Dusting For Prince

You know me, I could never be accused of cynicism. Ahem. But news that the Prince's Regeneration Trust has been commissioned by Dreamland developers Waterbridge to scribble yet another report on future uses for the site seems a tad like Charlie's eponymous forbear being asked to fill out a post execution survey for the Choppers' Union.

There have been so many schemes, plans and inspections regarding what is now effectively a deserted piece of prime sea front real estate with a few bits of Grade II listed charcoal scattered about, that most Thanetians have given up wasting their precious head space on the topic. Our beloved council have come out in favour of a 'mixed development', giving over the majority of the site (well, 51%) to a 'heritage theme park', with the rest consisting of the usual luxury apartments etc. Even the Save Dreamlanders appear to have given up the ghost and gone over to the other side, getting into bed with the developers on the promise of a funfair full of knackered old rides that have been bought up from other seaside towns who've been glad to see the back of them.

The Princes Regeneration Trust is no doubt likely to reiterate the same old nonsense. Meanwhile Her Majesty's Rozzers have yet to come up with anything other than a big, fat zero in their arson investigation. So if any of you harboured any thoughts of PC Plod and Big Ears coming to the rescue - dream on! (PS: I have now removed the O' from my name as this post has no doubt put paid to any chances of me copping something in the New Year's Honours.)

Click here for Dreamland story in yourfannit
Click here for press release from the Prince's Regeneration Trust

Scenic May 'Rise From the Ashes'

For the benefit of all you off-islanders who have been cramming onto my blog from as far away as the US and Australia since the dreadful Dreamland arson attack earlier this week, here's the front page of today's weekly local paper.

The Gazunder scoops an exclusive interview with Dreamland's head honcho Toby Hunter who has pledged to rebuild the Scenic, if he can find the original plans. Hunter says: 'Once we have determined what needs to be done to make the scenic safe, then our engineers will be piecing together if there is enough information to replace what's been burnt down.'

Hunter, boss of the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, which has funfair king Jimmy Godden as a major shareholder, added that he had no idea to what extent the historic ride was insured. He said the fire had in no way helped the company's redevelopment plans for the site as they had hoped to 'sink the railway into tanks of water and illuminate it to create a pier effect'. Hmm. If you ask me, it's a shame they didn't think of that earlier.

Click here for full story in the Isle of Thanet Gazette

Paiglegate

Nice to see Gazunder editor Rebecca Smith back at the helm this week after maternity leave. Not only that, but she's written today's front page lead, and what a scoop!

Apparently that bunch from Reading are in talks to sell Margate's Dreamland eyesore to Paigle, the people who did a magnificent job of tarting up the Sea Bathing Hospital, and are planning to do the same to the Cliftonville Lido. The deal could be sealed as early as next month, according to the Gazunder.

Reading Between The Lines

Margatonians might be forgiven for thinking that all roads out of the town now lead to Reading in Berkshire.

Of course, we all know that one of Margate's prime eyesores, the Dreamland site, is owned by Reading firm Waterbridge. And that Head Dreamland Saver, Nick Laister, who wants to put knackered old rides on the site, is based a few miles up the road in Wantage.

Now the council has given the contract to renovate the pier to a company called Pineapple. It's been quite a trek finding out who Pineapple are, as there's more than one company of that name, but the old Eastcliff mincers eventually alighted upon Pineapple Property (Kent) Ltd. Who, despite having the word Kent in their title, have their registered office in? You've guessed it, Reading!

To be fair, four out of the six shareholders do live in Thanet, according to the latest annual return filed at Companies House, with the other two living in Oxfordshire (not far from Reading).

Oh well, that's what attracting investment is all about, I suppose. Just as long as Margate doesn't end up as, er, attractive as Reading!

Dreamland Dream Comes True!

Reader Marky-Warky, aka Thanet's Greatest Living Rocker, Mark Hewins, will be chuffed to see that his plans for Margate seafront have been taken up, in part at least, by no less a figure than our glorious council leader Sandy Beach!

Mark's proposal included the pedestrianisation of Margate front. Now Thanet Adscene is reporting our Sandy as saying the front will be restyled to give priority to pedestrians. The Save Dreamlanders will be cock-a-hoop too, as Sandy also endorses their plan to put knackered old rides on the site, along with a stipulation that at least 51% of the area be devoted to a funfair.

Now I know in the past I've stood on rather less than firm ground when it comes to Dreamland. As would, apparently, any housing development that might be bunged up there, due to the soggy nature of the terrain. And we know from past experience that any front page lead in the Sadscene, especially one that features a pronouncement from Mr Beach, should be treated with more than a soupcon of salt. But really, where's the vision? Where's the state of the art, digital coasterdrome Margate deserves? Honestly!

Pedestrian Idea For Margate

Reader Marky-Warky, aka Thanet's Greatest Living Rocker, Mark Hewins, has sent in this plan for the Arsonists' Playground.

His proposal includes gardens for the Dreamland site, and the complete pedestrianisation of Margate front. Now I'm not a town planner, but looking at the scheme, and the current state of Margate, the words 'nail' and 'coffin' immediately spring to mind. Still, I promised him I'd let you all take a look and decide for yourselves.

Interestingly, Mark designed his scheme using the Margate Town Regeneration Company (aka Waterbridge, aka J Godden Esq (40%)) 'Create Your Town' feature. This facility lets you draw up your own plans for the Dreamland site and then email them to Waterbridge. Oh, except the email bit doesn't actually work. And it won't let you demolish Arlington House, or the Dreamland Cinema. Although you can, rather surprisingly, burn down the listed rollercoaster, should you be so minded.

Although I'm not convinced about Mark's urban regeneration skills (sorry Mark!), he does play a mean slide guitar. Get an earful of this:

Dreamland Campaigner Spits Dummy

Holy roller coasters! I appear to have stirred up something of a hornets' nest over on the Save Dreamland Campaign website.

Ubercampaigner Nick Laister has picked up on my recent SchemeLand post and accuses me of being 'the worst offender for misinformation' à propos the news that a number of old tut rides from some derelict amusement park oop north are being put in storage in anticipation of the 'heritage amusement park' proposal put forward by developers Waterbridge. Clearly Mr Laister is not a frequent peruser of my feeble jottings!

I will admit, however, that I got the tone of my item slightly wrong. I had intended it to be a polemic against our lacklustre local politicos, who have consistently and limply failed to implement the government inspector's report that insisted on a seaside style future for Dreamland, rather than any insinuation that the Dreamland campaigners had hopped into bed with the developers. After all, what I'm most interested in is local colour, and unfortunately neither Waterbridge nor Mr Laister are local. Waterbridge are based in Newbury, and Mr Laister appears to run the Dreamland campaign from 15 miles further up the A34 in Wantage.

SchemeLand

Bear with me, this one's a bit complicated.

According to the BBC Kent website, some old rides from Southport's Pleasureland, which abruptly closed last September, are being put in storage in preparation for the opening of a heritage amusement park on the Dreamland site in Margate.

Now, as far as I can recall, there are currently no plans for a 'heritage amusement park' on the Dreamland site, which has been closed since last year, apart from two tentative proposals put forward by property developers the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, aka Waterbridge, aka J Godden Esq (40%). And it's true that one of these proposals mumbled something about putting a few old ferris wheels around the listed scenic railway in order to justify a whole pile of luxury apartments, hotels, 'leisure', the usual old crap.

However, these proposals remain just that, proposals. They are not approved plans, and go totally against the view of a government inspector that the entire site should remain devoted to traditional seaside attractions. So the storage of these rides would appear rather premature.

Premature, that is, until you realise that the Save Dreamland Campaign which has long battled against the developers, has now rolled over and had its tummy tickled by them. Not only do the plans for this 'heritage amusement park' appear on the SDC website, but the SDC's website, in a touching show of mutual appreciation, now appears as a link on the developers' website. So it all now looks rather like a fait accompli.

Still with me? It gets better. Having only been closed for a few months, the reason for putting Southport's Pleasureland rides into storage is because it is being transformed into a '£100m+ Euro Park', according to local sources. Something that Dreamland could only ever, er, dream of it seems.