A call for Dreamland bosses to “engage openly and transparently” over the full background to its decision to “retire” the venue’s iconic scenic railway will be considered at next week’s full meeting of Thanet council.
A motion tabled by Labour council leader Rick Everitt will also ask Dreamland’s owners to “commit to working with this council and others to consider all potential opportunities to return the scenic railway to regular operation”.
Cllr Everitt said: “This has been a significant blow for Margate and it is right that full council has the opportunity to speak up on behalf of the community.
“The council was given advance notice of the announcement but we have yet to be provided with the technical reports that we understand informed the decision, despite requesting them.
“I arranged to meet the chief executive of Dreamland following the news and took the opportunity to express the concerns of the council’s political leadership.
“Significant public money has gone into Dreamland and the scenic railway, so we are also writing to Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund asking them to share their correspondence on the subject in order to understand their position.
“We recognise this was ultimately a commercial decision, but unless the detail is shared there is bound to be a legacy of suspicion among the public, as well as much disappointment.
“The detail will need to be shared with the council anyway if Dreamland brings forward plans that would entail a change of use or impact on the setting of the Grade 2* listed structure, as that would need to be justified to our planners.”
The motion will be considered at the meeting on Thursday, February 26th at 7pm.
It is open to the public and will also be available to watch on YouTube.
Bosses at Dreamland announced last month they were retiring the Grade II* listed ride which, they claim, would require some five hours of checks each day to operate.
They said: “Independent ADIPS (Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme) contractors, the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), external rides consultants and the technical services team all carried out inspections and their findings were presented to Dreamland, who in turn worked in close consultation with The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England and liaised with Thanet District Council.
“Further to these discussions, it has been concluded that after 100+ years, the ride has come to the end of its current life and it is no longer able to continue to be used as an amusement park ride.”
Dreamland says it will now ‘reinvent’ the Scenic Railway, which has Sands Heritage as the listed owner on Land Registry, and has put out a call for ideas from ‘creatives.’
The announcement provoked a public demonstration and anger from both councillors and the public.
The Dreamland Heritage Trust has raised a petition, gaining 3,265
Signatures, calling for the council to:
- Confirm that any changes require Listed Building Consent and robust heritage assessment
- Require a Conservation Management Plan
- Actively monitor the condition of the structure
- Ensure meaningful public consultation
- Seek clarification from heritage funding bodies
The petition will be debated at Full Council on Thursday 26th March.
Never again should Thanet council give money to dreamland.
You seem to forget that the current owners declined the 4 million that had been available, which rather suggests they don’t want anymore public money.
We just have to accept that yet again , canny business men have run circles round tdc.
Mr Lewis – TDC should not have control/management over any money!
This is in the right direction. But the council will have to make it clear to this business, no Scenic no favourable engagement regarding renewing the music licence.
A total waste of time and resources, if TDC were worried about the scenic railways future it should have written that into the contract of sale.
As for heritage management plans, the council should perhaps be asked its are for the various listed buildings it’s had and still has under it’s custodianship.
TDC should perhaps be held to account for the way all the public money has been used and the outcomes.
Why do we pay a restoration fee for every ticket purchased for the concerts at Dreamland?? This surely is to provide the maintenance of the theme park!
The words “horse” and “stable door” come to mind!
Councillor’s handwringing over this would be much more credible if they were seen to be caring as much about the properties they are responsible for yet currently neglecting…I give you Tudor House. And before Whitehead, Packman, Yates and all reply that something is happening I’d say look at your own planning portal – permission for an external electrical cubicle, presumably because the building has become so decrepit no power company will go in there, but still we hear “but we are doing something”. Yet not a scooby’s worth of listed planing consent for proper repairs on the same portal, while the poor old thing sheds more of it’s exterior, dread to think what’s happening inside to that lovely old ceiling at the far end…
Whitehead and Yates… two of the biggest wasters on the council.
I know. Let’s put some grass under it and fence it off. Then build much needed houses all around. Call it Dreamland Gardens.