The next phase of work on regeneration projects at Ramsgate’s Sailor’s Church and the former Smack Boys Home, Pier Yard and Clock House is taking place following the award of contracts worth some £500,000- including one for Walpole Bay – for ‘architectural and urban planning services and wider support roles.’
The Ramsgate projects are part of the levelling up scheme with Thanet council awarded £19.8m from government in 2021 for the Ramsgate scheme. An additional £6.3m was awarded for the Digital Margate campus project.
Curl la Tourelle, based in London, won contracts in March which include works related to the restoration and regeneration of Pier Yard, The Clock House and The Sailor’s Church and Former Home for Smack Boys.
Plans outlined in the Levelling Up bid included a training hotel and restaurant at the Smack Boy’s building at Ramsgate harbour, a brasserie and a fishing facility for the local fleet to store and sell catch from; a new town square on the current pier yard car park and a refurbished clock tower building.
For the harbour project – including the town square proposal at Pier Yard car park –£9,388,300 is earmarked.
The bid document stated: “The Smack Boys addresses the lack of high end hotels in Ramsgate to support the town’s emergence as a more diverse visitor destination. The management model will provide new career pathways and training opportunities to residents.
“A new fishing hub reinvigorates the Ramsgate fleet and supports the financial resilience of this community with much needed refrigeration infrastructure, which is currently absent. Provide space for a new high-end fish restaurant and linked fish market to drive the visitor economy and provide new training and employment opportunities.
“The Clock House refurbishment provides an important publicly accessible focal point for visitors and residents at the heart of the Royal Harbour, with a new space for local history and heritage and complementary restaurant. Outside the town square delivers a much needed pedestrian and child friendly space at the heart of the harbour as a community and visitor space.”
Curl la Tourelle says there will be conservation repair and remediation works to address a backlog of maintenance of defects to the Sailors Church and Smack Boys Home and remodelled facilities.
For Pier Yard Curl la Tourelle says: “We seek to reclaim Pier Yard as enhanced Public Realm space. Restoring Pier Yard to a largely pedestrianised outdoor space looking onto the newly developed Clock House Heritage Hub. The space will be reactivated with landscaping, commercial activities, and extending the Museum offering at The Clock House into the public realm to attract visitors to the Gateway to the Ramsgate Royal Harbour.”
The firm adds: “The harbour-wide revitalisation will culminate in a joint community and commercial effort to restore and celebrate several of Ramsgate’s historical buildings. At the heart of this regeneration sits the Grade II* Listed Ramsgate Harbour Clock House, set as the anchoring point of the harbour and onward to the main sands within Pier Yard.
“Early design appraisals seek to return the heritage building into active and accessible use, with comprehensive repair and conservation works, whilst bringing the 19th Century building into the 21st century with ambitious sustainability standards including low energy use, waste minimisation, low carb emissions and green energy generation.”
The Clock House building will include extensions to give more space to the Maritime collection and a café/restaurant will be included.
In May Curl la Tourelle has also won the contract as Architect/Lead Consultant) for the Walpole Bay project which has been allocated £1.1m under the £22m Margate Town Deal award.
The Walpole funds are for improvements to the tidal pool and surrounds, the steps, and reinstatement of the cliff lift plus the area in the immediate vicinity will be developed to include a cafe or kiosk.
Curl la Tourelle has been appointed to complete RIBA Stages 1-3. The stages are listed as Preparation and briefing. 2 – Concept design. 3 – Spatial coordination.
Separately, Thanet council is seeking expressions of interest from commercial port operators to operate a substantial part of the Port of Ramsgate, including two roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) berths.
The move follows a decision made by the council in March to start a procurement exercise aimed at finding an operator to being ferry services back to the port.
The last ferry to operate from Ramsgate was TransEuropa Ferries which went bankrupt in 2013 and left Thanet council with £3.4 million in unpaid berthing fees.
A total of £3.5 million of the Levelling Up funding is earmarked for port infrastructure.
Cabinet members approved an option for a multi-purpose hybrid model offering a concession contract with a lease attached to it. Agreements with Brett Aggregates and wind farm operators would remain in place.
The option means the council retaining the management of part of the Port, such as non-ro-ro traffic, with ro-ro cargo and traffic managed by a third party. There will be negotiations with Brett Aggregates about expanding on a further two acres of land. The existing aggregates site occupies two acres of land and is served by berth 4/5, which was replaced in 2022.
Drop in session
A drop-in session that will be held on Tuesday 18 July, between 2pm and 7pm, at the Crane Shed, Ramsgate Harbour (yellow building to the left of the toilet & shower block on the western crosswall).
There will be boards on display showing sketches of the proposed plans. Architects and designers will be on hand to answer questions.
Council takes next step in bid to attract cross-channel freight operator to Ramsgate Port
Details of £19.8 million Ramsgate ‘Levelling Up’ proposals published by Thanet council
Heritage Fund bid to be submitted for cafe and exhibition space project at Ramsgate’s Clock House
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