Lido snooker and pool club and Cliff Bar owner Neville Borck has swung into action to give the surrounding area a makeover ahead of the tourist season.
The Lido building is getting a fresh coat of paint to cover up graffiti, although the fisherman mural will stay – and new tarmac has also been laid.
Neville, who was Lido manager for many years before buying the site with business partner Martyn Buckley for £100,000 in February 2017, says someone has to step up and improve the stretch coming from Margate Winter Gardens to Walpole Bay.
He said: “We are working on the front face of the Lido as Spring and Summer are coming. Margate’s tourist trade id on the up and up but walking on the lower prom from just past Turner Contemporary you have the closed Winter Gardens, the diabolical looking Lido, the old swimming pool that the council won’t refurbish and then you go towards Walpole, the jewel in the Cliftonville swimming crown.
“Someone has to make an effort. The Winter Gardens is a massive problem for us with so many people now parking along the prom, making it impossible for emergency vehicles to get through.
“The Lido has a mass of street art on the outside part that is really old fashioned and people are blind to it because it has been there so long. We are looking to start off with a clean slate.
“We could go further along the lower prom if the council was to hold up their end and give the pool a paint.”
Neville says the area needs to be cheered up as the beach at the rear is very popular with people in the Summer despite having no facilities.
He says council proposals for the pavilion/café at Walpole Bay as part of the Margate Town Deal are a start but everyone needs to pitch in and make the area more welcoming for locals and holidaymakers.
The snooker/pool hall and Cliff Bar has a busy summer ahead after a link up with Live Nation, Soundcrash and Glasswork promoters to bring in live acts.
The Cliff Bar was recently used for sell-out Libertine gigs and the venue will welcome The Orb this Saturday (March 23) as part of the O.R.B.O.R.E.T.U.M tour, celebrating 35 years of electronic music from Alex Paterson.
Doors open 7pm, 18+. Buy tickets at: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Margate/Margate-Lido/The-Orb/37187110/
The line up includes Mystery Jets, Transmission, Babybird and the Libertines are also likely to make a return to the Cliff Bar this Summer.
The snooker/pool hall and bar is open 5pm to midnight. Find out what’s coming up on the Margate Lido facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/thelidomargate
The Lido complex is made up of three sites.
In 2014, Stour Side Developments acquired two plots at the Lido, including the car park, for £699,999. The purpose of the buy was to develop residential apartments or re-sell after having secured planning permission but no progress was ever made and the firm went into administration.
The third Lido site, of the snooker and pool club, was bought by Lido Streetview Limited – run by Neville and Martyn Buckley.
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