The Ramsgate Plan for Neighbourhoods Programme

Have your say on Ramsgate’s future: Join the discussion workshops

Building on the feedback we received from the first round of surveys earlier this year, we’re ready to take the next step in planning how to invest Ramsgate’s £20 million of government funding.

This is your chance to help turn great ideas into a vision and plan for the next ten years, from 2026 to 2036.

What’s this all about?

Now that we have the survey feedback, we can take a closer look at priorities and gather richer input on the main themes. We are committed to working with people living and working in Ramsgate to build a clear, shared, and inspiring 10-year vision for the town.

How you can get involved (Monday 13 to Sunday 26 October 2025)

To make sure we hear from everyone, we’re working with local groups to hold different types of meetings, both in person and online. These will include workshops and drop-in sessions.

People of all ages are invited to take part in sessions to be held at various locations across Ramsgate.

Some sessions have limited capacity and must be booked in advance. Please check the table below for details of all the open sessions and how to reserve your place.

There will be specific sessions for people from certain sections of Ramsgate’s community, including young people and people living with disabilities.

Can’t attend in person?

If you can’t make it to an in-person workshop or drop-in, instead you can share your views here on Your Voice Thanet, the council’s online public engagement platform. There’s a simple registration process where you will be asked to input a few details. This will close at midnight on Tuesday 28 October.

What happens next?

This is the next step in our ongoing engagement activity. The work we do now will help shape the plan that the Neighbourhood Board must submit to the government by the end of November 2025.

From December 2025, the focus will move from gathering ideas to shaping project plans. The Neighbourhood Board will review all the feedback received and work with local partners to identify the specific projects for the first four years of funding. We will set up a ‘People’s Panel’ – a group of Ramsgate residents who will test proposals – as well as more public drop-in sessions.

There will be more opportunities to take part and share your feedback throughout the planning and delivery period. To make sure you receive updates directly from the council, sign up to our mailing list.

Open engagement sessions

Workshops/focus groups:

These are structured sessions where you should plan to arrive on time and stay for the full duration (typically 1.5 hours or more). They allow for a deeper, more focused discussion on specific topics.

To thank you for your time, a £5 voucher is available for people who attend the structured focus group sessions that last 1.5 hours or longer. This voucher helps cover costs like travel. Please check the session table to see which opportunities are eligible for the voucher.

Drop-in sessions:

These are informal, flexible sessions where you can arrive and leave at any point during the scheduled time. They offer an opportunity to share your ideas and ask questions without having to commit to stay for the whole session.

We are currently finalising details for more sessions, particularly those for Ramsgate’s business community. Details will be added to this page when they are confirmed.

Current list of Board members and where there are vacancies:

• Brian Horton – Director, Horton Strategic and Interim Chair
• Cllr Rick Everitt – Leader of Thanet District Council
• Cllr David Green – Ramsgate Town Councillor, Ramsgate Town Council
• Rebecca Smith – Chief Executive Officer, Social Enterprise Kent CIC
• Zoë Carassik – Chief Executive Officer, Pie Factory Music
• Polly Billington – Member of Parliament for East Thanet
• John Walker – Chair, Ramsgate Society
• Charlie Fox – Director Starlings Support CIC, on behalf of Newington Community Centre Association
• Matthew Scott – Police Crime Commissioner
• Lucy Mcleod – Chief Executive Officer, East Kent Colleges Group
• James Lawson – Chairman, Ramsgate Town Football Club
• Karen Sharp – East Kent Health and Care Partnership
• Paul King – Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Coastal Regeneration, Kent County Council
• Young Person (18-25) – vacant
• Council or social housing tenant – vacant
• Wednesday Lyle – Potters Ramsgate, Chair of the Ramsgate Traders Group
• Private sector investor – vacant
• Jemima Brown – Regeneration Officer, St George’s Church Ramsgate
• Louis Palfrey – Co-Director, Neurodivergent Friends in Thanet (NDFT)
• Selena Muscat – Volunteer Connector, Kent Coast Volunteering

The role of the Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board is to:

• Uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life (the Nolan Principles)
• Develop the 10-Year vision and four year Regeneration Plan for Ramsgate, clearly identifying longer term priorities for the town based on evidence
• Identify the issues and priorities to focus for Ramsgate by supporting a process of ongoing community engagement
• Establish a clear programme of interventions to address the priority themes and to ensure coordinated and effective delivery
• Work with the local authority to develop the Plan for Ramsgate, set out how local partners will use their knowledge, powers, assets and new funding to deliver for Ramsgate’s communities
• Identify opportunities to bring in additional philanthropic or private investment to support overseeing the delivery of projects set out in the Investment Plan
• Mitigate any risks, particularly financial, legal and reputational
• Ensure all publicity rules and obligations are met including the government’s requirements for branding and recognition
• Where available use the range of levers and flexibilities they have access to to drive improvement and unlock barriers to regeneration and development
• Oversee delivery of the government funded projects ensuring the accountable body is in compliance with government agreements

Terms of Reference

Code of Conduct

• Ramsgate Future Investment Plan 2021
• Ramsgate Future Engagement Summary report 2021
• Ramsgate Future Atlas 2021
• Government Data pack

Brian has over 35 years of professional experience in the Housing and Development sector and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Brian is the Director at Horton Strategic a housing, development and regeneration consultancy working independently and collaboratively to provide specialist strategic advice to clients in the public, private and third sector.

Brian is a Board Member at Keystage CIC, Gravesend Churches Housing Association and ABC Property Limited, Chair of Kent Housing Group, Trustee at Turner Contemporary Margate, Chair of the Thanet Regeneration Partnership Board and Chair of the Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board.

Prior to setting up Horton Strategic, Brian worked as Strategic Housing Advisor to Kent County Council, Chief Executive of Swale Housing Association and as Executive Director Kent for AmicusHorizon (now Southern Housing). He previously held positions at Thanet District Council, English Churches Housing Group (now Riverside), the Corporation of London and Wandsworth Borough Council.

In his consultancy and through the South East Housing and Development Group Brian works with a number of organisations to accelerate the delivery of housing and facilitate good plan led growth, working in partnership to engage with MHCLG and Homes England.

Rick Everitt has served as leader of Thanet District Council in two spells, currently since May 2023. He was first elected to the council in 2011 and was previously a councillor in the London Borough of Bexley, before moving to Thanet in 2007.

He was a parliamentary candidate in the 2010 general election.

After working as a computer programme following university, Rick quit the Civil Service and became a reporter and sports editor in SE London, where he grew up, before spending 14 years in senior roles at Charlton Athletic Football Club.

He was director of communications during the club’s Premier League years and later head of club development.

He has written for The Guardian and London Evening Standard, as well as publishing and editing a number of books and a long-running Charlton fanzine.

He also has many years experience as a school governor at both primary and secondary school level.

1967-97 Research Scíentist, Medical Research Councíl

1999 – 2009 Network Manager, Clarendon School

Past Mayor of Ramsgate for four years

Currently Thanet District Councillor – Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Panel

Currently Ramsgate Town Councillor – Chair of Finance

Rebecca has worked in strategic roles within the Kent and Medway Voluntary, Charity and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector for 20 years, and has been CEO of Social Enterprise Kent (SEK) since 2023.

She is passionate about social enterprise, communities and empowering people. With a MA in HR Business Partnership, a postgraduate diploma in management, and an adult teaching qualification, Rebecca loves learning and is hugely passionate about harnessing people’s potential.

Social Enterprise Kent supports other social enterprises and charities to help them grow and develop – whether that be through training, business support, mentoring or funding. Additionally, SEK supports individuals in local communities through wellbeing programmes designed to keep people fit and healthy – both physically and mentally. For example, SEK was the lead provider for the hugely successful 7-year Ageless Thanet programme that engaged over 9000 Thanet residents, 400 local businesses, and supported a huge range of VCSE organisations.

As one of the larger VCSE organisations in Kent, SEK applies for large contracts and grants that smaller, grass-roots social enterprises cannot, and disseminates this money out to the sector. This equated to over £1m in money out to the sector in 2024/25, and will be even more in 2025/26.

With premises in Margate and Ramsgate, SEK is proudly rooted in the Thanet community, and Rebecca is honoured to represent the wider VCSE sector on this Board.

Zoë Carassik is CEO of Pie Factory Music, a music and youth work charity based in a busy youth centre in Ramsgate, East Kent. With a background in community music engagement and music education, Zoë’s work has predominantly focused on supporting social justice causes and has taken her from immigration removal centres, women’s refuges and community centres to world-class cultural institutions and strategic charitable organisations.

Zoë is a passionate advocate for young people’s rights, ensuring young people are front and centre of the cultural regeneration of Thanet and other areas of high deprivation.

Biography to come

John has a business background with over 35 years experience as a residential and commercial property developer.

He was a founder member and Deputy Chair of the Canterbury Society from 2010 to the present time.

Until October 2016 John was a Trustee and Deputy Chair of Civic Voice, the national organisation for civic societies in England with over 250 societies representing some 75,000 members.

John moved to Ramsgate in 2011 and has been Chair of The Ramsgate Society since 2014.

His special interests are the quality of the public realm and the natural environment, good design and strategic planning.

Charlie is passionate about working with people and communities. She has over 20 years’ experience working in the non-profit sector, specialising in income generation, community development and leadership, partnership development and strategy.

Lucy Mcleod is the CEO of East Kent Colleges Group and was appointed to this role in April 2025. Prior to this Lucy was Deputy CEO for two and a half years, and Chief Education Officer for a year. Lucy was Principal of Canterbury College for four years between 2017 and 2021 and Principal of Broadstairs College prior to that.

Lucy has worked for East Kent Colleges Group for 25 years and has worked in a wide range of roles in the further education sector since joining in 1998 as an EFL Lecturer. Including responsibility for international work, programmes for the unemployed, community learning, management of subcontracting and apprenticeships. In 2015, Lucy then went on to be Vice Principal for Widening Participation and had strategic direction of student support and was the Senior Safeguarding Lead for East Kent College.

Over the years, Lucy has sat on many boards, and is an experienced collaborator and strategic thinker. Partnership working and collaboration are essential to the success of EKC Group and have always been an aspect of Lucy’s role over the last 25 years.

Lucy is passionate about the student voice and committed to giving her students the best experience possible that goes beyond just achieving a qualification. How a student develops personally while at East Kent Colleges Group is a key focus.

Lucy also chairs the Kent and Medway Care Leavers Progression Partnership which is committed to improving the progression opportunities of care experienced young people.

James runs a group of organisations based in Ramsgate that focus on education, training, sport, and social enterprise. With over 15 years of experience in the sector, he is the founder of Lawtonash Training Services, which has supported thousands of local people into construction careers.

More recently, James established Flourish & Thrive Consultancy to bring together partners from across Thanet to deliver community-focused projects.

He also serves as Chair of Ramsgate Active Education Foundation, a local charity delivering inclusive health, education, and sports programmes including Thanet’s largest Holiday Activities & Food (HAF) programme. In addition, he is the Chairman of Ramsgate Football Club, which now acts as a vehicle for wider investment in youth engagement and local infrastructure.

James is particularly focused on how regeneration can create long-term opportunity – by developing spaces that bring people together, connecting skills to real jobs, and supporting grassroots enterprise.

Karen currently works with all organisations in the NHS and Care sector to oversee a programme that supports prevention and wellbeing, integration of community services and how collectively we can support better care in our hospitals.

Karen’s clinical background involved delivering support to young people and families battling with the challenges that come through substance misuse.

With experience and employment across NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary Sector, Karen passionately believes that working as a system will enable us to tackle the most pressing challenges that our sector faces.

Karen says “I believe we must harness our community assets to support health and wellbeing – my voluntary roles have included Chair of governors and a Trustee for Coastal Academies in Thanet. It is a privilege to sit on the neighbourhood Board for Ramsgate which looks at how private and public sector can come together to support regeneration in this beautiful coastal area”.

Biography to come

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Wednesday Lyle is a Ramsgate resident and local business owner (Potters), co-owning a successful retail venture since 2019 in the heart of Ramsgate town centre. She also serves as Chair of the Ramsgate Traders Group, which she co-founded alongside Alex Gillings of Salt Barbers. Together, they established the group to unite and empower the local independent high street business community, with the aim of increasing footfall and revitalising the town.

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Jemima Brown is an artist living in Broadstairs since 2014. In 2022 she took up the post of Regeneration Officer to lead Project 200 at St George’s Church, in advance of the 200th Anniversary of the building in 2027. The spectacular Grade 1 Listed church is situated in the town centre and is the civic church for Ramsgate. Project 200 activities have been opening the doors wider for concerts, events and community projects, demonstrating the potential of St George’s as a catalyst for change in the town.

Louis Palfrey is Co-Director of Neurodivergent Friends in Thanet (NDFT), responsible for programming and shared strategic leadership. Originally from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, he has lived and worked in Thanet since 2013 and brings to the Board experience of alternative education, community building, neurodiversity and socioeconomic inclusion. In addition to his work with NDFT, Louis is a composer and sound artist, creating music and sound design for films, audiodramas, podcasts and art installations, and is currently pursuing a PhD at Canterbury Christ Church University researching music improvisation and Neurodivergent community. Louis is Autistic, has Fibromyalgia, and lives in Ramsgate with his wife, two cats and dog.

Selena Muscat is a Visual Arts Teacher with over 30 years teaching experience in the UK and Australia. While still working as a part-time supply teacher, she also now primarily works for local charity Kent Coast Volunteering as Thanet’s Volunteer Connector, “helping Kent’s coastal communities improve their quality of life – through the power of volunteering and social action.”