Heritage Lottery Fund Award (Dreamland gets £384,500)

[porterm]

I was very happy to view the "Latest News" section and hearing about the above successful lottery funding award. Well done to all involved.

Let's hope the other awards applications are equally successful.

Well, I guess there's some cause for some celebration over the upcoming Jazz Festival weekend in Margate this weekend. (Good timing I think)

Best regards,

Martin

[Nick Evans]

Well done all on the application. This is great news and I lok forard to my first ride one a rebuilt Scenic Railway!

[EAS]

Indeed yes - brilliant news!

Thanks to all for their hard work and dedication.

Friday, 24 July 2009

Fasten your seatbelts: plans progress for Dreamland Margate
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has given the green light to The Dreamland Trust to work up plans to create the world’s first amusement park of historic rides, it was announced today. Development funding of £384,500 was awarded to help progress the ground-breaking plans.

The HLF first-round pass means that The Dreamland Trust can now progress to the second stage of the HLF application process. We have up to two years to submit more detailed plans and apply for the £2.65 million of HLF support that we are seeking for Phase One of the project, which totals over £12 million.


The Dreamland Margate project celebrates the heritage of popular seaside culture, of which this site is a nationally important example. Phase One will create a thrilling amusement park of historic rides, many of which are the last surviving examples of their type. Over the past decade, these rides have been rescued from across the UK by The Dreamland Trust, with the assistance of site owners the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company; visitors will be able to experience the visceral thrill of riding this rare and precious collection.

Centred on the Grade II-listed Scenic Railway, it is expected that the park will generate considerable employment opportunities for local people and attract around 700,000 visits annually. Entry to the park and landscaped gardens will be free of charge with wristbands being sold for those who want to experience the rides.

During Phase One work will also be carried out on the Grade II*-listed Dreamland cinema building, restoring its 1930s Modernist façade, safeguarding the auditorium and Compton Noterman organ, and installing an exhibition space to explain and publicise the project. It’s planned that the cinema building will house a national centre of street style, celebrating Margate’s pedigree as Britain’s capital of popular culture, and sharing our rich legacy in music, fashion, photography and graphic design.

Commenting on the award, Dreamland Trust Honorary Secretary Susan Marsh said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us the opportunity to further develop our vision for Dreamland Margate. Along with our partners at the Margate Renewal Partnership, Thanet District Council and the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, we are committed to bringing this project to reality as quickly as possible. We will now work up detailed plans to ensure that we deliver this unique new visitor attraction in the heart of Margate, providing a major boost for the tourism economy and giving the people of Margate what they have so long wished for – a revitalised Dreamland.”

Dreamland Trust Chair Nick Laister said: "This is really good news for this project. I am sure all of our supporters will join me in thanking our Honorary Secretary Susan Marsh for all her hard work in submitting this successful bid on behalf of the Dreamland Trust. I know that both Susan and Sarah Vickery burned a great deal of midnight oil over many weeks putting together our submission and dealing with queries. I would also like to thank Derek Harding at the Margate Renewal Partnership, Peter Beck at Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, Nick Dermott at Thanet District Council and both Roland Jeffery and Rosie Fraser at The Prince's Regeneration Trust for their support. We will now begin work recruiting a Project Director to take the Dreamland project through to implementation, followed by a number of other key appointments. Announcements will be made shortly."

The Dreamland team is also awaiting an announcement on the bid for £4m to the Government's Sea Change scheme, a decision on which is expected soon.

[Grumpy]

This is brilliant news and certainly a step along the way for Dreamland and indeed Margate

[EAS]

From the Prince's Regeneration Trust website

http://www.princes-regeneration.org/news.php?id=38

PRESS RELEASESGreen Light Given to World's First Amusement Park of Thrilling Historic Rides

Posted: 24 Jul 2009


The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, the charity of HRH The Prince of Wales which focuses on heritage-led regeneration, is delighted that The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has given the green light to work up plans to create the world’s first amusement park of thrilling historic rides in Margate. It was announced today that the HLF awarded development funding of £384,500 to The Dreamland Trust to help progress the ground-breaking plans.

The HLF first-round pass (* see Notes to Editors) means that The Dreamland Trust can now progress to the second stage of the HLF application process. The Trust has up to two years to submit more detailed plans and apply for a further £2.65 million of HLF support that it is seeking for Phase One of the project, which totals over £12 million.

This is the first step in a scheme which aims to see the former Dreamland site –16 acres at the heart of Margate - transformed into an amusement park of a number of working rides and attractions from other amusement parks, some of which are the last surviving examples of their kind in the world.

Work will also be carried out on the Grade II*-listed Dreamland cinema building, restoring its 1930s Modernist façade, safeguarding the auditorium and Compton Noterman organ, and installing an exhibition space to explain and publicise the project. It’s planned that the cinema building will house a national centre of street style, celebrating Margate’s pedigree as Britain’s capital of popular culture, and sharing our rich legacy in music, fashion, photography and graphic design.
Dreamland opened in 1920 and became the biggest attraction with visitors to Margate. It features the UK's oldest surviving roller coaster – and fourth oldest in the world, the legendary ‘Scenic Railway’, now a Grade II Listed structure.

In 2006 the site closed and most of the permanent rides were dismantled. Dreamland was sold to Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, who have worked with the Dreamland Trust to try and bring forward these exciting proposals. There has also been strong support from the local community and across the country to reopen as a themed amusement park.

The Princes Regeneration Trust was originally approached in 2008, after the Scenic Railway was damaged by fire, to write a Scoping Report showing the way forward to bring Dreamland back into commercial use. This report secured feasibility funding from Sea Change, Thanet DC, the landowners and other sources for architects’ design work, a funding strategy, business plan and audience development work. The Prince’s Regeneration Trust co-ordinated the funding bids for phase 1 of the project.

Commenting on the project Rosie Fraser, Commercial Director, The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, said:

“This is a real vote of confidence in Margate. Dreamland will be an amusement park where the rides are endangered species but the thrills are just as extreme as in a modern park. Dreamland celebrates a view of heritage that embraces popular seaside culture just as much as stately homes. We are delighted to be able to take this crucial step towards placing Dreamland at the heart of Margate once more.”

She continued “Dreamland shows how you can achieve a regeneration effect by taking the heritage of a place seriously. It is exactly the type of challenging project that The Prince’s Regeneration Trust loves to be involved with.”

A decision is still awaited from Sea Change on an application for £4m. Sea Change is run by CABE, the Government’s advisor on architecture, urban design and public space on behalf of the Department for Culture Media and Sport to also help fund the project.
– ENDS –

Notes to Editors:
*A first-round pass means the project meets the HLF criteria for funding and they believe it has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The Dreamland Margate application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals.

However, a first-round pass does not guarantee that we will receive a grant as the second-round application will still be in competition for funding, and no money is set aside at this stage. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award. However, we plan to submit early in 2010.

On occasion an applicant with a first-round pass will also be awarded development funding towards the development of their scheme.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, it invests in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported more than 28,800 projects, allocating over £4.3billion across the UK. Website: www.hlf.org.uk

For further information about the Heritage Lottery Fund, please contact Dervish Mertcan, HLF Press Office, on Tel: 020 7591 6102 or Email: dervishm@hlf.org.uk

The Prince’s Regeneration Trust’s projects enable under used or redundant buildings to perform a new function, unlocking a regeneration of the wider community. The Trust works across the United Kingdom sharing learning and experience through its projects.

The Dreamland Trust has grown out of a vigorous and widely supported community campaign to preserve the greater part of the Dreamland site as an amusement park and protect the UK’s oldest roller coaster, the listed Scenic Railway, and the Grade II*-listed Dreamland cinema building.

The Save Dreamland Campaign, which is administered by the Trust, was launched in 2003 and is now supported by over 18,000 people, including local residents, businesses and organisations such as the Margate Civic Society, Margate Hotel and Guest House Association and Limbo Arts Ltd, as well as national and international groups including SAVE Britain’s Heritage, the European Coaster Club and the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain.

[erclairedoc]

Fabulous news! We are one crucial step closer to getting Margate back the way it should be with Dreamland at its heart. It's particularly exciting that in the near future the Scenic Railway will be rebuilt and ready to take its first passengers. Fingers crossed for all the other funding bids that have been made! Margate is back on the map

[porf]

It's great to see money and expertise starting to come in from organisations that share the campaign's views on the future of both the Dreamland site and Margate in general.

Hopefully the granting of this initial funding will eventually lead to the larger grant really needed to see the start of the redevelopment of the site.

Good news indeed - the campaign has really stepped up a gear from it's position in the early years where it felt like we were all pushing so hard but there was no one listening with enough belief in what we were trying to do.

[Jim Douglas Jr.]

I'm speechless. This is truly wonderful. People believe in Dreamland!