Jimmy Godden has died

[EAS]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Kent-seasid ... story.html

[AJ]

Well what can you say to that............
(plenty but just wouldn't be right would it?)

[EAS]

No, I merely reported and I hope others show similar restraint.

I am sure his family will be grieving.

[SuburbanHomeboy]

I agree with you there, EAS. The first few comments on This Is Kent aren't particularly pleasant. He may have destroyed tourist attractions in Kent, but this isn't the time or place for saying "good riddance".

...edit - and lo! Those comments have now disappeared/

[AJ]

I didn't think the comments on This is Kent were particularly harsh. He had more enemies than friends around Kent. Hopefully Margate will now rise from the mess it had become. It's just a shame Mr Godden won't be around to see the success Dreamland will be again!

[fadman]

I know that Jimmy brought heartache to many indirectly due to his "business activities", please remember that he did employ many people and has family. His darker deeds will not be forgotten for a long time, but he had a family and friends who remember him as a different person ( I've never met him ). Death in anyway is an inevitable event that is always hard to come to terms with with the people closest, so my thoughts do go out to those people. Hopefully for the rest of us, a new chapter can begin, we will have to wait and see.

[Cheryl]

I am sorry for his family ....

I hope this doesn't impact on the CPO. You can be sure that MTRC will stop at nothing with any form of delaying tactics. As it is all done and dusted now I'm not sure if this is possible though.

[smilerbaker]

I know that Jimmy brought heartache to many indirectly due to his "business activities", please remember that he did employ many people and has family. His darker deeds will not be forgotten for a long time, but he had a family and friends who remember him as a different person ( I've never met him ). Death in anyway is an inevitable event that is always hard to come to terms with with the people closest, so my thoughts do go out to those people. Hopefully for the rest of us, a new chapter can begin, we will have to wait and see.

He made a lot more unemployed then he ever employed. Its rather distasteful that people see to 'forget' everything he did just because he has died. his family are hardly saints either

[barcrest]

I know that Jimmy brought heartache to many indirectly due to his "business activities", please remember that he did employ many people and has family. His darker deeds will not be forgotten for a long time, but he had a family and friends who remember him as a different person ( I've never met him ). Death in anyway is an inevitable event that is always hard to come to terms with with the people closest, so my thoughts do go out to those people. Hopefully for the rest of us, a new chapter can begin, we will have to wait and see.

He made a lot more unemployed then he ever employed. Its rather distasteful that people see to 'forget' everything he did just because he has died. his family are hardly saints either

I agree sir.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

I have every sympathy with Mr Godden's wife, daughters and friends and I wouldn't wish cancer on my worst enemy but the fact remains that Dreamland closed because of his ambitions as a property developer and that hundreds, if not thousands of people have lost their jobs, businesses and homes because of his ruthless pursuit of personal gain.

I know many others will have empathy with those closest to him but I hope we do not allow the milk of human kindness to drown the reality of what a disastrous effect his life had on the towns unfortunate enough to have been in his business portfolio.

[AJ]

As always Vince a well written post. Couldn't agree with you more.

[Chris H]

Better the devil we knew.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Farewell-re ... story.html

THE death of Jimmy Godden, at the age of 66, last Tuesday evening at the Royal Marsden Hospital in central London marks the end of an eventful, successful and often colourful life.

There will certainly never be another quite like him.

From humble beginnings, Jimmy made a fortune, ultimately topping his pension pot with the sale of his Rotunda land to Roger De Haan for a tidy sum in 2006.

At the root of his success were huge drive and energy, a ruthless streak and an eye for an opportunity.

It is unlikely that anyone would become a multimillionaire in a town like Folkestone, or any other south coast seaside town for that matter, by being a shrinking violet.

As property developer Toby Atkinson explained, Jimmy knew when a position would open to his advantage, and took it.

There was also an unquenchable thirst for work – long working days suggested a driven man, motivated to succeed, long after he had made his stack. If success was measured in money, he was very successful.

His origins were relatively modest and that, arguably, makes his achievement all the more worthwhile.

Of course, he made his enemies along the way. He was often unpopular – but not among his business friends and associates, in whom he seemed to inspire loyalty and, yes, love.

He was not always viewed as a great landlord and some of his properties left a lot to be desired.

But those who worked for him said he was a fair man, straight-talking and direct.

Once a person had earned his respect, it would be reciprocated. A promise made was a promise kept.

One imagines he would have taken betrayal very badly indeed.

Jimmy was no angel, either, as his conviction for attempting to bribe a Thanet councillor in 1984 showed, although he would renounce his actions later.

The death in 1999 of a little girl on a ride at Folkestone's Rotunda was a pivotal moment for him.

His family attest to his being "completely devastated" by the accident and it hastened his decision to move away from the fairground business and concentrate on property and amusement arcades, even opening a new one in Hythe, despite a storm of protest. For all that, Jimmy provided jobs in seaside towns all year round, and kept a flavour in each of what a typical English coastal resort is all about. Local people have recognised that.

Perhaps his greatest personal asset was his likeability and his sense of humour.

He was able to cut to the heart of any issue with a simple one-liner.

Jimmy also seemed prescient, helped by his long experience in business. His wisdom, when imparted, was succinct and frank – and, more often than not, prophetic.

We offer sympathies to his wife Rochelle, their two sons, and the wider Godden family.

I must admit that I had not realised that he had a criminal conviction for attempted bribery, although it doesn't surprise me to discover this.

[EAS]

Ruthless tycoon and loyal friend divided opinion

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Ruthless-ty ... story.html

The Godden amusement park empire has also been beset by misfortune with fires at both his seafront attractions in Ramsgate and Margate. In 1998, the Pleasurama fun park at Ramsgate burned down, two years after Godden took over the park, formerly known as Merry England.

The park was formerly the site of the town's railway station and plans were in place to build a shopping village. Pleasurama is still a building site, with plans for a hotel and flats being progressed by another developer.

The parallels with Margate's Dreamland are clear.

Mr Godden purchased the park in 1996 with the help of European Union and government grants but sold a string of well-loved rides including Britain's biggest Big Wheel to overseas operators.

In 2003, he declared Dreamland unprofitable before closing it in 2005 and selling it for £20 million to Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company (MTCRC), a firm in which he retained a major stake.

Three years later, another fire destroyed part of the Scenic Railway. The blaze came just two months after a £29 million sale to Paigle Properties fell through.

Last May, Thanet council began compulsory purchase procedures to try to buy Dreamland.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

No doubt aware of the fact that it is not legally possible to libel somebody once they are dead, the media seem to be skating closer and closer to reporting vox pop.

Some interesting photographs on that page. One of Mr Godden, two of structures on fire and another of a structure following a fire. What can it mean?