Councillors on a site visit to Hodges Gap to help them determine a council application to build a café, community space and toilet block were met by demonstrators opposed to the plan.
The site visit was by members of the planning committee who last month opted to not give the green light for the proposal until they had seen the area under discussion for themselves.
The project, which is part of the £22.2m Margate Town Deal and has been allocated £1.025m, aims to create a two storey café, with a large glazed front opening up views towards the tidal pool. At the rear of the building, there would be a compact kitchen and storeroom site below a mezzanine seating area.
Two toilets, including provision for accessible changing and baby changing, will be housed in a self-contained single storey building. The block will be unheated but insulated. There will also be two outdoor beach showers.
A shipping container to the east of the café will be for community use with a focus on sport and wellbeing activities for a maximum of 20 participants.
A single lane width vehicle route is planned to give access for emergency and refuse vehicles to move through the site. A wider section at the west of the site will allow car access.
A single designated disabled parking bay is proposed at the east of the site for building users or staff. No further dedicated vehicle parking is proposed. Eight cycle parking spaces are also proposed.
The toilets would be managed by the café operator and locked down out of hours. Open, unroofed outdoor showers have been proposed to prevent anti-social use.
Those opposed to the scheme say it is an overdevelopment with there only being a need for more basic facilities, such as toilets an showers.
Resident Lisa Harris, who also spoke out at last month’s planning meeting, said: “It was important for the councillors to see how passionate people are about this.
“The main worry is the single lane of traffic in front of the development.
“On the one hand I can see the sense of the development, Margate was lucky to get this funding and we all want Margate to be beautiful and well-cared for, but the funding is just capital, it’s not for the upkeep of the site.
“Regulars who use the space feel it is overdevelopment, the size and scale of it is not in keeping with the area.
“We have a petition that 600 people have signed. We want it to be accessible and have toilets but the café is not needed.
“The council planning team is in a hard place because it is the council itself applying for the permission but we don’t feel it is the right kind of development. It’s a shame there wasn’t more consultation about the scale of it.
“It is important that Walpole Bay is accessible to everyone and everyone should feel safe. Everyone wants what is best for Walpole Bay but we feel it is about funding the right vision. Some development could be a good thing if it makes it accessible but is also in keeping with the area.”
Concerns range from lack of parking to increased traffic risks, business viability and impact on wildlife as well as the location at the east of the Hodges Gap promenade and close to the Walpole tidal pool; the loss of ‘unregulated’ parking spaces; whether a café in that position would be viable and if the build would be sustainable in the face of possible storm and wind damage.
But there is also resident support for the café and facilities proposal.
Resident Em Herriott is physically disabled and currently cannot use Walpole tidal pool and the surrounding area.
Em said: “I am a disabled person in favour of this regeneration project. I cannot currently use this area so I would argue that it is broken and the council has provided an option to fix it and for that I’m grateful.
“Dedicated Blue Badge parking would mean I would be far more likely to visit. Even a small number of accessible spaces would make a big difference. Reducing general parking would also make the area safer for me and other disabled visitors by limiting traffic near pedestrians, families, and the beach edge.
“Accessible changing facilities would finally make it possible for me to use the beach. I cannot sit in the boot of a car to change like many other people do, so a sheltered indoor space is essential.
“A café or staffed indoor space is an accessibility requirement. A café would give me somewhere safe to sit, recover if I feel unwell, or shelter from winds and waves without the risk of slipping or being blown over – I use mobility aids.
“I cannot sit on the ground, so having some seating is vital. Being able to get a hot or cold drink is not just a lovely thing but helps regulate my body temperature. It would also help me manage serious risks such as hypothermia in winter and hyperthermia in summer. Many non-disabled people don’t realise that cafés can dramatically improve accessibility.
“Accessible toilets and nearby facilities are currently almost non-existent. Some claim there are five cafés nearby, but I cannot walk to any of them from the beach, and aside from the Turner, I’m not aware of another café with accessible toilets in Margate. A café with accessible facilities on-site would make a huge difference.
“A combined café and community space would benefit many people. This is a deprived area with very few—if any—accessible community spaces. If construction is happening anyway, it makes sense to give the site multiple inclusive uses. Many groups who currently cannot enjoy sea views or community activities due to lack of suitable spaces would finally have somewhere welcoming and accessible.
“These improvements would greatly increase my confidence and ability to use the beach, something that is currently very difficult for me.”
The application returns to the planning committee on December 17 with the recommendation to defer and delegate to officers for approval.
Documents from TDC show the aim of starting construction by next April with completion earmarked for next Summer.
“Accessible” toilets that will be nailed shut for 6 months of the year?
Jobless auld fogies
Nothing in the article as to how it’s to be operated? Council unlikely to do it, so is the intention to rent/lease it , to be run on a commercial basis?
Yes, it will be let to an operator, there were details in a previous piece but I’ll add them in to this one
Thank you. Then i’d have to echo the thoughts of others , will the council be able to give the facility a long term future on the basis of the lease income? (In terms of maintenance and repair) plus in what is a pretty exposed position will insurance be affordable?
Is the council going to offload the cleaning and the daily wear and tear costs onto the operator? Is the bathing pool and seafront there going to realistically have sufficient users to support a business there?
All seems to smack of a desperate attempt to find ways of spending money quickly, is there a condition to the funding that when it has to be spent by before it’s lost ?
If Margate residents don’t want the money I’m sure that Broadstairs could find a use for it… the freehold of the Sarah Thorne Theatre perhaps?
Many people from Ramsgate seem at a loss of what to do with additional funding (you ask ’em!), so perhaps both towns could help save such an important asset?
Unbelievable. Middle class nimbyism rife across Kent. Funding to put in decent facilities that will encourage use of sea bathing. As an older person with mobility issues I’d love to be able to use Walpole Bay. But existing users want to keep this drab hole for themselves.
Serious question. Why are you so obsessed with Ramsgate and its inhabitants? Very strange.
Because I care.
More weird is the lack of response from people like yourself whenever anything positive happens in Ramsgate – i.e., the offer of extra funding, security patrols making the shopping area safer.
Very strange.
Yay. Let’s go and have some exercise in a shipping container.
Is this seriously the best they could come up with ?
Sadly, residents’ concerns haven’t really been acknowledged here, and it feels as though support is being pushed without addressing the fundamentals.
There are some very practical questions that still need proper answers. The proposed toilets will rely on a substantial pump to move waste into the sewage system, and these facilities will be heavily used in the summer. Will that pump genuinely cope with peak demand, and will the council commit to maintaining and repairing it? A small café operator won’t have the capacity or funds to deal with pump failures, and any breakdown raises the risk of sewage issues very close to the beach.
The design itself also feels underwhelming. The main building is essentially a plain box, and the shipping container adds very little in terms of usable community space, certainly nowhere near enough to accommodate 20 people meaningfully and who is going to use this in winter. Zero people.
More importantly, these final plans never went out for proper public consultation, which is why so many residents feel blindsided. It’s also notable that strong support has come from a councillor outside the ward, which doesn’t quite align with the views of people who actually live here and use the facilities daily.
Look if Margate residents (assuming these protestors are representative of anyone) want to leave it as a piece of abandoned concrete, then as they say if ain’t broke don’t fix it, until it is, when they will no doubt say that they are not having money spent in their area.
Why not build the Beach club in Ramsgate, as that will at least encourage sea sports for younger people, who never get a look in on some of this project work.
Checksfield is on his toilet fixation,again!
I have said where the money ought to be spent in Ramsgate, and so what if there are some gormless ones who don’t have any ideas, that doesn’t mean everyone is similar bereft of ideas.
George not caring about those with disabilities again because he stays in doing jigsaw puzzles all winter. I could’ve done with a loo when out cycling earlier today (therefore keeping up my fitness to avoid putting strain on the NHS), but p-ssed outdoors again.
George Nokes – my 4.56pm comment is a reply to your 4.34 one.
Are you writing in a secret code?
George Nokes – good manners means it’s ‘Mr Checksfield’ – perhaps you were not taught good manners when young!
Fedup B- Peter Checksfield himself is so lacking in good manners that he has, on one of these comment threads, called me a whore.
I have the manners to praise all the positive things happening in Ramsgate right now, unlike you who just PRETENDS to care. Why are you so negative all the time?
I don’t really know what the problem is when a nice new facility is being offered and which will offer hot drinks and food .etc
Toilet facilities also will be a new welcome addition but some people like Checksfield are never satisfied .
Maybe he would be happier if he stayed in Birchington
And maybe if he finally learned to drive then he wouldn’t ever be far away from a toilet which he always in an unhealthy way banging on about .
Btw . I well remember in the early 70’s when we had a holiday trade and what was then called a Sundeck which was supported by pillars at Walpole Bay ,where people sunbathed , bought ice cream ,drinks etc I don’t know why it was demolished but surely this new building in a similar position is a welcome addition to people visiting the area proposed for this building
There’s a large empty space between the Royal Victoria Pavilion and the flats ( which extend almost as far as the Tunnels).
There’s large empty spaces everywhere, but what does that have to do with Hodges Gap near Margate?
And your point is…???
Oh no an improvement on present. Let’s stop it. Area in a poor state due to this negativity.
It looks nice. Stop moaning!
Nobody wants anything built anywhere near them these days probably always been this bad but with social media they can whip up a frenzy and grind all progress to a stand still whilst moaning that “the council never does anything”
Agree that the toilets need to be open and usable all year round. A good cafe would get customers all year round too.
Plenty of quiet stretches and bays for those so opposed. Go to those places
The last beach front cafe fail spectacularly it was all pulled down so why the fxxx dose Thanet council think another part time cafe and toilet block going to work now are they all nuts is this what our tax money really put to there are plenty of pot holes and dangerous paths around Thanet that need looking at first surly it’s what the locals want and need we don’t need a part time cafe with locked up loos or god forbid they could make Thanet more wheelchair friendly maybe that’s a step to far for thanet council to help with maybe 🤔 we need a new council that actually listen to the public they serve
There is the jet-ski café just around the bend at Palm Bay. So can’t see why another café is needed so close by. More important to maintain as many parking spaces in that area as possible for all those who do use the pool. And for the aged and those with disabilities who can’t easily walk up and down the steep slopes leading to this area. I often take my 91 year old mother in the car to that area of the prom between Walpole pool and jet-skit café so she can sit by the sea for a while and walk a little bit with her mobility walker. Or if it’s a bit chilly, just sit in the car by the sea for a while.
Claire has raised some very important and relevant points regarding any toilet facilities in this area.
There are two cafes at St. Mildred’s Bay, and none of them seem to be struggling.
So bored of NIMBYS in this town. If you dont want new things built then go live in the countryside and stop ruining it for everyone else bunch of moaning meldrews
An example of how every single development in this country is beset by NIMBYism, even something as benign and positive as this!
The three seafront cafes in Westgate seem to be doing good business, as long as TDC stay well away from running this themselves (TDC couldn’t organise a tupperware party) and a decent operator takes it over then it might be to the good.
That said, how many more cafes do we need in Thanet – home of the naff caff.
There’s also 3 cafes + a pub on Minnis Bay seafront that seem to do OK (as well as another couple at the parade of shops just a short stroll inland). There were also rumours a few years back that the derelict toilets at Beresford Gap was going to become a cafe, but nothing came of it.
To all DFLs opposed to the development of Walpole Bay – it sucks when somewhere you love becomes popular and gets invaded by people you despise, doesn’t it? HA HA HA. How’s that medicine taste?
They just want to keep it as their fetishy middle-class enclave within a middle-class enclave and don’t want the hoi polloi getting attracted to it to ruin their little Margate fantasy.
Look at all those Dry Robes, LOLZ.
I have owned Jetski world for 3 years now and yes I do agree. Toilets should be built there with changing room facilities for the swimmers and for the general public to use during the summer periods but opening another cafe literally right round the corner from us would financially impact us and as the council is our landlords who are making money of us at the moment with the rent that they does not seem fair for them to open a café literally walking distance from us and during the winter period we do not operate as it’s very cold and windy. We do not get the custom so it cost us more in bills to keep the property open, but we still have to pay the rent to Thanet council regardless so it’s very nice of Thanet council to open a café right near us they may as well just tell us to shut our doors.