By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Esson
A multi-million-pound makeover of a former Marks & Spencer in Margate has moved a step closer.
The East Kent College (EKC) Group wants to transform the building previously occupied by the department store in High Street, Margate, into a state-of-the-art campus.
Thanet District Council bosses argue the project – which will be bankrolled by £6.3 million of government Levelling Up cash and match funding from EKC – will help regenerate the town centre.
But senior politicians had to decide last month whether to pave the way for the scheme, called Margate Digital, by giving a no-rent lease for the building to EKC.
Papers penned by local authority officers ahead of the cabinet meeting said: “The building provides an opportunity to utilise one of an assets to support a number of regeneration initiatives in Margate, and in particular one of the most deprived wards in the country.
“This project aims to improve skills and education provision in the area, support the repurposing of key buildings in the town centre, and encourage pathways into the creative industries.
“The council is not in the position to deliver an education campus.
“The only option is to provide EKC with a lease so it can deliver the scheme it put forward for the Levelling Up programme, which was awarded the grant funding.”
Officials also noted that not agreeing to hand the lease over would have left TDC and EKC with just one option– returning the funding to government.
Margate Digital is expected to cater for up to 300 students and staff. The state-of-the-art campus will be equipped with a café and studio space.
Labour councillor Helen Whitehead, the shadow cabinet member for housing, questioned whether staffing conditions had been factored in to the rental agreement.
“As a 10-year nil-cost lease is being proposed, as well as a subletting clause, can I ask if the employment aims of the Levelling Up fund have been incorporated into the terms of the lease?” she asked the cabinet.
She wanted these to include conditions “such as permanent contracts for employees, guarantee of a real living wage for employees, or apprenticeships within their business models”.
TDC director of regeneration Louise Askew responded: “As it stands, there isn’t anything about conditions about salaries, living wage or anything like that around employers, but it’s certainly something that we can look at.”
The prominent unit previously housed Marks & Spencer, which closed for good in 2006.
The district council later bought the building, which backs onto Cecil Square, for £4.5 million.
It was most recently home to discount clothing chain Store Twenty One until the firm bowed out of the town about five years ago after entering liquidation.
The lease was returned to the council. TDC has marketed the building both for lease and sale, but it has attracted no long-term interest.
Cabinet members voted to prepare and complete the lease transfer to EKC. The scheme was granted planning permission in August this year.
Margate Digital Campus will be EKC’s seventh site in east Kent – with others already in Dover, Broadstairs, Canterbury, Folkestone and Sheppey.
