Winter Gardens

We commissioned Caroe Architects Ltd to produce a Heritage Significance Statement for the Winter Gardens.

The purpose of the statement is to provide an up-to-date understanding of the heritage significance of the Winter Gardens and its capacity for change (issues, weaknesses/vulnerabilities, opportunities and constraints).

The recommendations included in the statement will inform future decisions on the conservation, preservation and re-purposing of the building and will provide the basis for a full Conservation Management Plan when required to support future bids for National Lottery, and other funding, in the future.

Read Heritage Significance Statement

This document has been produced externally and may not be accessible. To request the document in an accessible format please contact Andreea.plant@thanet.gov.uk.

Read the Thanet Evening and Night Time Economy Review and Strategy.

December 2022

• Engage a multidisciplinary team to deliver a review and strategy of the evening and night time economy across Thanet, and the role of the Margate Winter Gardens
• Launch online community engagement – to support creation of new FAQ –  through Your Voice Thanet – this will be open for four weeks
• Commission up to date site plans and drawings for the Winter Gardens
• Draft brief for a legal review and report on the title for the Winter Gardens with relevant legal advice, searches and surveys
• Commission costed surveys with visits

January 2023

• Online community engagement closes – officers to review the questions submitted 
• Sign off site plans and drawings 
• Complete costed surveys for the marketing pack
• Draft report from the evening and night time review to include a proposed vision and recommendations for the Winter Gardens, with information to support the engagement of a marketing agent with relevant experience.
• Further visits to inform costed surveys 
• Commission Historic Buildings Report

February 2023

• Finalise legal review and surveys
• Carry out stakeholder and community engagement on the demand and vision for the Winter Gardens
• Propose recommendations for the public and private sectors about their roles in developing a sustainable, accessible and inclusive evening and night time economy across Thanet.
• Commission an Evening and Night Time Economy review for Thanet in order to support significant assets, including the Winter Gardens
• Commence the procurement of a suitably qualified and experienced marketing agency through an open process
• Costed surveys finalised

March 2023

• Update Cabinet on the Evening and Night Time Economy and Strategy
• Develop marketing activity to identify a commercial partner/operator

April 2023

• Commission heritage / historic buildings reports
• Commission further buildings surveys / reports

May 2023

• Commission further surveys / reports

June/July 2023

• Finalise the Evening and Night Time Economy Strategy
• Publish the FAQ on the Margate Town Deal webpages following the initial stakeholder engagement

August/September 2023

• Finalise heritage / historic buildings reports

• Engage the marketing agency

October/November 2023

•  – Draft and approve marketing materials
• Go out to the market to promote the opportunity at the Winter Gardens
• Host open days in the Winter Gardens for prospective commercial partners and/or operators
• Invite Expressions of Interest for the Winter Gardens

December/January 2023/2024

• Review expressions of interest and invite potential partners/operators to submit full Business Plans and proposals.

February/March 2024

• Evaluate submitted Business Plans and Proposals
• Provide recommendations to Cabinet

Whilst the Project Team are working towards the timeline above, the programme of activity may be subject to change.  The timeline information will be updated. 

Yes. As with many buildings of this age and construction, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) have been identified within parts of the Margate Winter Gardens.

The presence of asbestos is known and has been taken into account as part of the proposed refurbishment and construction works.

Yes. Asbestos surveys have been undertaken to identify asbestos-containing materials within the building. The findings of these surveys are being used to inform the proposed construction and refurbishment works and the appropriate management measures.

Where required, further investigation or targeted surveys will be undertaken before works commence in areas where asbestos-containing materials may be present.

The asbestos is being managed through a combination of specialist asbestos advice and the main contractor’s construction management procedures.

During the construction and refurbishment works, asbestos-related activities will be managed by All About Asbestos, as the specialist asbestos contractor, in coordination with Jenner Construction, as the main building contractor.

The works will be undertaken in accordance with the relevant asbestos management procedures, risk assessments and plans of work, with appropriate controls put in place to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres.

Following completion of the construction works, ongoing asbestos management will be the responsibility of All About Asbestos, Westwood One and the theatre management team, in accordance with the building’s ongoing asbestos management arrangements.

The identified asbestos is being managed and controlled in accordance with the building’s asbestos management arrangements.

Where asbestos-containing materials remain in situ, they are managed so that they do not present an unacceptable risk of exposure during normal occupation, provided they are not disturbed.

During the construction works, additional controls will be implemented to protect workers, visitors, neighbouring areas and members of the public. Areas affected by asbestos-related works will be appropriately controlled and, where necessary, isolated from public access.

The proposed works include the removal and/or encapsulation of identified asbestos-containing materials, depending on their condition, location and the nature of the proposed works.

Asbestos-related works will be undertaken by appropriately qualified and competent specialist contractors, with the necessary control measures in place.

The works will include appropriate:

• Risk assessments and plans of work.
• Controlled access and segregation of asbestos work areas.
• Appropriate personal protective equipment and respiratory protection where required.
• Measures to prevent the spread of asbestos fibres beyond the controlled work area.
• Specialist procedures for the removal, handling and disposal of asbestos-containing materials.
• Appropriate clearance and verification procedures following asbestos removal works before affected areas are returned to normal use.

The construction team will also have procedures in place to stop work and seek specialist advice should previously unidentified suspect materials be encountered during the refurbishment.

During any removal activities, work areas are completely sealed using high-gauge polythene sheeting equipped with a triple airlock system to regulate operative movement. Before passing through the airlocks to reach the decontamination unit, workers must complete a full decontamination sequence, using specialised H-class vacuum equipment and thorough wiping techniques to cleanse themselves and their gear.

Upon stepping out of the final airlock, workers swap their red protective overalls for blue transit garments. Movement to the decontamination facility follows a designated, restricted path. To capture any stray fibres on personnel, the dirty section of the decontamination facility operates under continuous negative pressure.

Before asbestos extraction begins, the designated zone is fully enclosed with protective sheeting to form an airtight barrier around the ACMs. The integrity of the enclosure is then verified using a non-toxic smoke test to detect any potential leaks. A representative from Westwood Theatre Company observes this testing phase to confirm full compliance before clearance is granted to start removal.

Following material removal, the entire site undergoes rigorous cleaning with tack cloths and HEPA-filtered H-class vacuums. An independent analyst is then commissioned to conduct a formal four-stage clearance inspection and air monitoring. Air samples collected via site pumps are evaluated under electron microscopy within a mobile lab unit, and the enclosure is only dismantled after achieving a satisfactory clearance certificate.

All operations strictly adhere to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and relevant Health and Safety Executive guidance.

Yes. The nursery will operate as a secure, self-contained environment, with appropriate physical, access-control and safeguarding measures in place to protect children, staff and visitors.

The nursery will be physically and operationally separated from the wider entertainment venue. Access to nursery areas will be strictly controlled, and members of the public and general venue users will not have uncontrolled access to the nursery.

The proposed safeguarding and security measures include:

• CCTV coverage across the site, with a dedicated CCTV system for the nursery.
• Access-controlled gates and doors using key fobs, codes and other appropriate access-control measures.
• Staff access will be restricted according to individual roles, meaning staff will only have access to areas in which they are authorised to work.
• Nursery staff and volunteers will be subject to safer recruitment procedures, including appropriate DBS checks, references and safeguarding checks, in accordance with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework applicable from 1 September 2026.
• Relevant facilities, cleaning and other general staff will undergo appropriate DBS and safeguarding checks before being permitted to work in or access areas used by children, where required.
• Contractors will be appointed through an approved contractor process and will be subject to appropriate checks and supervision depending on the nature of their work and access.
• Visitors and contractors entering nursery areas during operating hours will be identified, signed in and escorted where appropriate.
• Nursery staff will receive appropriate safeguarding training and induction, with established procedures for reporting and managing safeguarding concerns.
• The nursery will operate under the same established safeguarding policies and procedures successfully implemented at our Ramsgate nursery, together with site-specific risk assessments and safeguarding arrangements appropriate to this location.
• The nursery’s safeguarding arrangements will be reviewed regularly and updated where required as the wider venue’s operation develops.

The intention is that the reopening of the wider venue will not compromise the nursery’s safeguarding arrangements. The nursery will remain a controlled environment, with clear boundaries between children, nursery staff and other users of the wider venue.

The nursery is proposed as a secure and clearly defined area within the wider development, with controlled access and appropriate separation from the other activities taking place at the venue.

The proposed measures include:

• A separate CCTV system for the nursery, in addition to the wider site’s CCTV provision.
• Controlled access to all nursery areas, including access-controlled classroom doors.
• The nursery’s main entrance will be accessed through controlled gates, with a video intercom system for roadside access.
• The nursery garden will be fully enclosed and separated from other areas of the site, with controlled entry and exit.
• The nursery garden will not be accessible to members of the public or general venue users.
• All mobile phones will be securely stored away while staff, visitors and contractors are within nursery areas, subject to any approved arrangements required for safeguarding or emergency purposes.
• Visitors and contractors attending the nursery during operating hours will be signed in and appropriately escorted/supervised.
• The existing internal staircase linking the wider venue to the nursery will be removed, eliminating this direct route between the two areas.
• Staff access will be controlled according to role, ensuring that individuals working elsewhere within the venue do not have unrestricted access to nursery areas.
• Nursery children will have controlled routes for arrival and collection, with appropriate procedures to prevent unauthorised access or collection.
• Site-specific safeguarding and security risk assessments will be undertaken and reviewed to reflect the operation of the nursery alongside the wider venue.

These measures are intended to ensure that the nursery remains a secure, child-focused environment, irrespective of the activities taking place elsewhere within the wider venue.

The Margate Winter Gardens is over 110 years old, having been built in 1911. It was last fully refurbished in 1978 – almost 50 years ago. For a time, Your Leisure, a not-for-profit society, with charitable status, managed the Winter Gardens.

Your Leisure had responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of the building. While break-even was achieved, major structural work was needed. The venue wasn’t generating the level of funding required to do this work. Neither did the council have the funds. The long term reduction in funding from central government has affected councils across the country. It has had a significant impact on finances. The council has allocated funds based on what it has available. The focus is on delivering statutory services and corporate priorities.

Margate had the opportunity to bid for investment from the government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund in 2019. Since then, there has been ongoing public communication. This includes updates published on the council’s website. We have highlighted opportunities for input and engagement. We’ve also announced when Councillors have taken a decision. Council meetings are broadcast via YouTube and added to the library to be watched later. Information is also issued to the local media who have then written stories about it. Regular stories feature in The Wave, the council’s monthly e-newsletter for residents. There are also frequent posts on social media (Facebook and Instagram). Recently we shared a video ‘Inside the Winter Gardens’ on YouTube. Emails go to everyone who has signed up to the Margate Town Deal mailing list. There have also been community drop in events and online questionnaires.

We will continue to use all these channels to try and reach as many people as possible. We want to make sure that everyone knows what is happening and when.

If you’d like to sign up for our newsletter please do so via our website.

The council provides regular updates through its website, The Wave, and social media. The timeline on the council’s website gives an overview of the Margate Town Deal Winter Gardens project.

In March 2023, Cabinet agreed to appoint a specialist marketing agency to help promote the Winter Gardens. There is a lot of information included in reports, surveys and the evening and night time economy review. There is also information on the significance of the building’s history and heritage. These will be available for anyone interested in the building, when the marketing campaign starts.

Cabinet also made a commitment at a March meeting, to consider a further report. This report will be written when the marketing and evaluation exercise is complete. It will set out detailed proposals and next steps. This will be later in the year.

In 2020 we made an ambitious request for £29m investment for Margate. We did this by submitting a Town Investment Plan to central government. As part of this submission we applied for £4m, for the Winter Gardens. The funding offer we got back from central government was less than we had asked for. It was an offer of £22.2m, in part due to their removal of the Winter Gardens project. They wanted more evidence that we had a strong case for capital investment in the Winter Gardens.

To make the £22.2m offer work, the Margate Town Deal Board had to go through a process to prioritise the projects. This meant adjusting the plans to reflect the offer received. The board agreed on an updated list of projects. It included asking for revenue funding to develop a long-term plan for the Margate Winter Gardens.

We showed that doing a feasibility study on the Winter Gardens would put us in a much stronger position to attract future investment. It would mean that any partners would avoid the costly investigative process.

The government agreed and as a result, £300,000 of revenue funding was allocated for the Winter Gardens project.

With this funding we are developing a vision for the Winter Gardens. It’s an important part of the evening and night time economy. Other leisure venues and key heritage buildings in Margate; Dreamland and the Theatre Royal, have capital investment through the Margate Town Deal. The vision will include looking at how the Winter Gardens can operate in tandem with them.

There has been engagement with public and private sector stakeholders. We have also worked with specialists to help test the market and identify future opportunities. A raft of surveys and reports have been commissioned. These will allow us to promote the Winter Gardens as an attractive investment opportunity. Specialist marketing agents are expected to come on board in early summer 2023.

The goal is to make the venue a successful leisure proposition for Thanet. We want to attract investment proposals from organisations with the necessary experience and expertise.

In March 2023, Cabinet agreed to appoint a specialist marketing agency to help promote the Winter Gardens. The agency’s role will be to take the Winter Gardens to the open market on behalf of the council.

In June 2023, a competitive procurement process took place.

The intention is to go out to the market in late July 2023. Marketing materials will need to be prepared. This includes pulling together all the information and evidence the council has.

You can find the timeline, including key milestones around marketing, on the project pages. These milestones will be updated as the project progresses.

The Winter Gardens is a significant asset for Margate and the wider Thanet area. It is also a Grade II Listed building. This makes the process of deciding how it’s used in the future more complex.

It is currently estimated that £2.5m is needed now for structural, building and mechanical and electrical works. A further £3.5m is estimated over the next 10 years.

Finding a partner to work with has the potential to be challenging. Cabinet agreed, in March, that a specialist marketing agency should be appointed. The agency’s role is to attract investment proposals.

The agency will create a detailed information pack and launch a campaign to secure interest and proposals from serious investors.

The cost of work needed will be a consideration for anyone thinking of investing.

Under the Margate Town Deal project, the council commissioned a review of Thanet’s evening and night time economy. One goal was to understand the role that the Winter Gardens play in that.

The team engaged with local businesses and other stakeholders. They were able to learn about what people would like to see at the Winter Gardens. The outcome of the review will be published online.

The review will also be shared with organisations who might want to take on the Winter Gardens. It will give them access to more information about the potential uses for the space.

The appointed specialist marketing agency will create a detailed information pack. They will also launch a campaign to attract serious investors for the Winter Gardens. The investors will need to put forward their proposals for its future use.

Anyone interested in the Winter Gardens must have the skills, experience and funding needed to make their proposal a reality. The marketing agency will support the council to ensure that this is the case.

There is a raft of information being gathered, through surveys and reports. This will help organisations to understand whether their ideas and proposals are workable. It will help to discount organisations without the capacity to deliver their proposals.

The Winter Gardens is a significant asset for Margate and the wider Thanet area. The goal is to make the venue a successful leisure proposition for Thanet. We’re going out to market to identify potential leisure uses for the Winter Gardens.

We want to attract proposals from investors with the experience and expertise needed to do this. We’re working with a specialist agency to help us find a third party organisation ready to invest in the Winter Gardens.

There is an information pack which contains detailed reports. The reports provide information on the building’s likely refurbishment works and costs. It needs around £2.5m now for structural, building and mechanical and electrical works. A further £3.5m is estimated to be needed over the next 10 years.

The Winter Gardens is Grade II listed and an important heritage asset. While bookings at the venue are paused we have installed temporary security screening. This is to prevent unauthorised access or vandalism. It’s one of a range of security measures in place to help protect and preserve the Winter Gardens.

There are also daily patrols, regular internal inspections and extra CCTV.

The Winter Gardens is Grade II Listed. This is defined as a UK building or structure ‘of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it’. The building has been listed since 2008. The full details of the listing are on the Historic England website. Listings highlight what is significant about a building or site. They also help to make sure that any future changes to it do not result in the loss of its significance.

We have commissioned a Heritage Significance Statement for the Winter Gardens. It will be prepared by heritage specialists and conservation architects.

The statement will form part of the pack used to take the Winter Gardens out to the open market. It will outline the opportunities and specify any constraints related to the building. This will be useful for potential buyers or commercial partners who might consider making changes.

As part of the Town Deal project we undertook a legal review. The findings confirm that there is a restrictive covenant to protect the green spaces either side of the Winter Gardens. We understand that this is for the benefit of houses situated around the site.

We want to see a successful leisure proposition at the Winter Gardens, and are looking for investment proposals from organisations with the experience and expertise needed to achieve this.

The Winter Gardens is a significant asset for Margate and the wider Thanet area. It is also a Grade II Listed building. This makes the process of deciding how it’s used in the future more complex and finding a partner to work with has the potential to be challenging.

The community were given opportunities to get involved in the evening and night time economy review, which looked at the role of the Winter Gardens, and those views have been taken into consideration.

The final level of community input will be something we discuss with the partner we end up working with and will depend on how the building is used in the future.

The Winter Gardens is located in a harsh coastal environment and it is listed. This means it needs to make money to be sustainable, including covering the costs for upkeep and maintenance. The opportunity at the Winter Gardens is being marketed by a special marketing agency. The aim is to identify a knowledgeable and experienced third party to achieve its sustainability.

The council will ask that any interested third parties make the Winter Gardens as accessible as possible. How this will work will depend on the final future use of the buildings.