Plans for a 120-bed hotel, new stands, restaurant, café, club shop and car parking at Margate Football Club have been given the green light following consultation with the Secretary of State.
Margate Football Club’s application was developed with hotel partner IHG Hotels and the brand Holiday Inn Express to reflect increased demand for hotel rooms in Thanet.
The East Block will be used for a 120-bedroom hotel together with restaurant and bar facilities. The building will also include space for MFC club offices and a club shop together with the stadium control room. The stand will be all-seater and have a capacity of 650.
The North Stand will be a terrace with a capacity of 1,300 and behind this and integrated into it, there will also be space for first team home and away changing facilities, together with ancillary spaces associated with the first team. On the ground floor, there will be several studio spaces for sports and associated activities. On the first floor there will be a café/bar facility which overlooks the pitch.
The car park will be extended to provide 104 parking spaces and will provide access to all of the East Block offices, shop and hotel. The North End turnstiles will be renewed and relocated into
Plans for a hotel development at the Hartsdown site were originally granted in 2012.
The initial scheme was for a football stadium, an 80 bed hotel, fitness club, children’s club, children’s play area, theme bar, conference and banqueting suites, hospitality boxes, admin offices, boardroom, 10 five a sides and one full size all weather pitch and associated parking and landscaping.
The current plan rearranges the internal space of the hotel to expand the rooms to 120.
Developer contributions secured from Margate FC include £12,338.16 towards the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) plan to offset the potential impact on protected birds at European designated sites from increased visitors from the district to these areas.
Thanet council had been required to consult the Secretary of State due to an objection from Sport England over loss of open space with the extension of car parking taking a plot of land at Tivoli Park, but the go-ahead has now been granted.
A statement from Margate FC says: “Margate Football Club is delighted to let supporters know approval from the Secretary of State and Thanet Council has been granted for our stadium re-development plans.
“This is great news for the club, our supporters, our local community and our future. We look forward to making some further positive progress and will keep fans updated.”
The notification of planning approval was published by Thanet council today (May 28)
