Ziggy’s rooftop bar and an adjoining empty building will be flattened to make way for a new 124-bed hotel on Margate seafront.
The bar, formerly Escape nightclub, and the empty property will be demolished ready for work to start on the 5-storey ‘lifestyle’ hotel proposed by Dreamland’s operating company, Margate Estates.
The hotel will also us the space at ‘Godden’s Gap’ where the amusement arcade stood.
The four-storey Mr G’s arcade burnt to the ground in 2003. Some 120 firefighters tackle the blaze at its height.
The ‘Seaview’ hotel, which will lie in the Margate Conservation area, will have the 124 rooms, a gymnasium, meeting rooms, a shop or café with frontage onto Marine Terrace, a restaurant and bar at the ground floor and a rooftop bar.
The rooftop bar will be set back from the main building line and partially enclosed. It will be constructed of lightweight glazing, giving the impression of two stacked glass boxes.
The hotel will have some outdoor seating on the pavement for restaurant and bar customers.
Parking will not be provided. A design statement submitted to Thanet council’s planning department says: “As the site is located in a central location within walking distance of the Margate railway station, it is envisaged the many visitors will arrive by train.
“Where visitors do arrive by private car, parking may be made available in the Dreamland car park and in the Arlington complex. A vehicle drop-off area will be provided on the south side of Marine Terrace. The existing taxi waiting area will be curtailed by circa 30m to facilitate drop-off for up to two cars and one coach directly adjacent to the hotel.”
Margate Estates says the project is expected to create 62 jobs within the hotel; 103 direct construction jobs over 3 years and 52 indirect construction jobs across the region over 3 years.
The planning statement for the scheme adds: “Over the last five years there has been significant tourism growth across Kent, Thanet and specifically in Margate which has sparked a renewed local confidence in development within this sector.
“The provision of additional quality visitor accommodation, to increase bedroom capacity, is seen as being vital to increase the volume of short breaks and business tourism.”
Margate Estates is the resulting company after Dreamland investor Arrowgrass Capital Partners bought out the shares of former park operator Sands Heritage Ltd.
Arrowgrass has invested millions in the site, including bringing the company out of administration, re-landscaping the park, rebuilding the management team and creating new music and wedding event spaces.
A planning decision on the hotel proposal is yet to be made.
