Dreamland Margate

[LukeJ]

Sorry for double post but nobody has posted in here since yesterday

Here is a picture showing the damage to The Scenic Railway.

http://www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailw ... l%2008.jpg

Also a company is coming to the site on Monday to access how they are going to rebuild it

[Quickey]

Quite a considerable amount of damage, but defiantly could have been worst.

Glad to hear that they are thinking of re-building.

[seanyboyuk]

i hope the dreamland project does go ahead but is it me or is there something more deeper going on ? the fire could have been planned?

[furie]

Thanet District Council have a meeting next week to discuss if a repair order should be issued to the owners. TDC want the coaster rebuilt, and EH say that it is still viable and a sympathetic rebuild will not affect the listing status.

The repair order is something which most councils are loath to enforce, because they're a legal nightmare, so thumbs up to TDC for making the move.

A lot of people have stepped forwards offering help and support on the rebuild, and PBB have offered their woodie team to project manage from initial consultation to final handover - not an offer to be sniffed at.

Other people who have offered include people who have essentially rebuilt the coaster anyway. Around 10% of the coaster needs replacing year on year , so the people involved know most of what they're doing anyway. The last people to run maintenance on the ride also said that the lift motor, pullies and cables needed overhauling or replacing anyway - so again, it's work that was required.

The 25% or so which is damaged is around three years worth of maintenance. Considering the coaster hasn't been maintained since 2006, it's all about right.

So all in all, it's actually nowhere near as tragic as it first seemed, and the work required is all pretty much what would have been needed to get the coaster going again.

The biggest loss is the original trains which were all destroyed. I have detailed photo's of the ones in the workshop though, and a company in Kent has said they can re-carve and rebuild the carriages onto the metal which is bound to be left (or refabricate the stock). Two of the dragon heads survived anyway and belonged to a member of the Save Dreamland campaign, so I've no doubt they'll be donated.

I think that's about it at the moment - obviously the best place for updates is www.savedreamland.co.uk

[Craig]

Fantastic news this evening in that Thanet District Council have decided that the restoration of the coaster should be made a legal requirement. Fingers crossed that they take up the multiple offers of help being made which furie mentioned above. Although I didn't get to ride it myself, if it does come back by next Easter as the BBC website suggests, then I think I may be making a trip down there

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7351636.stm

[Rob L]

Good to hear that, I think it definitely should be re-built as it's a classic ride. Hopefully it is done by next Easter like they are planning.

[furie]

Sadly, the ride has to be repaired and in operational condition, but that doesn't mean it also has to be open

Hopefully though, it will help to push forward the development of the rest of the park though.

Curtilage has yet to be decided on (what is counted, and what to do with it), but the council may include the park and cinema under the repair order as curtilage, and force that to be up and running too.

If the owners don't work fast enough, or do it badly, then the council can start putting in place a compulsory purchase order - which could only be a good thing!

It's all a case of 'watch this space' now - but it's good news so far!

[Wiggler]

Miss dreamland... growing up in kent meant i went there soooooo many times as a child... the Scenic Railway was my first wooodie and the looping star was my first inversion

[Craig]

Things have been very quiet on the Dreamland front, but some good news has emerged today. Dreamland Trust has been awarded a £3.7m grant as part of the government's Sea Change programme.

More info here [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/8361781.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/8361781.stm[/url] but its another step in the right direction to getting the place up and running again .

[Mike]

Great news

According to BBC Radio Kent, the Dreamland Trust intend to market it as the UKs first permanent 'Vintage Theme Park' incorporating old, refurbished rides from other parks...should be great if they pull it off!

Quick update (again from BBC Radio Kent): The plan is to get the park reopened within two years! (So before I leave Thanet, woop! )

[Craig]

The rides this park should have are some very rare examples too, and some I actually remember seeing as a kid and wishing I rode them! Rhyl's water chute, Southport's wild mouse, The Whip from BPB and of course the Scenic Railway itself.

Exciting times ahead if they pull it off. I have a soft spot for the old rickety rides :P.

[seanyboyuk]

yes i hope the park does well too when it opens as it will be the first park thats opened up from the start in many years in the uk.

just lets hope they pump m oney into advertising etc...

[DiogoJ42]

Just a thought: the Scenic has been rebuilt so many times now... Is there any original wood left in it? At what point does it stop being "The Original Scenic Railway"?

[AstroDan]

This is fantastic news. I have viewed the masterplan for the site and it's wonderful to see the effort that's going into the project. If it does re-open, I suspect I shall be heading down there not long after opening - some of the rides I will be dying to do! The Whip, Wild Mouse, Scenic Railway - you name it.

I can't wait to see what happens and I will definitely be going down to get on the Scenic Railway as soon as I can.

[Sam]

The new Dreamland thread, as all the others are confusing or about something too specific or just incredibly old.

Unfortunately, the re-opening of Dreamland as a heritage park has been pushed back from 2012 to 2013.

[quote=""ThisIsKent"]The opening of Dreamland heritage amusement park has been delayed
By Mary Graham Mary.Graham@Krnmedia.Co.Uk

THE full reopening of the Dreamland heritage amusement park has slipped from next year to 2013, as complications continue over ownership of the land.

The Dreamland Trust has promised rides and attractions will run during 2012 on the former Margate funpark, and has announced ways for people to get involved in the renovations to the Scenic Railway.

But the opening of the site will now be delayed until 2013 at the earliest, it was said this week.

Thanet council hoped the Dreamland site would be transferred from its owners, the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company (MTCRC), in July 2010.

When that deadline passed, the council instigated a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

That was due to start after Christmas, but the council is now blaming changes to land ownership for the delay.

A spokesman for Thanet council said: "The MTCRC has changed the ownership of a number of land parcels within the site.

"This has forced the council to do more due diligence work and to serve new requisitions for information, all of which has to be completed prior to the serving of the Compulsory Purchase Order."

In April the council said "if all went to plan" the park would open in summer 2012, but this week council leader Bob Bayford said it would be 2013.

If the CPO is not contested, the process could be complete by June. If there is a public inquiry, it may take until October.

Toby Hunter, from MTCRC, said the issue of land transfers was a "red herring" and that the real issue was that Thanet council was unable to agree how much development would be allowed on the remainder of the site.

The MTCRC wants to build new homes and has been trying to work with Thanet council on the number and type of dwellings.

Mr Hunter said: "The question is why is Thanet council pursuing a CPO at all? We are supposed to be working together, but that has become very frustrating as it is not clear what the council actually wants from the enabling development.

"We have a 16-acre site and are being asked to give up eight acres for the heritage amusement park. We are happy to do that, but we need to know what we are going to get in return."

Mr Hunter said that MTCRC had bought the Dreamland site for £12 million, but that Thanet council would hope to use a CPO to obtain the land for about £3 million. He dubbed land valuation "a dark art, not an exact science".

Mr Hunter added: "This is now not about urban regeneration but about a vendetta. The people have got to ask if they have trust in the council as custodians of their money."

Nick Dermott, Thanet council's heritage adviser, said: "The scaffolding going up around the site is the clearest sign that we are progressing with the plans."

Jonathan Bryant, project director of the Dreamland Trust, added: "The official opening may be put back slightly, but we are committed to offering attractions this year and next. We have always said this is a phased project."

So far 65 companies have sent in tenders for work to make the cinema and ballroom watertight.

And companies from Europe, America and India have expressed an interest in renovating the listed Scenic Railway.

John Lawson's Circus and Carter's Steam Fair are coming to Dreamland this year, and the Dreamland Trust says it is considering installing a viewing platform for people to follow the renovations to the Scenic Railway during 2012.[/quote]
In positive news, the beautiful Grade II* listed art deco cinema that serves as iconic gateway to the park is being refurbished as we speak:



I can't wait to re-ride the majestic Scenic Railway, and share with other enthusiasts the pure joy of its survival and existence.

[meames]

I have been following this for years. In fact ever since it was only a rumour. I really love the idea of this park, and really hope it pays off and survives in the world where huge steel monsters are king.

Really cannot wait for opening day - planning on being there, I think it will be a unique and fantastic experience.

[furie]

Same here, I've been following this since about 2005 and had a superb day there in 2006 - the last year of real operation.

I'm saddened, but not surprised by this at all. I love the way MTCR are confused why the council have put in a CPO. It's simple really, they said "transfer the land you said or replay about it by this time, or we will CPO." They didn't respond so the council followed it up. It really doesn't take a lot of brains to work it out.

I'm pretty sure they're still trying to find a way of making a lot of money from this. The original plan of buying the park and flattening it to "urban regenerate" during the boom time in the 00's was scuppered, but they still seem to dream of some fantastic money making scheme coming out of this.

Real shame, but hopefully 2013 will be doable. They're missing out on a fantastic opening year opportunity though with the Olympics in 2012.

[WillPS]

TDC have acted nowhere near fast enough with this. As soon as Godden announced he wanted to turn it in to housing (and the Scenic was listed) the Council should have CPO'd the land. A decade of diddle-daddling has brought about the half-destruction of the ride that made it all happen and a whole load of decay.

[DiogoJ42]

Urgh! With the amount of red tape and government BS in this country it's amazing anything ever gets built at all! :no:

This should have been up and running years ago (well, they never should have shut down the park in the first place).

*deep breath*

I really can't wait for Dreamland to reopen. It's good to see something (however minor) getting done with the place. Thanks for the update, Sam.

[Sam]

[quote=""DiogoJ42""]Urgh! With the amount of red tape and government BS in this country it's amazing anything ever gets built at all! :no: [/quote]
I don't think it's government and red tape BS, it's not enough government and red tape BS! It's this phony MTCRC company that are screwing around, the local government should have more power just to go "stfu, this land is ours now, sod off".

I don't think this thing will ever make money. But that's not the point, it should serve as the centrepiece of Britain's long and rich amusement park heritage, taking the pressure off Blackpool in terms of letting them get rid of a few of their older flat and dark rides to Margate and building something new there. As Churchill said during the war when advised to divert the arts funding to war funding: "Then what are we fighting for?"

Apart from the delightful Scenic, they have some absolutely cracking rides in storage waiting to be added to the park:


Southport's wooden wild mouse.


Rhyl's water chute.

Also Pleasureland's infamous funhouse, an early madhouse (haunted swing), Blackpool's Whip and Junior Whip, Southport's River Caves, Pleasureland's cablecar and ghosttrain and many more. As well as being a heritage park, this will arguably have quite a competitive ride line-up in it's own right.