Drop-in sessions and a People’s Panel planned for Margate Town Deal bid

Margate Photo Carl Hudson

Residents and businesses are being invited to have their say on plans for the Margate Town Deal.

Margate was one of 101 places given the opportunity last year to bid for funding of up to £25 million as part of the government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund. The fund aims to support urban regeneration, skills development and improved connectivity by giving each place its own Town Deal.

The money is not guaranteed and the first stage of the Town Deal is to have a Town Investment Plan. This must be ready by the end of October. The plan will set out priorities for Margate’s future, summarise investments already known to be taking place in the town as well as proposing new projects which have been submitted by the community and could be funded by the Town Deal.

Drop in events, a community questionnaire and a virtual coffee group to discuss the plans will be held between September 7 and September 20.

The Town Deal Board has recruited community engagement specialists, Pleydell Smithyman Limited,  to ensure there are a range of ways that people can get involved.

These include:

Completing a community questionnaire

Community drop-in events

10am to 5pm on Saturday, September 12 at the Dreamland Ballroom, CT9 1XJ

10am to 5pm on Sunday, September 13 at the Dreamland Ballroom

3pm to 7pm on Monday, September 14 at the Cliftonville Community Centre, CT9 2DB

These will be socially distanced events so people may need to queue. Please wear protective masks and bring hand sanitiser.

Digital coffee group

Members of the public can register to take part in one of four online sessions about the future of the town and local people’s priorities for change. Email or call Sarah on 07951 384263 / [email protected]

Representatives from Pleydell Smithyman will be at all of the events to record people’s views and to talk to the community about the future of the town.

There will also be a programme of stakeholder engagement with community groups, local businesses and the third sector taking place during September. This will include socially distanced workshop sessions, digital engagement and online surgery sessions.

People’s Panel

The Town Deal will continue for up to five years and it is hoped to create a People’s Panel.

This group, which should be in place by the end of September, will represent the community and meet on a regular basis to deliberate issues affecting Margate, make recommendations and support the Town Board. #

To apply, you must be over 18 and live in Margate.

If you would like to become a member of the People’s Panel, please register your interest by emailing [email protected].

You will then be sent an application form to complete by September 20. Within the demographic criteria, panelists will be selected at random on Friday, September 25 and the first digital meeting will take place on Monday, October 5.

7 Comments

  1. This is a very good thing indeed, I hope they don’t offer it to Ramsgate Town Council because they give money away to their friend Jenny Dawes to waste on judicial review. How could Ramsgate Town Council honestly apply for such funding with their track record.?? I would however like to make a donation to Margate and Broadstairs councils and I will contact the appropriate persons in due course.

    • I think many people could now consider Jenny Dawes to be their friend, as she is the named
      person bringing the judicial review against the unreasoned decision to grant RSP a DCO.

  2. If you click on the link that says “community questionnaire”
    Complete the questions, you are then asked to complete how old you are by ticking the boxes.
    Then look closely, if you are aged 56 – 59,there is no box.

    Designed by the company Pleydell Smithyman, contracted by TDC, is this the state of professionalism we need to get used to?

    What a bunch of clowns.

  3. Ann you live in Broadstairs, Ramsgate Town Council is based in guess where Ann? Is it Margate,Broadstairs, Birchington or Ramsgate. I will give you a hint Ann, the correct answer begins with the letter ‘R’.
    This article is about Margate, who have struck lucky and got another shed load of money from the Govt. Nothing about Ramsgate, nor Manston, nor Broadstairs, so give it a rest and stop being a BF, you are embarrassing yourself, and everyone else by being so militant.

  4. I hope the Town Team publishes full details the bids from all applications submitted online. This would be a democratic way for the public to look at all applicantions in full. This is the sort of transparency should be both obvious and essential.

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