Joyland Books

As I posted on the seaside and heritage forums, news today that many millions of pounds have been allocated by the government to allow Blackpool Council to buy the Tower and the Winter Gardens, in order that they can be taken into public ownership and restored, as they are seen as vital pieces of heritage and key to regeneration.

http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/412829

This is a first as far as I know, and I wonder if with some persuasion the government could come up with the cash to allow the full purchase of the Dreamland site and cinema? Oh what could be done with all the extra space and vast funding...

It's good that there is so much recognition now at government level that seaside towns cannot simply be left in an ever decreasing spiral of decay, and that 'heritage assets' are the way ahead... but we SAVE Dreamlanders know that, don't we?

Shame it's too late for Pleasureland

I believe, if I heard the local TV news correctly last week, that Margate was cited as being one of five recipients of a seaside regeneration award. I think Margate was to be given either £20,000 or £200,000 (I can't quite remember if the total up for grabs was £100,000 or higher).

Either way, hopefully the money can be invested in the town's infrastructure (I think the report suggested that the cash was to be used to upgrade facilities such as cafes and restaurants etc).

Like you said EAS, it is great that our current Government appears to appreciate the importance of our seaside heritage. Let's hope this is not jeopardised at the forthcoming General Election.

Martin

Indeed, Margate has had cash... Sea Change grant etc... and hopefully more to come... but nothing on this scale!

Thought provoking though

and Southend misses out yet again...

My own view £38 million is far too much for one town other towns are in just as much need some are much greater need.

being a fairly new thanet resident (moved here in Dec 2008) I am shocked at how our lovely district council have let so much of the area go.

I was a vistor to these parts visiting Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate in my younger years and I was lucky enough to see Dreamland in working poplar order in the early 1990's.

I have only just found this site and its nice to see that so many people are passionate about dogin something to the area that doesn't involve flats or offices.

My other half is a high speed train driver and now london is only an hour and a half away I would have expected TDC to be investing in the tourist insdustry not leaving the victorian architecture to rot and appearing to not care about the area.

anyway rant over .. hello and if I can help in anyway with my IT skills or spare time I am more than happy to

Yes but... before blaming Thanet, check what it can actually do and how much cash it has to do it...

It's so easy to blame 'them' for things which are not 'their' fault.

Dreamland is still privately owned, as are many closed busineses in Thanet. It cannot, alas, spend cash it doesn't have on things it has no remit to interfere with, and even when it has a remit, funding is not limitless.

It takes a very long time indeed to act, councils have to go through all the legal niceties.

But welcome to the campaign!

EAS wrote:Yes but... before blaming Thanet, check what it can actually do and how much cash it has to do it...

this council can't even collect rubbish on time so I have little hope of much else ..

Thanks for the welcome and I'll help in any way I can

Er, sorry, but TDC have a lot to be blamed for. For instance they were the ones that changed the wording to allow the park to be redeveloped instead of protecting it like other towns protect their tourist assets and it was TDC who overruled the Government Inspector. So in my opinion they have very much a lot to answer for.

I think you have to put that in the wider context of the time; TDC is now working in every way possible, given that it has been presented with an alternative scenario, re a Heritage Park, to get Dreamland up and running.

Let's give that our support!

Nobody is more supportive of Dreamland than my family and myself. However, I am not prepared to sit back and have you saying TDC are blameless in this, because that is definitely not the case.

After Nick and the team did all of the hard work, they decided to get on board. This after the penny finally dropped that Dreamland is the only survival hope for Margate.

Yes, thankfully they are now in support of Dreamland and that is fantastic, but how many years has this campaign been in what seemed to be a battle with them. If they had shown this support seven years ago, Dreamland would be up and running and the scenic probably would not have burnt down.

But times and situations alter.

And Thanet is on board, very much so, and some of Thanet personnel always have been.

However, wider issues re Margate seem to be lumped frequently at the door of the council, when in reality much is not within its remit to do a great deal about.

it's not just dreamland .. they have let the side down with everything heritage in the area ..

I have only been living here for 18 months and they are to put it bluntly USELESS .. It doesn't surprise me that as soon as a successful campaign is under way and it looks as though it may be successful with all the correct noises from Press, pressure groups and some funding has been made available that they jump on the band wagon.

If it all goes well TDC will try and claim the credit .. if it falls through they will claim they had nothing to do with it.

try living here :/

Does all the 'heritage' in the area belong to TDC?

Would you be willing to have massive hike in Council Tax to pay for 'doing something'?

Do you really think the council has simply 'jumped on a bandwagon' with Dreamland?

Or is a little more complex and sophisticated than that?

And you are of course aware that TDC is a partner in all this; if it wasn't, the funding would not have been made avaiable?

I think taxes could have a discussion to itself. It’s obviously going to evoke a strong reaction, especially given the current climate. On one hand we need to do something about the national debt. On the other hand Margate’s economy is based on tourism (to a large extent) and historic landmarks could bring more people into the area. This could mean more money for hotels, bed and breakfasts, eateries, arcades etc and therefore more money to spend on preservation. It’s a big discussion that we’re all going to have our views on. One that’ll help decide the next government. In fairness the tax system is partly out of TDC control, although Councils can make a difference to these sorts of things, otherwise there wouldn’t be any point in having Council elections.

I don’t want to get too political as hopefully Dreamland goes beyond political parties, but in fairness there were alternative scenarios when the Government Inspector made his decision. As I say, these things are complex, but presumably the Government Inspector was chosen because they understood some of these complexities. There were suggestions of other operators willing to take the park over and some of the public consultations don’t seem to have been taken as seriously as they could have been. I accept that not everyone wants a theme park. Some people may be worried about noise. Others may not have felt a theme park could be viable. But I wouldn’t say the Council has always been behind Dreamland. If they are now then that’s fantastic. It’s good to have them on board and any money they’re donating to the project is definitely appreciated.

I agree that problems may be dumped at the Council’s door which aren’t their fault. I’m not that sure where responsibility for different things lie myself. I don’t think we were ever taught about different layers of government at school. However, people should be able to understand politics. Surely that’s the whole point of democracy. We all vote for the politicians so we should know what they do. If problems are being dumped at TDC which aren’t their fault, maybe their website should be clearer in explaining their responsibility. In fairness they do have an ‘a-z’ of services which is useful, but it could still be clearer. Some things do have to be complex. However, people need to understand enough to be able to make an informed choice in an election. Otherwise what are we voting for? BTW, I’m talking in general terms here. It sounds like dilftechnical is fairly informed and does seem to know about a lot of local issues.

Anyway, welcome to the forum dilftechnical. The more people the better. The coordinators are the best people to ask, although they read these forums so they might well get in touch with you. The gesture’s definitely appreciated though.

Going back to the original post it’s great to see Blackpool getting this level of investment. I’ll have to go there at least once more before I finish uni and potentially move away from the area.

p.s. just been having a look at TDC’s website. Apparently licensing stage hypnotists is one of their roles. Didn’t know that one.