the Board understand public opinions and put forward ideas for consideration.