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In January
2003 the owner of Dreamland, Jimmy Godden, announced the closure of Dreamland.
The park is to be redeveloped as "leisure boxes, some retail and a supermarket".
Joyland Books will provide updates on the campaign to save Dreamland and its
internationally-important Scenic Railway ride.
Click here for the latest news
Thursday, 27 September 2007
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Dave
Collard, Simon Goodenough and Sarah Vickery represented the
Save Dreamland Campaign on Sunday 16 September at Margate
Day, an event celebrating the 150th anniversary of Margate's
Charter and featuring a spectacle of light and sound.
Part of
the celebration was a free exhibition in the Queens Hall at
Margate's Winter Gardens, depicting Margate through the last
150 years and into the future. The Save Dreamland Campaign
attended with a stand of Dreamland memorabilia and
merchandise. Other exhibitors included Thanet District
Council, the Margate Renewal Partnership, Hornby Trains,
Paigle Properties and the Margate Civic Society.
“It was
a really enjoyable day,” reports Sarah. “We signed up dozens
of new members and met a good number of existing campaigners
too. Whenever we attend a public event we always receive
plenty of support and encouragement - and this one was no
different.” |
Simon
Goodenough, Dave Collard and Sarah Vickery. We wonder what
the collective noun is for a gathering of Scenic brakemen?
Click on the image for a larger version. |
Dave was interviewed by Your Local TV Online and his
interview can be viewed by
clicking here. The event was rounded off with a
spectacular firework display. Thanks go to Mick Tomlinson
for organising the event and being kind enough to invite us.
There has
been much about Dreamland in the press over the last few
weeks. Some of the key stories are below.
The
Isle of Thanet Gazette reported the forthcoming sale of
Dreamland to local developer Paigle Properties in the 14
September edition.
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The
Isle of Thanet Gazette on 7 September carried a
number of items of Dreamland interest.
The Thanet
Extra of 7 September was full of Dreamland articles.
There was also
a small article and letter in the Thanet Times dated 11
September.
The Thanet Times of 4 September announced the public
consultation on the Dreamland Planning Brief.
Saturday, 15 September 2007
We
apologise for the lack of updates on this page since early August.
This was caused by technical difficulties with the website, which have
now been resolved. Our news service should now be back to normal.
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Thanet
District Council has launched a public consultation on a
Planning Brief for Dreamland. Following this
consultation, the Council will adopt the Brief for the
purposes of development control.
Campaign Leader, Nick Laister, made the following statement:
"Any
future planning applications for the Dreamland site will be
considered against the brief. It is therefore essential that
everybody with an interest in the site responds to the
consultation."
This brief proposes a mixed use scheme, keeping the majority
of the site, including the Dreamland building and Scenic
Railway as part of an amusement based destination. It also
states that development proposals should meet the following
criteria:
•
Retention and refurbishment of the Dreamland Cinema building
for leisure uses that could include conference facilities. |
Above:
Proposals for the redevelopment of Dreamland in Thanet
District Council's new
Planning Brief.
The blue area, centred on the Scenic Railway, will be
"leisure/amusement park". Click on the image for a larger
version. |
• Keeping the Scenic Railway.
• An
amusement park on the existing park area around the Scenic
Railway, which must cover more than 50% of the site area.
•
Bars, restaurants and specialist shops within the park.
•
Provision of a 250 space public car park.
•
Associated enabling development, including a mix of family
homes and apartments.
•
The development will be phased to ensure an amusement park
to operate before, during and after the development.
Nick
Laister continues: "This is a brief that stands every chance
of being accepted by any current or future owner of
Dreamland, and therefore is a realistic way forward,
ensuring the continuation of an amusement park on at least
50% of the site, and requiring the Scenic Railway's
retention. In my opinion, this campaign should support this
brief. This brief also allows the park to be operated as a
modern seaside fun park, by an established operator such as
Adventure Island (who are still very much interested in the
site) or as a heritage amusement park, as recently proposed
by this Campaign."
To
download
the brief in full,
click here.
To view the summary brief on the Council's website,
click here.
IMPORTANT: To tell the Council what you
think of the brief,
click here. There is conflicting
information about when the
consultation ends. According to the survey form and press
release, the consultation ends on Friday 12 October 2007,
but on the Planning Brief consultation website it states
that comments must be
received no later than 19 October 2007. Get your
comments in early!
Other news:
Dreamland featured
heavily in an article in the Guardian newspaper on 12
September 2007. The article on seaside regeneration starts
with references to Dreamland and later mentions the
campaign.
Read the article.
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On the day of the
Guardian article, Nick Laister and Susan Marsh of the
Save Dreamland Campaign/Dreamland Trust spent the day in
Margate on a series of meetings. The first meeting was with
Derek Harding of the Margate Renewal Partnership (MRP) and
senior representatives of Thanet District Council (TDC) and
English Partnerships, to discuss the future of Dreamland.
This meeting follows on from several meetings held between
Nick Laister, MRP and TDC earlier in the year, at which the
emerging heritage amusement park plans were discussed. At
this meeting, the Dreamland Trust was supported by heritage
consultant Jason Wood, who will be advising the Trust and
MRP on Heritage Lottery applications. |
Above: Susan Marsh MBE, Sarah Vickery, Nick Laister and Dave
Collard pictured in the Shell Grotto garden shortly before
Nick and Susan's first meeting. (Click on the image for a
larger version). |
This was followed by a separate meeting with Council Leader,
Sandy Ezekiel, and Deputy Council Leader, Roger Latchford
OBE, to discuss general progress with the heritage amusement
park project, funding, and plans for the next stages. Nick
and Susan also met with other key stakeholders who will be
involved in the future of Dreamland.
There has
been much coverage of Dreamland, the Campaign and the new
public consultation exercise in the local press. The Isle
of Thanet Gazette on 31 August featured the
repercussions of the closure of the Dreamland cinema. The
Thanet Extra of 31 August also included news of the
Cinema's impending closure.
The
Thanet Times also covered the news extensively on 28
August.
Local newspapers have also featured extensive coverage of
the Council's consultation on the Dreamland Planning Brief.
The Thanet Extra on 10 August 2007 included a news
item with the headline 'Dreamland looks to future - and
past."
News of the
surprise closure of the circus at the
Dreamland site was reported by the Isle of Thanet Gazette on
10 August.
This news was also reported by the Thanet Times on 14
August.
Dreamland was a hot topic on the letters page of the
Thanet Extra on 17 August.
On
7 August, the Thanet Times reported the Council's
forthcoming consultation on the future of Dreamland.
The
Thanet Extra reported that the future of Dreamland is
now secure on 3 August 2007.
On
27 July, the Thanet Times featured an article on
other proposals to rejuvenate Margate.
In
other news, Dreamland was covered in the newsletter of
SAVE Britain's Heritage:
Margate, Dreamland and Pleasureland, Southport
After the farcical non-listing followed by
unduly hasty destruction of the 1938 Cyclone
Rollercoaster in Southport (one of a handful of
surviving timber historic rollercoasters in the
UK, see last Newsletter), the Save Dreamland
campaign (Newsletter April 2003) has stepped in
– with the proposal for a heritage amusement
park. This would be based around the Grade II
listed Scenic Railway coaster at Margate (half
destroyed by fire in 1949 and timber replaced by
that from Lowestoft pier) and the 1935 listed
Dreamland Cinema. They have managed to get hold
of parts of most of the remaining historic
attractions at Pleasureland (many also refused
listing on rather disputable grounds) before its
owner, Sefton Council, flattened them, including
a c1920s Caterpillar (which may in fact be
older), the 1960 Wild Mouse coaster, and the
working parts and boats of the River Caves,
which dates back to 1908.
Sadly, it seems the 1948 Crooked House (Haunted
Inn) cannot be dismantled - it is the oldest of
three remaining in the country and, denied
listing, its immediate future is probably as
landfill. Pictures and Pleasureland history are
available on
www.southportcyclone.com
Some of you are probably scratching your heads
and wondering why this is important. The current
revival of seaside towns is hugely welcome but
it is being accompanied by attempts, often
misplaced, to update the attractions without
realising that kitsch charm is very much a part
of the delight of the place. The absurd upshot
(as in so many cases) is that the new
development devalues that on which it seeks to
capitalise. Rising land values mean amusement
parks are being sold for housing and shops, and
even when parks remain, newer and more
terrifying machines are ousting the old. As a
result, many of the parks, historic structures
and machines that have terrified and delighted
generations of visitors are vanishing to the
extent that shortly only a handful of historic
seaside amusement parks with vintage attractions
in the UK will remain – Yarmouth, Blackpool, and
the now closed Dreamland, Margate. There are
currently only two listed amusement park
rides/structures in the country – Margate’s
Scenic Railway (itself at risk) and the
waterchute in a park in Hull.
For these reasons the Dreamland Trust initiative
is especially welcome and we offer Nick Laister
and the Save Dreamland Campaign our very
strongest support for the scheme. A future SAVE
outing beckons…
For further details of the campaign to save
Dreamland and the historic rides see
www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailway
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Click here to
download the article in its original form. |
Friday, 3 August 2007
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Thanet
District Council’s Cabinet considered a new Planning
Brief for Dreamland yesterday evening. The Brief has
been developed by the Council along with other key
stakeholders, including the South East of England
Development Agency (SEEDA), Kent County Council, English
Partnerships and the Save Dreamland Campaign.
The
Brief builds on the recommendations in the Thanet Local
Plan, which states that proposals that would “lead to a
reduction in the attractiveness of Dreamland as an amusement
park” will be resisted and that only a limited part of the
park can be developed as part of a comprehensive scheme to
upgrade the park, but only if it can be demonstrated that
this will secure the park’s future.
The
Planning Brief proposes a mixed scheme, retaining the
majority of the site, including the listed Dreamland
building and Scenic Railway, as part of an amusement based
destination, along with an element of other development,
including residential. Specifically the brief states that
development proposals should meet the following criteria:
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·
Refurbishment of the Dreamland Cinema building for leisure
uses that could include conference facilities.
·
Keeping the Scenic Railway.
·
An
amusement park on the existing park area around the Scenic
Railway.
·
Bars,
restaurants and specialist shops within the park.
·
Provision of a 250 space public car park.
·
Associated enabling development, including a mix of family
homes and apartments.
The
Brief states that the total area of the amusement park,
ancillary uses, refurbished cinema and car park should
comprise more than 50% of the site area and that the
development will be phased to ensure an amusement park to
operate before, during and after the development.
The
Council’s press release can be viewed on the Council's
website
here.
Download
the Cabinet Report on Dreamland
here (this explains why the Council has produced a
Brief for the Dreamland site) and download the Dreamland
Planning Brief itself
here. (Both documents are in MS Word format).
The
Council will now consult on the Brief. This consultation
will take the form of an exhibition/open day and various
targeted stakeholder meetings. The results of the
consultation will be reported to Cabinet in November, after
which the Brief will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning
Document, which will be used to assess any planning
applications that are submitted for the site.
Discuss the new brief on our
Forum.
Other news:
The
Thanet Adscene newspaper of 26 July carried a piece on
the Dreamland Planning Brief.
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Finally, a
photographic exhibition on the demise of former Dreamland owner
Jimmy Godden's Rotunda Amusement Park on Folkestone seafront
has opened. Save Dreamland Campaign member, Ian Mansfield, reports:
"The pictures start with the park in its
last year of operation and go right through to the Runaway Coaster
as a big pile of wood. It's really really sad, but the pictures are
stunning, often taken at night with long shutter speeds."
The exhibition, called 'GONE', runs until
next Wednesday at Georges House Gallery at the top of the old High
Street. More info can be found at :
www.benedicthills.com
www.strangecargo.org.uk
Click
here for the latest news
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