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Click here for the latest news
Saturday, 19 December 2009
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First interview with
Dreamland project director |
| New Dreamland
Trust project director Jonathan Bryant has given his first interview in
this week's Thanet Times. In the interview he sets out his vision for
the park:
"I have worked on a number of heritage
projects in the past but too many museums take themselves too seriously.
I like this project because it is rooted in fun. I also believe a
heritage project like this needs to be run as a business that stands on
its own two feet, and that means making a place that people want to go
to and will be willing to part with money to visit.”
Full interview...
Margate Historical Society blog features a downloadable article
about Dreamland in the 1930s. |
Dreamland
Trust Project Director Jonathan Bryant (right), pictured with Trust
chairman Nick Laister and honorary secretary Susan Marsh. |
Saturday, 12 December 2009
|
New Dreamland project director
starts work |
| Work on the
world's first amusement park of thrilling historic rides took a leap
forward on Thursday with new Dreamland Trust Project Director Jonathan
Bryant on his first official meetings in Margate in his new role.
Jonathan joined Nick Laister, Sarah Vickery and Susan Marsh in
representing The Dreamland Trust at the first Client Group meeting since
his appointment. Also attending the meeting were Derek Harding of
Margate Renewal Partnership, Peter Beck of site owners MTCRC and Nick
Dermott of Thanet District Council.
Jonathan then joined his two new team
members, Jan Leandro and Graham Ward at the Dreamland site as Nick
Laister, Peter Beck and Nick Dermott showed the Trust's new staff around
the Dreamland Cinema building and the amusement park to see the
challenge that lies before them. They paused briefly for a photo
opportunity (right).
Jonathan, Jan and Graham were then
introduced to various key people in the Dreamland project with whom they will be working over the
coming months, with a small welcome celebration in the evening. |
Ready for the challenge: Dreamland
Trust Project Director Jonathan Bryant (right) in Dreamland with two members of
his new team, Audience Development Officer Jan Leandro and Project
Archivist Graham Ward. (Click for larger version). |
Thursday, 10 December 2009
|
The Dreamland Trust
appoints Project Director |
The Dreamland Trust today
announces the appointment of Jonathan Bryant as its Project Director.
Jonathan will be responsible for implementing the world’s first
amusement park of thrilling historic rides at Dreamland Margate
following the award of grant funding from Heritage Lottery and the
Government’s Sea Change programme.
With a wealth of experience in the heritage and leisure sectors and in
business leadership, Jonathan, who’s originally from East London,
established the UK’s first brewing museum and opened a working coal mine
to the public in Staffordshire. In Scotland he led the City of Dundee’s
renaissance Discovery project as chief executive and on the River Thames
set up Henley’s River & Rowing Museum, which won the coveted Museum of
the Year Award and was short listed for the Stirling Prize for the work
of its architect David Chipperfield – also project architect for
Margate’s Turner Contemporary.
More recently Jonathan project directed
Birmingham’s Thinktank Science Centre and for the last five years has
been member of British Waterways’ senior management team. |
 |
| He is also an active
volunteer in the cultural & heritage sector and has served as chairman
of the Association of Independent Museums, trustee and chairman of
Dundee’s contemporary art gallery, trustee of Jaguar Daimler Heritage
Trust and, currently, chairman of Watermen’s Hall Preservation Trust in
London. He has one daughter aged six and is a keen cinema goer, walker
and motorcyclist. Chairman of The
Dreamland Trust, Nick Laister, said: “I would like to welcome Jonathan
to The Dreamland Trust. He has a reputation for action and for
successfully bringing forward first-class heritage attractions delivered
with commercial and creative flair. With Jonathan’s excellent track
record, I am sure that we will be able to deliver a Dreamland that
Margate can be proud of.”
The Dreamland Margate project is being led by The Dreamland Trust, a
not-for-profit company. The Trust is developing an exciting theme park
from the past on the Dreamland site, giving visitors to Margate an
opportunity to enjoy spectacular historic amusement park rides. The
rides will be built around the centre piece of the park, the Scenic
Railway, the oldest surviving roller coaster in the UK and the fourth
oldest in the world. Restoration work will also be carried out on the
Grade II*-listed Dreamland cinema building, creating a major new visitor
attraction of international significance.
Jonathan Bryant says: “I am inspired by all that The Dreamland Trust and
its partners have achieved to date and am looking forward to bringing
Dreamland back to life as a firm family favourite for the 21st century.”
Jonathan joins The Dreamland Trust in January 2010. Jonathan is
currently interim chief executive at Hornsey Town Hall Creative Trust
which is working with Haringey Council to refurbish and develop the
1930’s listed civic buildings and assembly hall. From January his
commitments to Dreamland and Hornsey Town Hall will run concurrently.
The Trust has also appointed Jan Leandro as Audience Development Officer
and Graham Ward as Project Archivist, both of whom start in January
2010.
The news was covered today by UK
attractions industry magazine
Attractions Management and Us industry magazine
Amusement Today. |
Monday, 7 December 2009
|
Auction of rare book for
The Dreamland Trust |
| One of the finest books written on the
subject of a single amusement park and now very rare is the
glossy hardback
Blackpool Pleasure Beach: A Century of Fun by Peter Bennett,
published in 1996 to celebrate 100 years of the park. The Pleasure Beach
is also the source of some of the rides currently in storage for the
Dreamland Margate project, such as the Whip, Junior Whip and Astro
Swirl, the first meteorite ride to operate in a UK amusement park.
Simon Whitehead has kindly
donated this book to the Trust and Joyland Books is selling it on the
Trust's
behalf. 100% of the
proceeds of this sale will go towards building the world's first amusement park of
thrilling historic rides at Dreamland Margate.
This book is currently for sale as an
auction item at the Joyland Books
Secondhand Shop.
Click here to go straight to the auction. This auction closes on
Sunday 20th December 2009. The current highest bid will be displayed
here on a daily basis. |
Blackpool Pleasure Beach - A Century of
Fun |
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Arts Council England, one of the Dreamland
Trust's partners in the Dreamland development, features the news of Dreamland's
Sea Change success
prominently on its website, including a very supportive quote from Pam
Alexander, Chief Executive of SEEDA.
Click here to
view.
The Stage, the UK's leading newspaper
for theatre and the performing arts, has given a major splash to Dreamland this
week.
Click here to view the online article.
The article also featured in the print edition. Theme park industry magazine
Park World also covers the story.
Other websites covering the news this week
include news website
Banmoco,
Kent Coastal Network, Dutch theme park website
Theme Park Vision and
Architects Journal,
which features an article called 'Top 5: Rollercoaster Architecture', inspired
by the Dreamland news! There is also a photo feature on
urban75.org.
Click
here for the latest news
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