English Heritage speaks good sense

[Nick Evans]

I've just read today's news item and recommend other people do too. It seems English Heritage have a lot more senses about how Dreamland should be approached than many other people. They go as far as saying that other planned regeneration projects for Margate should be put on hold and Dreamland given preference to have the cash. I take that to mean a certain art gallery now under construction at the other end of the seafront? Trouble is though work has already begun on this - shame EH couldn't speak out a year earlier on this point, might have saved a lot of trouble!

[EAS]

It can hardly be put on hold, can it? Have you a link?

Anyhow, EH is a bit of a curate's egg. Sometimes it talks sense, at others it hasn't a clue!

I don't think the Turner is any part of EH's remit. If so then again, a link would be useful!

[Jim Douglas Jr.]

Good.
Best to have the crown polished up before applying the make up

[EAS]

The important recommendation of the joint EH (which deals with historic environment issues) and CABE Urban Panel (which has a wider remit) report is this one:

Similarly, the Panel saw no merit in delaying the scheme because the grander development package for the site (which suddenly looks very dated) cannot now be delivered. New housing may be a long time coming and yet this need not hamper successful delivery of new Dreamland. The remainder of the site can be brought forward, with minimal investment, as an events space. Panel members envisaged a near future in which Dreamland is functioning and attracting new visitors as well as entertaining and pleasing existing ones. That can be much enhanced by attracting to the new, large events space circuses, markets, small festivals and so on, with obvious concomitant benefits. The Panel was also confident that such a degree of activity would constitute the critical mass which would provide the context for a successful re-use of the cinema."

Abandon the 'enabling devlopment', go for as much public funding as possible, and open Dreamland without worrying about the redevelopment of the rest of the site to fund it as it ain't gonna happen in the near future (if at all), given the current wider financial problems.

and from a news report:

The reports said Thanet council’s proposed new road layout was unnecessary. The panel pinned its hopes on Dreamland, adding: “We strongly urge that all necessary funds be directed to that purpose even where other, generally laudable, objectives would have to be abandoned or, at least, deferred as a result.”

Are open spaces for events a better alternative to more flats and houses? Email newsdesk.thanet@krnmedia.co.uk

The Turner is discussed:

This review has so far made no reference to the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery and to the local reader that may appear strange. To Panel members, however, the gallery was one of the first of the many initiatives intended to revive the town, rather than one of its existing conditions, as inventoried above. It is a great achievement to have overcome the many difficulties of commissioning and sustaining the funding for such a scheme – and to have a David Chipperfield building coming out of the ground, as a symbol of a revitalised Margate, is impressive. Furthermore, the Panel was pleased to see the successful gallery outreach programme reaching new audiences in the former Marks and Spencer on the High Street.

It was a relief to find that few, if any, of the people the Panel met subscribed to the mystical theory of the power of an iconic building. Instead the Panel found a steady and commendably balanced view of the limits to what the gallery could achieve as well as of the image changing impact it could be sure to have. To build on that change will be a long and complex task up a windy and difficult road. A critical hurdle will be to provide both the accommodation and the entertainments (minimally, several good bars and restaurants) which will encourage and enable the new, gallery visiting, Margate visitors to stay overnight. The Panel will return to both those points later but the headlines may be mentioned immediately and they are: that the necessary change is not likely to be reinforced by settling for the budget hotel which may be the only thing on offer at the moment; and that a significant contribution to the required new accommodation may be made by the resurrection of formerly failed or failing large boarding houses.

We are where we are. The Turner will complement Dreamland, and vice versa. When the Turner was first thought of, Dreamland was still open and under private ownership.

There are other schemes discussed which it suggests should be made less of a priority than Dreamland, but the Turner is written about in a positive manner, although it is recognised, as I quoted above, that in itself it will not be enough, and benefits will not be instant.

The panel urged MRP and TDC to consider a programme which promoted such ‘meantime’ uses in empty shops, on open sites which may one day be developed but will stand fallow for a long time and in buildings awaiting their eventual use. The outreach work the Turner is carrying out in the former Marks and Spencer is a great example and the organisation might be the right one to carry forward such a wider initiative.

One area where the Panel saw the opportunity for trimming the sails was in the public realm proposals. While the Panel is a strong proponent of the quality of the public realm generally, it was concerned that the enormous areas potentially involved could result either in loss of focus, or in huge costs which would not deliver sufficient returns. So for, example, the Panel much admired the benefit which has been derived from the relatively small and affordable areas of public realm work in and around the Old Town – particularly the new piazza facing the harbour. It did not believe that the same effect could be achieved by pouring large sums of money into the roundabout by the station or into some hundred yards of the front.

In the end, as I said it could at the time, although dreadful, the Scenic fire has brought good out of the tragedy, and given the leverage and the publicity that was required to stop the rot. In addition, Sea Change grants have become suddenly available, and those have enabled other grant aid to be applied for.

It's a complex game, funding, but this sort of support can hardly be ignored by funding panels!

But this should not go unreported and unread by those who haven't the time to read the entire report:

Another such attraction is, of course, the remarkable, Shell Grotto. Panel members were very grateful to Sarah Vickery for the enthusiasm and openness with which she introduced them to this unique place. They agreed with her that it was far more important that the Grotto be repaired and guaranteed a long term future than that further energy be directed to establishing an exact date and provenance for the place (intriguing though that question is). They commended first Ms Vickery for her far sighted and selfless gesture in taking on the grotto and, equally admired English Heritage’s offer of significant grant assistance to that end. And then they listened to her description of the very real difficulty of living in an area where all the necessary social qualities of life were routinely threatened and disrupted. It will be essential that TDC and MRP are able to support all those attractions which are currently suffering from both the localised effects of such social problems and the wider ones, as they impact on the town’s image and ability to retain staying visitors. It will be equally essential that the emergent community groups which seek to address these issues locally are supported.

As for a long term vision, the Panel was optimistic. With new Dreamland and Turner Contemporary starting to change the image of the town; with new eating and drinking facilities - initially in the Old Town - coming on stream; with the unquestionably good physical assets of the resort (and Thanet) and with longer term opportunities to redevelop the Lido for a health and bathing based purpose, the Panel could see a future where those wishing to use and stay in the town would be there in rising numbers.

and amongst the conclusions:

commended major significant steps which had been taken so far including the revitalisation of the Old Town, the acquisition of Turner Contemporary and the protection of the fire damaged listed Scenic Railway;
welcomed the partnership’s mature understanding that Turner Contemporary would do a great deal for the town but was not an iconic magic charm; acknowledged that the partnership had identified an impressive list of potential further actions but that prioritisation was going to be the key;
advised that the key top priorities the Panel perceived were resolving the social issues arising from the residential mix and ensuring the future of Dreamland;
strongly endorsed the core proposal for the Heritage Fairground at Dreamland; saw no reason to burden that development with other aspirations like the new road and indeed found a good opportunity to turn the rest of the site to events uses;

So, Turner is go, and hopefully, fingers crossed that the grant applications are successful, Dreamland will be go also!

The Shell Grotto is already in capable hands, there have been small scale but important regenerative efforts going on elswhere in Margate, anything else can wait.

Brilliant! And great work from our campaign leaders and possibly we should also welcome on board the new Trustees of the Dreamland Trust, who will be helping drive forward the success of the Dreamland dream.