Joyland Books

It is not just Dreamland that has been neglected.
The entire seafront at Margate needs regenerating.
I was very impressed with Herne Bay when I drove through it last year.
It was clean and tidy and very busy.
Margate has far too many shops & hotels that have been left boarded up.
The arcades are mainly empty and many of the gaming machines do not work. A far cry from the bustling days of the early 80s when trade was fuelled by a video games boom.
The square by the joke shop is almost completely devoid of anything.
It appears that every film ever made featuring Margate has been a grim one.
Margate has some very good plus points. An excellent beach, a potential great theme park, the Margate Caves, the Shell Grotto. Also the joke shop and Ye Old Fashioned Sweet Shop are worth a visit if you have young children.
The council have allowed the area to fall into dereliction and decay.
I believe that their priorities are completely wrong and that they should first look at regenerating the run-down parts of the seafront before they start spending millions on things such as the Turner Centre or start destroying attractions such as Dreamland.

You're absolutely right on many points here. But the cash for the Turner Contemporary is coming from the Arts Council and Kent County Council and I can't help thinking that we should be grateful that these bodies are choosing to spend £27 million in Margate, rather than Folkestone, Whitstable or Herne Bay.

I know that it's not fashionable to speak up for the art gallery, but the money that's being ploughed into it would never be spent on Dreamland or our sadly neglected and desolate buildings - it comes from a funding pot that exists for the arts. The shame is that so many people in power seem to be under the impression that the Turner Contemporary alone will turn Margate around, and as much as I want the investment and welcome a new attraction, I simply don't believe that.

Sarah

Sarah wrote:You're absolutely right on many points here. But the cash for the Turner Contemporary is coming from the Arts Council and Kent County Council and I can't help thinking that we should be grateful that these bodies are choosing to spend £27 million in Margate, rather than Folkestone, Whitstable or Herne Bay.

I know that it's not fashionable to speak up for the art gallery, but the money that's being ploughed into it would never be spent on Dreamland or our sadly neglected and desolate buildings - it comes from a funding pot that exists for the arts. The shame is that so many people in power seem to be under the impression that the Turner Contemporary alone will turn Margate around, and as much as I want the investment and welcome a new attraction, I simply don't believe that.

Sarah

Unfortunatly the UK is overun with Arts Centres and attendence at them is very poor it will certainly not attract people to Margate. Whilst it is true that the Arts Council will provide money it will fall to the local authority to fund the day to day operational costs this usually runs to millions each year.