US
Roller Coaster Enthusiasts Donate £1,000 to Margate's Threatened Scenic
Railway
For
further information, or to organise interviews, please contact Nick
Laister (Campaign Leader) on 01235 838214 (day), 07778 207036
(mobile) or 01235 762186 (evenings and weekends) or Sarah
Vickery (Local Campaign Coordinator) on 01843 220008. Or email press@savedreamland.co.uk.
To
find out more about the Save Dreamland Campaign visit the campaign’s website
at http://www.savedreamland.co.uk/.
ENDS
Information
for Editors
The Save Dreamland Campaign has been launched to save the Dreamland Pleasure Park, Margate, home of the UK’s oldest roller coaster, the 83-year-old listed Scenic Railway. Dreamland’s owner proposes to replace the park with a supermarket, shops and casino. The Campaign is led by planning expert Nick Laister, a leading authority on the UK amusement park industry, planning consultant and editor of www.joylandbooks.com, the specialist amusement park bookstore. The Campaign is now speaking on behalf of 13,000 people, including local residents, businesses and organisations such as the Margate Historical Society, Margate Civic Society, the Margate Hotel and Guest House Association, European Coaster Club, Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain and SAVE Britain’s Heritage.
The
official campaign website is www.savedreamland.co.uk.
The campaign can be emailed at campaign@savedreamland.co.uk.
The address for all correspondence is Save Dreamland Campaign, The Shell
Grotto, Grotto Hill, Margate, Kent CT9 2BU.
The
National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) is an international
organization dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the amusement and
theme park industry - past, present and future.
NAPHA was founded in 1978 by a former employee of Chicago's legendary
Riverview Amusement Park (closed 1967) and has grown through the years to
include amusement park enthusiasts from around the world. NAPHA’s website is
www.napha.org.
The
Scenic Railway Trust has been set up to operate the Scenic Railway for the
2003 season and to secure its long-term preservation, ideally within Dreamland
itself.
Over
120 wooden roller coasters, the centrepiece of most amusement parks in the
20th Century, were built between 1885 and 1960. Only nine now survive.
Only two 'Scenic Railway' roller coasters now survive in the UK, and the
Scenic Railway at Dreamland is the only surviving ‘first generation’
scenic railway. The removal of this ride would almost completely wipe out this
important part of British amusement park heritage.
The other surviving scenic railway in the UK is at the Pleasure Beach,
Great Yarmouth, built in 1932, and is a more modern ride, with many of its
original features lost.
The Scenic Railway at Dreamland is the oldest surviving roller coaster in the
United Kingdom, the sixth oldest roller coaster in the world. Its age and
rarity were major factors in support of its listing. It is the third oldest
scenic railway in the world.
The
report submitted to English Heritage, which resulted in the Scenic Railway
becoming a listed building, can be downloaded for free from http://www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailway/.
When a structure is listed it is placed on a statutory list of buildings of
'special architectural or historic interest' compiled by the Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport under the Planning (Listed Buildings and
Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Listing ensures that the architectural and
historic interest of a building is carefully considered before any alterations
are agreed. There are currently over 37,000 buildings and other structures
protected by listing status. For more information on listed buildings, visit
the English Heritage website on www.english-heritage.org.uk.
Nick Laister BA (Hons) DipTP MRTPI MIHT is a leading
authority on the UK theme park industry. He is a Chartered Town Planner and Technical
Director with the RPS Group plc, and specialises in planning for tourism and leisure. He
has been involved in a number of listed buildings and conservation cases, and has appeared
as expert witness at several public inquiries and hearings. He has written articles for a
number of newspapers and journals and has been invited to speak at conferences on the
subject of planning for tourism and leisure. He is regularly interviewed on
television and radio on the same subject. He is co-owner of Skelter
Publishing LLP and editor
of the web site www.joylandbooks.com.
nick@savedreamland.co.uk.
Sarah
Vickery owns and runs the Grade 1 listed Shell Grotto in Margate, a popular
tourist attraction with shop, museum and cafe attached. She is Vice-Chair of
the Isle of Thanet Tourism Association, Chair of the Thanet Contemporary Arts
Festival and a member of the Margate Events Group. She moved to Margate with
her family in 2001 to take over the Grotto which she has known and loved since
childhood. Before this Sarah was a journalist specialising in arts and travel,
writing for a range of magazines and newspapers and editing books. sarah@savedreamland.co.uk
Dreamland
Pleasure Park is located at Belgrave Road, Margate. The telephone number is
01843 227011.