The
latest news from the Save Dreamland Campaign:
Sunday, 29 August 2010
|
Dreamland guided tour |
| Dreamland is offering a
tour of the world famous amusement park site and a presentation about
its future as the world’s first heritage amusement park as part of
Margate Heritage Open Days next month. The guided tour and talk, which
is to be held on Friday 10th September, will take two hours, and the
event starts at Marine Terrace. To book call 01843 609270.
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
|

Click for larger image |
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Latest Dreamland Trust
newsletter available for download
Issue 6 of the
Dreamland Trust Newsletter
is now available to download. This provides an update on work on the
Dreamland Margate project. This has already been sent by email to all those who
have signed up for the Campaign. If you would like to get a copy of the
newsletter before it appears on this website, please join our
mailing list.
Monday, 27 July 2010
|
Naked
ambition! |
| Former Scenic Railway
brakeman and long-term Save Dreamland campaigner Dave Collard is
embarking on another rollercoaster ride. But the difference is that this
time he’ll be NAKED!
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! |
 |
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Latest Dreamland Trust
newsletter available for download
Issue 4 of the
Dreamland Trust Newsletter
is now available to download. This provides an update on work on the
Dreamland Margate project. This was sent by email a few days ago to all those
who have signed up for the Campaign. If you would like to get a copy of the
newsletter before it appears on this website, please join our
mailing list.
News of the American Coaster
Enthusiasts' donation towards the repairs of the Scenic Railway was
covered by
thisiskent and
Your Thanet.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
|
Dreamland Trust
acquires unique Big Wheel |
| The Dreamland Trust has
acquired the famous Southsea Corbiére Wheel. Built in 1956, it operated
initially at Coney Beach Amusement Park in Porthcawl before moving to
Southsea's Clarence Pier Amusement Park, where it spent most of its
life. It was acquired by Blackpool Illuminations Manager Richard Ryan in
2001, who restored it, and it then spent 2005 and 2006 operating at
Southport's Pleasureland. Following the closure of Pleasureland, the
ride went into storage in Blackpool.
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. |

Above: The unique Corbiere Wheel
pictured at Southport Pleasureland in 2005. |
| The Wheel
made its way from Blackpool, via four lorries, and was delivered to
Carter's Steam Fair's yard in Maidenhead on Tuesday 15th June where it
will be restored. It took twelve hours to load up and seven to unload.
It is hoped that the ride can be up and running for 2011. More
information on the Wheel can be found on the
Rides page at
www.dreamlandmargate.com.
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. |
Monday, 5 July 2010
BBC News
carries a report about the American Coaster Enthusiasts' donation towards
repairs on the Scenic Railway. This news is also covered on the
American Coaster
Enthusiasts' website,
Kent Online and
Heart FM.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
|
Happy Birthday from one Scenic Railway to another! |
| Brooke Pether, Operations
Manager at Melbourne's Luna Park (home of a 98-year-old Scenic Railway -
the oldest continuously operating roller coaster in the world) has sent
a birthday message to Dreamland Margate on the 90th birthday of our
Scenic Railway: "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. |
 |
"Other exciting events of 2012, our Park’s and our Scenic Railway’s
100th birthday falling on December 13th. What an exciting year for
historic wooden coasters it will be.
"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." |
Saturday, 3 July 2010
|
Scenic Railway at 90 |
| As the Scenic Railway reaches its 90th
birthday today, the Save Dreamland Campaign is pleased to announce that
the world's largest club of amusement ride enthusiasts, the American
Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), has donated $5,000 dollars towards the
restoration of the historic structure.
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. |
 |
Chairman of the Dreamland Trust Nick Laister said: “I would like to
thank all of the members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for this
very generous donation. This demonstrates the level of international
interest in the future of the Scenic Railway, which is a remarkable and
fragile survivor. We will ensure that this donation is used 100% on the
restoration of this roller coaster. I look forward to welcoming the
members of ACE to Dreamland Margate when the Scenic Railway reopens."
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! |
Thursday, 1 July 2010
|
Scenic at 90
The Scenic reaches the grand old
age of 90 this Saturday, 3rd July.
If you can, please join us in
raising a glass. All are welcome.
Saturday 3rd July, From 6pm
The Lighthouse Bar, Margate Harbour Arm
Find us
by clicking here... |
 |
|
Sunday, 6 June 2010
|
Carters Steam Fair at Dreamland "a
success" |
| Carters Steam Fair
visited Dreamland for three days over the Spring Bank Holiday and
brought Margate seafront back to life. The event was a taster for
the amusement park of vintage rides that will open at Dreamland in
2012 and was a big success.
Dreamland Trust Chairman Nick Laister comments: "If this was a taste
of things to come, then the signs are that there is a big appetite
for what we are proposing at Dreamland. Anna Carter, who owns
Carter's Steam Fair, told me that the Dreamland event was very much
a success, with the park busy on all three days, even in poor
weather. |
 |
"The Fair was pretty much running at capacity over the weekend. And
if there was any doubt about the event's success, Carters have
confirmed that they would like to come back and do it all again, but
next time for longer." "I
also spoke to some of the traders on the seafront about the Carters
event at Dreamland, and they said that this was the best weekend
they have had since Dreamland stopped operating as a permanent
amusement park in 2002. This is real evidence of the importance of
Dreamland to Margate as a resort. I am hopeful that with Dreamland
reopened as the first amusement park of thrilling historic rides
that Margate seafront will be transformed."
The event was covered by
BBC
News, the
Thanet Extra and the
Isle of Thanet Gazette.
There is also a
Photo Gallery of
Carters at Dreamland, hosted by
Joyland Books.
Latest Dreamland Trust newsletter
available for download
Issue 3 of the
Dreamland Trust Newsletter
is now available to download. This provides an update on work on the
Dreamland Margate project. This was sent by email to all those who have signed
up for the Campaign. If you would like to get a copy of the newsletter
before it appears on this website, please join our
mailing list.
|
Sunday, 23 May 2010
The visit of Carters Steam Fair to Dreamland
next weekend is previewed in the Isle of Thanet Gazette, with an interview with
owner Anna Carter.
Click here for article. A letter also appears in yesterday's
Kent on Saturday from
councillor David Green, who describes himself as "almost alone" in speaking
against Dreamland at the Council meeting on 13 May.
Friday, 14 May 2010
|
Council votes to provide
£4m to Dreamland |
| Plans to put up to £4
million into creating the world’s first amusement park of thrilling
historic rides at Dreamland in Margate have been agreed by Thanet
District Council. 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. |
 |
The £12.5 million project, which is jointly being taken forward by the
council, the Dreamland Trust and land owners the Margate Town Centre
Regeneration Company, will create a major new visitor attraction at
Dreamland. It would bring several hundred new jobs to the town, along
with half a million visitors. They would be able to enjoy historic
amusement park rides, many of which are the last surviving examples of
their type. These would be built around the listed Scenic Railway, the
UK’s oldest surviving wooden roller coaster, and the fourth oldest in
the world, which would be the centerpiece of the park. The scheme would
also see restoration work carried out on the grade II* listed Dreamland
cinema building.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."
|
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Friday 4 June – 10am to 12 noon – “I Dream of
Dreamland” Theme Park Canvas Workshop for families - £3 per person – held at Art
for All Workshop, Marine Terrace, Margate – to book call 07984 683267.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Thant District Council's Cabinet this week
approved a recommendation from officers to put £2.2m of the Council's money into
the Dreamland project, subject to the confirmation of full council. An
additional £1.8m may be borrowed for the project as funding from MTCRC is likely
to be delayed until market conditions improve and they can proceed with the
development. The Council has also agree to have the land transferred from MTCRC
to TDC to allow the project to proceed. TDC issued a
press release covering this news.
This news was covered by the press and blog
sites, including Kent on Saturday
and
BBC News.
Dreamland was also featured in the January 2010 edition of
Funworld Magazine, the Journal of IAAPA (the International Association
of Amusement Parks and Attractions). And a news item from the Thanet Extra
in March that we missed out reported that the latest figures from the theme park
industry are good news for Dreamland. the article stated:
"Theme parks in the UK are riding high
according to a survey of thrill-seeking Brits – and that’s good news for the
team behind plans to re-open Dreamland. Ground-breaking plans to transform the
desolate attraction into the world’s first heritage amusement park are on track,
after campaigners secured about £4million from the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport in November. It is hoped up to 700,000 people could ride on the Grade
II listed Scenic Railway and other historic rollercoasters every year – and new
research suggests that target could be achieved.
"Market research company Mintel says the number
of people visiting UK theme parks will top 14 million this year – a rise of
about two million in five years. A trend towards holidaying at home meant
three per cent of adults visited an amusement park for the first time in 2009.
Consumer spending at theme parks also rocketed. From £248 million in 2004 to
£315 million last year. This could rise to £374 million by 2014, Mintel
predicted."
Dreamland Trust Project Director, Jonathan
Bryant, was also quoted in the article, saying: "These figures give us
confidence that people will come to a regenerated Margate, especially with the
Turner Contemporary that will open a year before Dreamland and will be a hugely
complementary attraction.”
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
|
Dreamland to open for
three days in May |
| The famous
Carters Steam Fair
will open at Dreamland Margate for three days this Spring Bank Holiday.
Organised in association with the Dreamland Trust, this appearance is
designed as a taster to the amusement park of thrilling historic rides
that will be opening at Dreamland in 2012.
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. |
 |
Thanet
District Council issues Dreamland press release |
| Thanet
District Council has issued a press release describing Dreamland as a
"once in a decade opportunity". The release is in advance of a report
that is going to Cabinet on 29 April, seeking formal support for
additional funding and for the acquisition of the Dreamland site.
Click here for the press release and
here for the Cabinet report.
The news is reported, in a slightly
misleading way, in the
Thanet Times. There is also a similar report on
Kent News. |
Monday, 26 April 2010
Kent Online today reports that Thanet District Council is threatening
legal action if the Dreamland site is not handed over by July 2010.
Friday, 23 April 2010
|
More funding for Dreamland |
| The
Thanet
Works Board agreed today to a grant of £300,000 towards
Dreamland. Thanet Works is a new
initiative aiming to help people into training, education and/or work.
It aims to help people, particularly those of school age and not in
education, employment or training, as well as those on certain
out-of-work benefits. It also aims to help those who want to improve
their skills or gain qualifications. The money is coming from central
government to Thanet District Council, with £4.098 million from the
Working Neighbourhoods Fund. 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. |
Monday, 19 April 2010
Dreamland is featured on the
BBC News
website today as the Dreamland Trust's rides coordinator, Bob Preedy, updates
the media on current work. Saturday's
Kent on Saturday newspaper
featured a critical letter on the vision for Dreamland, which unfortunately did
not actually offer any suggestions on how the vision could be improved.
The Isle of Thanet Gazette featured a
news item on the Dreamland Trust's successful Quadrophenia event last week,
including the following extract:
Mods flooded the Carlton
Cinema in Westgate for a screening of Quadrophenia as Thanet
returned to its 1960s heyday.
Dozens of scooters
surrounded the cinema where Paolo Hewitt, biographer of Paul
Weller and the Small Faces, and Roger K Burton, costume
stylist of Quadrophenia, presented the film on Easter
Saturday.
They were questioned by the
audience and spoke after the film's screening about the
impact it had on youngsters at the time.
The Ronnie Lane mobile
studio, the tiny caravan where The Who recorded the
soundtrack to the film, was parked outside the cinema.
There was also a Dreamland
exhibition in the entrance of the cinema, which showed paper
cuttings from the time of the rivalry between mods and
rockers, and many photos of the fun park's past.
The event was not exclusive
to those who were the original mods in the 1960s; many young
people also attended the event.
|
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Dreamland Trust newsletter
available for download
Issue 2 of the
Dreamland Trust Newsletter
is now available to download. This provides an update on work on the
Dreamland Margate project. If you would like to get a copy of the newsletter
before it appears on this website, please join our
mailing list.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
|
Dreamland in Independent
on Sunday |
| Dreamland features heavily in an
article on Britain's disappearing amusement park heritage in today's
Independent on Sunday. The article is linked to a conference on
amusement park history in Southport this coming Thursday, at which
Dreamland Trust Chairman Nick Laister will be speaking about the
Dreamland project. |
 |
A number of articles have appeared in newspapers following Dreamland
Trust Project Director Jonathan Bryant's recent talk to the Thanet Local
Board at the Margate Media Centre, including
Kent on Saturday and
Your Thanet. |
Friday, 2 April 2010
|
Joyland Books celebrates
10 years! |
| The Save Dreamland Campaign was
launched in 2003 by Joyland Books.
Since 2003, Joyland Books has hosted the Save Dreamland website and has
played a central role in raising the profile of the campaign. Joyland
celebrates its 10th anniversary this month with a series of
light-hearted and often Dreamland-related articles on the amusement park
nostalgia website themagiceye.
Click here
to join in the celebrations... |
|
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Quadrophenia Update: Limited number of
tickets now available for the Quadrophenia event on Saturday, 3 April, 2010.
Booking is highly recommended through the Carlton Cinema, Westgate on 01843
832019.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
|
Robert Preedy joins the Dreamland Trust |
| Robert Preedy, the author
of Roller Coasters: Their
Amazing History and
Roller Coasters: Shake, Rattle and Roll, has joined the
Dreamland Trust as Specialist Rides Coordinator. Robert, who has also
written on subjects such as cinemas, local history and the
Batley Variety Club,
until recently owned a cinema and radio station in Yorkshire, but has
now moved permanently to Kent. His role at Dreamland will be to research
the history of the rides we have acquired and to source and acquire
additional historical rides from around the world for inclusion in the
park. Dreamland Trust chairman Nick Laister says: "Robert brings with
him a wealth of knowledge of amusement parks and their rides from a
lifetime of research into the subject. I am pleased to welcome him to
the Trust." |
 |
|
Dreamland Team Newsletter,
Issue 1 (March 2010)
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. |
Saturday, 13 March 2010
|
Retro Cars Magazine and
update |
| Dreamland Margate
features in the April edition of
Retro Cars Magazine. The
article talks about Dreamland's decline and the proposals to reopen it
as an amusement park of thrilling historic rides. Click on the image to
the right for a larger version.
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. |
 |
Thursday, 4 March 2010
From the Thanet and East Kent Insider
(the weekly business bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber):
Dreamland Wakes Up
The new Dreamland Trust
Project Director, Jonathan Bryant, will be outlining plans
to restore Dreamland as “the world's first heritage
amusement park” at a Thanet & East Kent Chamber business
breakfast on Wednesday 24th March 2010. With the project
already underway following the award last November of £3.7m
by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, Jonathan will
outline the latest details that promise to give a huge boost
to in-bound tourism in Thanet. Widely viewed as the ideal
man for the job, Jonathan brings with him senior management
experience at Birmingham’s Thinktank Science Museum, the
Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, Dundee’s Contemporary Art
Gallery and a host of community initiatives. He is convinced
that the new Dreamland should be run ‘as a business that
stands on its own two feet’. Local businesses are set to
benefit significantly from the increased footfall and raised
profile. The Dreamland Wakes Up business breakfast will
start at 0730 hrs at the Fayreness Hotel, Kingsgate, near
Broadstairs. Tickets cost £12.00 for Chamber members and
£15.00 for non-members. Payment is accepted in cash or by
cheque on the door. To book a place, email
manager@tekc.co.uk
with the subject line ‘Dreamland Breakfast’ and the names of
those wishing to attend. Non-members should give full
company contact details.
|
Sunday, 28 February 2010
The Something for the Weekend on 3 April event
is previewed in
Kent News.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
UPDATED
Easter event announced
The Dreamland Trust has today announced a
special event for the Easter weekend:

Click on the image below for a larger PDF version.

Monday, 15 February 2010
BBC Radio Kent broadcast a Dreamland
feature on the Breakfast show this morning with interviews with the Dreamland
Trust's Audience Development Officer Jan Leandro and Project Archivist Graham
Ward. Listen (.wav file,
60MB). It also appears on the
BBC Kent website. BBC TV South East also featured an interview
with Graham Ward on the evening news at 18.30.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Dreamland is pictured in an
article in today's Sun newspaper focussing on the decline of Margate.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
A number of meetings have taken place over the
past few weeks as plans for Dreamland Margate move forward, the most significant
of which was a Client Group meeting held in London on 21 January 2010, attended
by Nick Laister, Susan Marsh and Jonathan Bryant on behalf of the Dreamland
Trust. Also in attendance was Derek Harding of Margate Renewal Partnership, Toby
Hunter and Peter Beck of landowners MTCRC and Nick Dermott of Thanet District
Council.
The Isle of Thanet Gazette featured a
small article on the Dreamland Trust's new staff getting to work:
Dreamland team now at work
The team leading the project
to reopen Dreamland, audience development officer Jan
Leandro and archivist Graham Ward have started work in
Margate, with a project director working from London.
Mrs Leandro said:
"Dreamland Margate is developing a programme of public
events, celebrating Dreamland's heritage and youth culture."
For more information visit
www.dreamlandmargate.com
|
Sunday, 24 January 2010
|
Conference on amusement
park history announced |
| This year's
Institute for Archaeologists Conference will feature an entire morning
session devoted to amusement park heritage, and Dreamland will feature
heavily. Hosted by Jason Wood, who has provided heritage advice to The
Dreamland Trust for a number of years, the session is called
'Fairgrounds for Debate: celebrating the heritage of amusement parks'
and will run from 9.45 to 12.45 on Thursday 15 April at the Southport
Theatre & Convention Centre at Southport, Merseyside.
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: |
 |
Opening remarks
Jason Wood, Heritage Consultancy Services
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 |
Saturday, 16 January 2010
|
Coast magazine highlights
Dreamland |
| The February
issue of Coast
magazine features Dreamland prominently, as the first in a new series
called 'Save Our Seaside'. The Editor's message on Page 7 explains:
"...this month we are launching our Save Our Seaside campaign (or SOS
for short) to highlight the plight of coastal buildings that have fallen
on hard times. The campaign starts on page 20, with the inspiring story
of Margate's Dreamland pleasure park, rescued by campaigners. They've
proved that grass roots lobbying can change things for the
better. Let's see what difference we can make."
"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 |
 |
Saturday, 19 December 2009
|
First interview with
Dreamland project director |
| New Dreamland
Trust project director Jonathan Bryant has given his first interview in
this week's Thanet Times. In the interview he sets out his vision for
the park:
"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. |

Dreamland
Trust Project Director Jonathan Bryant (right), pictured with Trust
chairman Nick Laister and honorary secretary Susan Marsh. |
Saturday, 12 December 2009
|
New Dreamland project director
starts work |
| Work on the
world's first amusement park of thrilling historic rides took a leap
forward on Thursday with new Dreamland Trust Project Director Jonathan
Bryant on his first official meetings in Margate in his new role.
Jonathan joined Nick Laister, Sarah Vickery and Susan Marsh in
representing The Dreamland Trust at the first Client Group meeting since
his appointment. Also attending the meeting were Derek Harding of
Margate Renewal Partnership, Peter Beck of site owners MTCRC and Nick
Dermott of Thanet District Council.
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. |

Ready for the challenge: Dreamland
Trust Project Director Jonathan Bryant (right) in Dreamland with two members of
his new team, Audience Development Officer Jan Leandro and Project
Archivist Graham Ward. (Click for larger version). |
Thursday, 10 December 2009
|
The Dreamland Trust
appoints Project Director |
The Dreamland Trust today
announces the appointment of Jonathan Bryant as its Project Director.
Jonathan will be responsible for implementing the world’s first
amusement park of thrilling historic rides at Dreamland Margate
following the award of grant funding from Heritage Lottery and the
Government’s Sea Change programme.
With a wealth of experience in the heritage and leisure sectors and in
business leadership, Jonathan, who’s originally from East London,
established the UK’s first brewing museum and opened a working coal mine
to the public in Staffordshire. In Scotland he led the City of Dundee’s
renaissance Discovery project as chief executive and on the River Thames
set up Henley’s River & Rowing Museum, which won the coveted Museum of
the Year Award and was short listed for the Stirling Prize for the work
of its architect David Chipperfield – also project architect for
Margate’s Turner Contemporary.
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. |
 |
| He is also an active
volunteer in the cultural & heritage sector and has served as chairman
of the Association of Independent Museums, trustee and chairman of
Dundee’s contemporary art gallery, trustee of Jaguar Daimler Heritage
Trust and, currently, chairman of Watermen’s Hall Preservation Trust in
London. He has one daughter aged six and is a keen cinema goer, walker
and motorcyclist. 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. |
Monday, 7 December 2009
|
Auction of rare book for
The Dreamland Trust |
| One of the finest books written on the
subject of a single amusement park and now very rare is the
glossy hardback
Blackpool Pleasure Beach: A Century of Fun by Peter Bennett,
published in 1996 to celebrate 100 years of the park. The Pleasure Beach
is also the source of some of the rides currently in storage for the
Dreamland Margate project, such as the Whip, Junior Whip and Astro
Swirl, the first meteorite ride to operate in a UK amusement park.
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. |

Blackpool Pleasure Beach - A Century of
Fun |
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Arts Council England, one of the Dreamland
Trust's partners in the Dreamland development, features the news of Dreamland's
Sea Change success
prominently on its website, including a very supportive quote from Pam
Alexander, Chief Executive of SEEDA.
Click here to
view.
The Stage, the UK's leading newspaper
for theatre and the performing arts, has given a major splash to Dreamland this
week.
Click here to view the online article.
The article also featured in the print edition. Theme park industry magazine
Park World also covers the story.
Other websites covering the news this week
include news website
Banmoco,
Kent Coastal Network, Dutch theme park website
Theme Park Vision and
Architects Journal,
which features an article called 'Top 5: Rollercoaster Architecture', inspired
by the Dreamland news! There is also a photo feature on
urban75.org.
Monday, 23 November 2009
UPDATED
| News coverage of the £3.7m grant
continues, with a major double page spread in Friday's Isle of Thanet
Gazette. There has also been further
blog discussion
here. |
Saturday, 21 November 2009
| The news of Dreamland's funding
appears in Kent on Saturday
and you can watch Margaret Hodge being shown around the Dreamland site
by Nick Laister and Sandy Ezekiel on
YourKentTV. |
 |
Friday, 20 November 2009
|
More
Dreamland in the media! |
| News of the £3.7m grant
has continued to interest local and national media.
Your Thanet featured an
article about the grant, with an interview with Margaret Hodge in which
she revealed her memories of childhood visits to Dreamland and rides on
the Scenic Railway! Click on the image to the right for a larger
version. 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).
|
 |
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
UPDATED
|
Dreamland in the media! |
| Margaret Hodge MP
visited Margate yesterday to announce the seven resorts that are to
benefit from this year's Sea Change funding.
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: |

Click on the image above to view a
larger version. Photograph:
Thanet District Council |
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.
|
 |
| Whilst the media
was at Dreamland, some equally important discussions were taking place
at the Margate Media Centre as potential candidates for the
Audience Development Officer
role were interviewed by Dreamland Trustees Sarah Vickery, Mandy Wilkins
and Neil Sparkes, with Nick Dermott from Thanet District Council also in
attendance. |
Monday, 16 November 2009
|
Dreamland Margate awarded £3.7m by UK
Government |
| In the most
important landmark in the six-year campaign to save Dreamland Margate,
the Government has today announced that it has awarded £3.7m to the
project. This is the largest grant in the 2009 Sea Change programme,
funded by DCMS (Department for Culture Media and Sport), which is
designed to invigorate England’s seaside towns through investment in
culture and heritage.
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 Rt. Hon Margaret Hodge MBE is welcomed to
Dreamland by Nick Laister, chair of the Dreamland Trust. Thanet District
Council Leader Sandy Ezekiel looks on. Click on the image to view larger
photograph. Photograph: Thanet
District Council
 |
The rides will be built around the centrepiece 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.
Nick Laister, who set up the campaign to save Dreamland and is now chair
of The Dreamland Trust, said: "This is fantastic news and is yet another
very positive step to delivering this world's first visitor attraction.
We are very pleased that CABE 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.
“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. |
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
| As the tension mounts for
the results of Dreamland's application for £4m of funding from the
Government's Sea Change programme (an announcement is expected
shortly), one of the organisations behind the programme, English
Heritage, has published an article about Margate being on the verge of a
"breakthrough" in heritage-based regeneration.
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... |

Conservation Bulletin: Dreamland Margate awaits Sea Change news |
Sunday, 8 November 2009
| Second round interviews
for the post of Project Director for Dreamland Margate took place
at the Margate Media Centre on 3 November 2009. The Dreamland Trust will
be making an announcement over the next couple of weeks regarding this
post. 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.
Read Page 1 | Read Page 2 |
 |
Sunday, 1 November 2009
First round interviews for the post of
Project Director for the Dreamland Trust took place at the Margate Media
Centre on 27 and 28 November 2009. The interview panel was made up of Nick
Laister, Sarah Vickery and Neil Sparkes of the Dreamland Trust and Derek Harding
of the Margate Renewal Partnership. An announcement is expected to be made
shortly.
The Thanet Times of 27 October 2009
featured a small item of news of a funfair returning to Dreamland for one night
only.
News Archives
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009 - Heritage Lottery funding secured
June 2009 - Junior Whip acquired and Urban Panel report
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009 - heritage amusement park plans launched
January/February 2009
November/December 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008 - Scenic Railway
Fire
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