A former motorcycle dealership in Ramsgate will be demolished with four 4-bed homes built in its place.
Thanet council has approved an application for the development in King Street. The site was Dave Fox Motorcycles which had traded from King Street since 1976 after moving from Westgate.
It closed in 2019 when founder Dave Fox’s daughter Denise and her husband Peter retired.
Dave had been a successful side-car cross racer in the 1960s and 70s and was an international champion. His son Douglas was a national champion in the 1980s.
Dave began in business in 1973 in Westgate, selling Triumphs, Nortons and CZs. In 1976 the business moved to the King Street site and became a Kawasaki dealer.
Dave retired and the shop was run by Denise and Peter until its closure.
Now it will be demolished to make way for the new homes in the approved application which has had some amendments to window proportions and materials.
Planning documents say: “The proposal set forth will provide high quality contemporary architectural design within an existing urban environment of mixed housing type, to both complement and contrast with its surrounding.
“The contemporary design approach seeks to highlight the process of regeneration within the town, looking to the future rather than attempting to mimic the past.”
Great decision. As a child who grew up in that area, it’s heartbreaking to see what it’s become. Blackwells Newsagents, Downings the hardware store and Vyes the grocers were thriving businesses. Town centres have now largely disappeared, so absolutely the right thing to do is revert them to housing.
Yes I fully agree with you.
Definitely a good idea – far better to have housing than empty shops in town centres, with the possibility of those who live in town centres not even wanting a car. We all have to accept that town centres are never going to be full of thriving shops as they once were – times have changed.
One day, we’ll have no shops and no factories, with just endless rows of sub-standard homes.
HOMES?! FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE IN?! THEY SHOULD JUST REOPEN THE SHOP THAT I NEVER WENT IN OR BOUGHT ANYTHING FROM
We all know why these shops closed the taxes and rents charged by our councils forced their closures , we will have no town soon , it is times that changed I agree but also so sad .but every house has at least one car so where will they park , I’ll tell you where its where other residents already live forcing them out to find alternative parking spaces. Rebuild tge shops lower tge rents and taxes and people will open up a shop
Despite the “the taxes and rents charged by our councils”, a chip shop, a model shop, a nail bar and a cafe have opened up just a few yards away from where the bike shop used to be.
All lovely, but where do the good people of Ramsgate buy their motorbikes these days?