(Above) Dreamland Trust chair Nick Laister (far left) and Culture and Tourism Minister Margaret Hodge (second from left) are joined by local politicians and businessmen at the announcement of the £3.7 million Sea Change award for Margate's Dreamland Amusement Park. © Thanet District Council
Britain's oldest wooden rollercoaster will be rebuilt at a new pleasure playground in Margate as part of a £9 million round of investments in dilapidated coastal resorts, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced.
The Kent town's Dreamland Amusement Park, which was built in the 1920s and is home to the Grade II-listed Scenic Railway helter skelter, Dreamland cinema and a set of archaic zoo cages, has been awarded £3.7 million by the Sea Change scheme.
Campaigners have spent seven years fighting to save the resort after it was dismantled in the 1990s and sold to the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company for a reported £20 million in 2005.
The Scenic Railway was a popular attraction in the 1980s and early 1990s. savedreamland.co.uk
The Save Dreamland group have taken their message to fairs around the country, battled council redevelopment plans on the streets of Margate and nearby Ramsgate and rescued vintage rides from other fading coastal attractions including Southport's Pleasureland.
"This is fantastic news and is yet another very positive step to delivering this world's first visitor attraction," said Nick Laister, Chair of The Dreamland Trust.
"We are very pleased that the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and English Heritage share our view, and that of the people of Margate, that this proposal has the ability to create an outstanding, 21st century attraction at Margate, capitalising on the resort's unique heritage in a way that will make a huge contribution to the regeneration of the town."
Some would argue Laister's efforts were destined to end triumphantly after he successfully persuaded Trigger from Only Fools and Horses – aka Roger Lloyd Pack – to give his "unequivocal" backing to the bid.
"An amusement park is far more important to Margate than another development or hotel," said the actor, echoing the views of more than 12,000 local people.
"The needs of Margate should be respected more than filling the pockets of a greedy developer."
Six other seaside spots have beaten dozens of rival applications to win funding.
Sunderland City Council will spend £1 million on a trail based around Roker Marine Walk after a public poll of 2,500 residents convinced them to turn the route into a family-based epicentre for the resurrection of the city coast.
Roker pier and lighthouse in Sunderland. sunderland.gov.uk
"The seafront is one of our greatest assets and we were delighted so many people took the time to take part in the consultation," reflected Councillor Bryan Charlton, Chairman of the Seafront Steering Group.
"The challenge now is to come up with a package of quick wins and longer term proposals which will help us deliver the improvements people have asked for."
A train ride away, Tynemouth Station in North Tyneside is one of the finest examples of a Victorian railway station in the country.
Built in 1882, it fell into disrepair in the latter half of the 20th century, receiving Grade II listing and being placed on English Heritage's At Risk register. Existing exhibition space will be enhanced and the intricate canopies on the building will now be repaired in a £2 million refurbishment.
Tynemouth is one of the oldest railway stations in Britain. tynemouth-market.com
A pair of Lancashire landmarks are also among the winners. Performance and recreational space and a "mythic trail" are on the cards at Fleetwood, in Wyre, where the DCMS has pledged £835,000, and a £280,000 investment will build a new visitor centre at Piel Island in Barrow-in-Furness.
A £100,000 development grant will also relocate Plymouth Arts Centre and expand plans for two cinemas and numerous accompanying facilities.
"These seven projects all demonstrate how culture can be a catalyst to recapture the flair that these places enjoyed in their heyday," said CABE Chief Executive Richard Simmons.
"I especially like the plan to regenerate Dreamland in Margate, and showcase the country’s oldest rollercoaster and a listed scenic railway. It is ambitious projects like this, creating new national attractions, that can rekindle the English love affair with our seaside."
Culture and Tourism Minister Margaret Hodge praised the "huge variety and diversity" of the projects.
"What's exciting is that many of these grants will enable our seaside towns to celebrate their fantastic heritage and history whilst at the same time making the services and cultural facilities they offer completely relevant for the future," she pointed out.
"Sea Change is all about investing in culture and heritage to stimulate regeneration in coastal towns that are struggling."
