A total of 12 different venues will be throwing open their doors next month, as part of Heritage Open Days, which runs from Thursday 9 September until Sunday 12 September. It’s been organised under the banner of Margate Arts, Creativity, Heritage (MACH). Click here for a programme of events in Margate. More here: www.heritageopendays.org.uk

Dave will be taking part in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most number of people riding a rollercoaster naked, whilst also raising funds for charity.

The existing record is 32 people, and was set on Nemesis at Alton Towers back in 2004.

The attempt – involving 40 people - will be on the Green Scream rollercoaster at Adventure Island on Sunday 8th August. The aim is to raise awareness and funds for the Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation's Bosom Pals appeal.

This appeal hopes to raise £750,000 to bring state-of-the-art imaging and diagnostic equipment to the Hospital's breast care unit. In addition to providing two digital mammography machines, the appeal will also fund the latest x-ray and biopsy equipment, enhancements to scanning machines and an improved environment for patients.

“My target is to raise £300, and every couple of pounds pledged really helps,” says Dave. “I’m also hoping that one day in the not too distant future we’ll be able to stage a new record attempt on the rebuilt Scenic Railway!”

To support Dave please go to www.justgiving.com/David-Collard

Right: Man of mystery. Dave Collard reveals all in Southend in August!

Following three years of discussions between Richard Ryan and Dreamland Trust Chairman Nick Laister, the deal was finally done earlier this year. The inspection and transport of the ride was organised by Jonathan Bryant and Bob Preedy of the Dreamland Trust.

The wheel was designed by Henri Corbiére, a French engineer, and built by ARM (UK) LTD. The design was state of the art at the time. The design was probably the first to have 'spherical motion' i.e. the whole wheel revolves around its base as well as the normal vertical plane, such that the gondolas travel in a gentle spiral path describing a sphere through space. This concept required new thinking in respect to the design and construction of the wheel.

In other news, the $5,000 donation by the American Coaster Enthusiasts continues to receive news coverage, including birminghamwired.co.uk and Attractions Management, and blog site Big News Margate.

"Happy birthday! 90 years is quite an achievement for a person let alone a rollercoaster. Well done to everyone who has played a part in the success of your Scenic Railway. We are honoured to be able to wish you all well on this great day.

"Dave Collard keeps us well informed here at Melbourne’s Luna Park with the progress of your historic amusement park due to open in 2012 and we are very excited as it draws closer. How lucky you are to have someone on board who has so much passion and enthusiasm for the project.

"So we say raise a glass to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the opening of Margate’s Scenic Railway and many more to come.

"Congratulations from all the team at Luna Park, Melbourne, Australia."

The Scenic Railway is the United Kingdom’s oldest roller coaster and will be the centrepiece in the world’s first amusement park of thrilling historic rides at Dreamland Margate, being developed by the Dreamland Trust. The Trust announced its plans for a spectacular new 21st Century tourist attraction at the Dreamland Amusement Park site in 2007. Work on the project, which will cost £12.5m, is expected to start later this year.

ACE was founded in 1978 as a not-for-profit, all volunteer club to foster and promote the conservation, appreciation, knowledge and enjoyment of the art of the classic wooden roller coaster and the contemporary steel coaster.

President of ACE, Mark Cole, says: “The Scenic Railway is one of very few coasters of this type in the world. Our support of the Dreamland Trust and their mission to return the coaster to operational status is similar to the work that ACE did to restore the oldest coaster in the world several years ago. Preservation is a major part of the formation and continued work of ACE. We look forward to returning to ride Scenic Railway in the not to distance future”.

Celebrate the Scenic Railway's 90th birthday tonight in Margate at the Lighthouse Bar from 6pm. Everybody is welcome!

The proposals were discussed at an Extraordinary Meeting last night (Thursday 13 May) with members agreeing to put £2.2 million of the council’s money into the project. This is already set out in the council’s existing budget. Members also gave approval for the council to borrow up to £1.8 million, if alternative funding cannot be found.

Cllr. Roger Latchford, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: “Bringing Dreamland back to life is a key regeneration project for Margate and something that has huge support amongst local people. Members across the council have also given it their backing, which is really encouraging. We all agree that it’s vital for this scheme to go ahead and that’s why we’ve committed enough money to ensure that happens. There’s a huge amount of external funding already on the table and there’s no guarantee we’ll have this much money again for many years. That’s why we need to move forward now to ensure that Dreamland can become a world centre for historic thrill rides, helping to bring jobs and thousands of visitors back into Margate.”

The Dreamland Trust's Project Director, Jonathan Bryant, welcomed the council's decision as an important step forward in the project partnership. He said: “It’s been a long haul, since the Dreamland Trust's original members began the Save Dreamland Campaign. We have a solid partnership with the council and the funders, the Heritage Lottery, the Sea Change fund, and with the current landowners, the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company. We look forward to making a start on the site as soon as the design plans are finalised.”

Funding for the project is coming from the Sea Change Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund, with applications submitted for additional money to English Heritage, Arts Council England, SEEDA and Thanet Works. Work should commence towards the end of 2010, with the park expected to open in summer 2012.

The build-up to the decision was covered by ITV Meridian News and the results of the meeting were reported at Kent Online.

Finally, the Thanet Tines reported that Margate residents had feared that Dreamland had been hit by another fire on Thursday, when fire engines surrounded the closed cinema. The newspaper explained that it was only a training exercise: "Cars slowed and shopkeepers and beach-goers watched as three fire engines arrived at the seafront site around 3pm. Residents were relieved though when fire fighters confirmed it was part of a training excercise."

Fireman Trevor West said: "Disused buildings like this are our main priority in this area and we wanted to test our ladders and response. "We are pleased to see the building is well within the reach of the high ladder at Thanet fire station."

Established in 1976 by the late John Carter, Carter's Royal Berkshire Steam Fair is the UK's premier vintage travelling fair operator, boasting many rides from the early 20th Century. The fair's many beautifully restored rides include Gallopers, Ark, Helter Skelter, Dodgems, Octopus, Victory Dive Bomber and Swingboats to name but a few. Many of these rides are similar to those that would have appeared at Dreamland through the years. The line-up will also feature a Wall of Death ride similar to that which appeared at Dreamland for many years.

The fair, which travels around London, Shire Counties and the South East, demonstrates the popularity of vintage rides and is a great day out for families and children of all ages. Entry is free with rides on a pay as you go basis.

Carters, with James Messham's Wall of Death, will be at Dreamland from 29 to 31 May.

Click here to download the full flyer in PDF format, including details of the Margate Meltdown event on 31 May.

The news is reported, in a slightly misleading way, in the Thanet Times. There is also a similar report on Kent News.

In other news, BBC Radio 4's You & Yours programme featured Dreamland this lunchtime. The piece started with Bob Preedy of the Dreamland Trust talking about the rides that the Trust has rescued over the past few years and about the Dreamland Margate project in general. This was followed by a studio debate on the merits of the Dreamland project, with Mark Fisher of Merlin Entertainments and heritage consultant Jason Wood.

You can hear this programme on the BBC's iPlayer for the next few days. Click here and go to Chapter 5.

Above: Winifred Robinson, presenter of You & Yours on BBC Radio 4.

Audience Development Officer, Jan Leandro, has issued a newsletter, updating our members and supporters on progress with the Dreamland Margate project. In the newsletter, Jan says: "Over the next four months much of the Trust's work will be in preparation of Heritage Lottery Funding bid, which will be submitted early August. Our activities and reports will feed into the bid to help release the second round of funding to bring the amusement park to fruition." Click here to view the newsletter.

The February edition of the official newsletter of the American Coaster Enthusiasts - ACE News - features Dreamland on its front page. Click here to view the front page and here to view the rest of the article.

A meeting of the Dreamland Trust board took place on Thursday 11 March. A Project Manager has now been appointed by the Trust to manage the amusement park development. The Board meeting was followed by a Dreamland Client Group meeting, also attended by Thanet District Council and Margate Renewal Partnership representatives and chaired by Dreamland Project Director Jonathan Bryant.

Six speakers will be talking on various aspects of the history and heritage of amusement parks, from their early twentieth-century origins to the demise of many in the early twenty-first century.

The speakers and their subjects are:

The rise of the seaside amusement park: international perspectives
John K Walton, University of the Basque Country

‘A fortune in a thrill!’ Early amusement parks in Britain
Josie Kane, University of Westminster

Battersea Park: plans to build, plans to forget
Ian Trowell, University of Sheffield

Last night of the fair: heritage, culture and closure of Southport’s Pleasureland
Anya Chapman, Liverpool Hope University

Delivering the dream: saving Britain's amusement park heritage and the reawakening of Margate's Dreamland
Nick Laister, RPS Planning and Development & The Dreamland Trust

Places can be booked online and, although the conference runs for three days, it is possible to book for the Thursday only. Click here for more details of the morning amusement parks session ('Fairgrounds for Debate' features on Thursday 15 April). IfA Conference website

"CASE ONE: Dreamland, Margate" is on pages 20 and 21, where architectural historian Allan Brodie starts the series with "the makings of a success story" as he briefly sets out the history of Dreamland, bringing it right up-to-date with the park's closure and Scenic Railway fire. The article states:

"Work is about to begin on the creation of the world's first heritage amusement park, due to open in 2012. Thirteen vintage rides have been collected and there are plans to obtain another 15." Magazine website

"I have worked on a number of heritage projects in the past but too many museums take themselves too seriously. I like this project because it is rooted in fun. I also believe a heritage project like this needs to be run as a business that stands on its own two feet, and that means making a place that people want to go to and will be willing to part with money to visit.” Full interview...

Margate Historical Society blog features a downloadable article about Dreamland in the 1930s.

Jonathan then joined his two new team members, Jan Leandro and Graham Ward at the Dreamland site as Nick Laister, Peter Beck and Nick Dermott showed the Trust's new staff around the Dreamland Cinema building and the amusement park to see the challenge that lies before them. They paused briefly for a photo opportunity (right).

Jonathan, Jan and Graham were then introduced to various key people in the Dreamland project with whom they will be working over the coming months, with a small welcome celebration in the evening.

More recently Jonathan project directed Birmingham’s Thinktank Science Centre and for the last five years has been member of British Waterways’ senior management team.

Chairman of The Dreamland Trust, Nick Laister, said: “I would like to welcome Jonathan to The Dreamland Trust. He has a reputation for action and for successfully bringing forward first-class heritage attractions delivered with commercial and creative flair. With Jonathan’s excellent track record, I am sure that we will be able to deliver a Dreamland that Margate can be proud of.”
 
The Dreamland Margate project is being led by The Dreamland Trust, a not-for-profit company. The Trust is developing an exciting theme park from the past on the Dreamland site, giving visitors to Margate an opportunity to enjoy spectacular historic amusement park rides. The rides will be built around the centre piece of the park, the Scenic Railway, the oldest surviving roller coaster in the UK and the fourth oldest in the world. Restoration work will also be carried out on the Grade II*-listed Dreamland cinema building, creating a major new visitor attraction of international significance.
 
Jonathan Bryant says: “I am inspired by all that The Dreamland Trust and its partners have achieved to date and am looking forward to bringing Dreamland back to life as a firm family favourite for the 21st century.”
 
Jonathan joins The Dreamland Trust in January 2010. Jonathan is currently interim chief executive at Hornsey Town Hall Creative Trust which is working with Haringey Council to refurbish and develop the 1930’s listed civic buildings and assembly hall.  From January his commitments to Dreamland and Hornsey Town Hall will run concurrently.
 
The Trust has also appointed Jan Leandro as Audience Development Officer and Graham Ward as Project Archivist, both of whom start in January 2010.

The news was covered today by UK attractions industry magazine Attractions Management and Us industry magazine Amusement Today.

Simon Whitehead has kindly donated this book to the Trust and Joyland Books is selling it on the Trust's behalf. 100% of the proceeds of this sale will go towards building the world's first amusement park of thrilling historic rides at Dreamland Margate.

This book is currently for sale as an auction item at the Joyland Books Secondhand Shop.

Click here to go straight to the auction. This auction closes on Sunday 20th December 2009. The current highest bid will be displayed here on a daily basis.

The short piece about Dreamland on ITV1's Meridian Tonight is currently viewable on the ITV.com website.

The Culture 24 website features the Dreamland news prominently. Attractions Management also featured the news, as did InterPark and Planning Magazine.

The £3.7m grant is also creating much excitement at the Save Dreamland Forum and at the Thanet Waves blog (which features the front cover of the Thanet Times, for those who are not in the area).

It was fitting that she announced the 2009 funding from Dreamland Margate, which is the biggest recipient of funding this year.

Nick Laister (Chair of The Dreamland Trust), Derek Harding (Margate Renewal Partnership), Peter Beck and Toby Hunter (Dreamland owners MTCRC) showed the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport around the Dreamland site and explained to her exactly what this funding will achieve.

Pictured to the right in front of the Scenic Railway (l to r): Nick Laister, Margaret Hodge MP, Roger Gale MP, Sandy Ezekiel, Derek Harding and Peter Beck.

There have been numerous reports of the visit and the £3.7m grant. Here are some of the most interesting:

Television:

The BBC's South East Today covered the news, including interviews with Nick Laister and Margaret Hodge MP and footage of the visit on both the lunchtime and evening news. Click here to view the lunchtime news and here to view the extended coverage in the evening news.

ITV1's Meridian News in the south east also gave extensive coverage in the evening news. Click here to view.

Radio:

BBC Radio 2 News covered the Dreamland story on Monday morning and BBC Radio Kent featured the news item prominently all day, generally based around interviews with Nick Laister and Derek Harding. Click here to listen to a lengthy item about Dreamland on the Andy Garland show, with listeners phoning in with their thoughts on the project and interviews with site owner Toby Hunter and Dreamland Trust chair Nick Laister.

Nick Laister also appeared on KMFM and Heart FM.

Internet:

The following websites carried news of Dreamland's cash injection: BBC News website, Kent News, Leisure Management Magazine and property website TheMoveChannel.

Newspapers:

There has been much coverage in the local and national press: Kent Online (including an audio recording of Margaret Hodge in which she talks about how much she likes the Dreamland proposals), The Isle of Thanet Gazette, a somewhat inaccurate report about Prince Charles setting up a vintage amusement park(!) in the Daily Express along with a similar report in the Daily Mail.

Magazines:

Building Magazine and Regeneration & Renewal Magazine.

Blogs:
 

The upbeat Nemesis Republic, the unceasingly defeatist blog Eastcliff Richard, some good wishes from Thanet Waves and a mention in Thanet Press among others.

The news is also featured on the Thanet District Council website and the DCMS website.

It will allow the Grade II-listed Scenic Railway roller coaster, built in 1920 and the oldest roller coaster in the UK, to be restored to its former glory. As well as securing the long-term future of one of the best-loved seaside structures in the country, the funding will allow the creation of the world’s first amusement park exclusively comprised of thrilling historic rides.
 
CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) Chief Executive Richard Simmons, who has led the project on behalf of the Government, commenting on the seven coastal resorts that will be receiving a grant, said:

“These seven projects all demonstrate how culture can be a catalyst to recapture the flair that these places enjoyed in their heyday. I especially like the plan to regenerate Dreamland in Margate, and showcase the country’s oldest rollercoaster, a listed scenic railway. It is ambitious projects like this, creating new national attractions, that can rekindle the English love affair with our seaside.”

The Dreamland Margate project is being led by The Dreamland Trust, a not-for-profit company born out of the Save Dreamland Campaign. The £3.7m grant will help to create an exciting theme park from the past on the Dreamland site, giving visitors the chance to enjoy spectacular historic amusement park rides. Many of these have been rescued by The Dreamland Trust from amusement parks across the UK over the past decade and many are the last surviving examples of their type.

“The Scenic Railway roller coaster has not operated since 2006 and was badly damaged by fire following an arson attack last year. This grant should now secure the future of this remarkable structure and allow work to start on rebuilding it next year, along with all the other rides that we have rescued.
 
“On behalf of the Dreamland Trust, I would like to thank our partners in the bid, and in particular Derek Harding of the Margate Renewal Partnership, Peter Beck and Toby Hunter of Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company and Nick Dermott of Thanet District Council. We simply could not have achieved this without them. I very much look forward to working with them over the coming months as we reinstate Dreamland at the heart of Margate."

The official announcement on the CABE website can be viewed here, which draws attention to the fact that Dreamland was the proposal that excited them the most.

The article is in the Autumn 2009 issue of English Heritage's Conservation Bulletin magazine. Author, EH's Planning and Development Regional Director for the South-East Region, Andy Brown, has positive words about the Dreamland project in the article, which is  called 'A creative future for seaside resorts: Margate, Turner and beyond':

"The rebirth of the Dreamland amusement park would compliment (sic) perfectly the Turner Contemporary in conserving the distinctive character of the place. In July the HLF awarded a development grant of £384,500 which may allow the flagship Grade II* listed cinema to become the gateway to the world’s first amusement park exclusively of historic rides...At the time of writing, a decision is awaited on the application to the Sea Change funding programme for a substantial investment in this project." Read in full...

In other news, the 6 November 2009 issue of Planning Magazine, the journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute, featured a major article on seaside regeneration, looking at how a mix of cultural regeneration and higher education is being increasingly seen as a way through the ongoing uncertainty over economic prospects and restrictions on public spending. The article, which is based around an interview with University of Sussex director Professor Fred Gray, includes a section on Margate, with reference to the Dreamland project.

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