Land at King George VI Park withdrawn from council sell off list due to authority not owning it

The Italianate Glasshouse

Thanet council has withdrawn a plot of land from its latest asset disposal list after it was revealed the authority does not own it.

The land between Montefiore Lodge & The Old Stable Block at King George VI Park was one of 11 sites listed for sell off due to be discussed by Thanet council Cabinet members on December 16.

However, it has emerged that the site was bought by Italianate Greenhouse leaseholders Phil and Janice Dadds in 2018.

Janice said: “Phil purchased the land last year and holds the title deeds. He has a lease on the greenhouse, it’s got sometime to go. About 15 years ago they did the same thing with our house. The officers really didn’t know they had already sold it.”

Thanet council uses GIS mapping to show what sites are owned b the authority. A spokesperson said the mapping had not been updated to show last year’s land purchase.

Italianate Glasshouse

The Italianate Glasshouse is also listed with a recommendation that first refusal be offered to Phil and Janice Dadds who hold a long-term lease on the site. A special condition of sale is that the glasshouse be kept for public use in perpetuity.

The Italianate Greenhouse has been at the park since 1832 and was originally part of the estate owned by Sir Moses Montefiore. It was taken over by Ramsgate Borough Council in the 1950s but fell into a state of disrepair until its restoration in 2005.

It is Grade II* listed and was renovated in 2006 with a £30,000 grant from English Heritage towards the works costing £122,154. The property is leased on a peppercorn rent for a 20 year term.

The greenhouse is attached to and is an integral part of the house which Phil and Janice own the freehold for.

The couple open the Greenhouse for free to the public and pay for its upkeep and maintenance. They match-funded  restoration cash and spend thousands each year keeping it open and maintained.

It attracts thousands of visitors to the glasshouse and tearoom each year.

11 Comments

  1. TDC’s ineptitude would be hilarious if it weren’t so worrying!
    To think we pay the salaries of those employed to keep on top of, and administer these things

    • Yep, the inept, led by the amateur , no common sense , and true to form its blamed on an external resource. The wonders of the public sector.

  2. Really for f**k sake this council trying to sell something that doesnt belong to them to make money. This council isnt fit for purpose.

  3. Come on. There must be local Councillors who read these comments. Please please please do something about the sheer idiocy around TDC. The area deserves better.

  4. You just couldn’t make this s#\t up…….and they have absolutely no idea what a laughing stock they are.

  5. The same council that part owns EKH, has property that still doesn’t comply with the 2005 fire safety act, council officers were well aware but hid behind the fact that the council can’t prosecute itself, we have an “oversight and scrutiny committee “ that should be called the “ rubber stamp tea and biscuit club” for all they actually do.

    Planning dept that spends more time deciding what it doesn’t need to deal with rather than doing stuff and at one time had work from home days christened by the staff as “ facebook days”, a building control dept. thats a shadow of its former self and apparently with some rather cosy links with some developers, a dispirited group of officers and as the news shows questionable leadership.

    Who’s willing to put money on things improving ?

  6. We might as well add a waste and recycling service which is in complete meltdown, filthy streets, an approach to FOI requests that shows a complete disdain for the law and a top team which is so busy fighting each other it has no time to actually get its act together and improve things for the residents.

    It’s a really sorry state of affairs.

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