New Dreamland For Margate

Thanet District Council is due to serve a Compulsory Purchase Order on the Dreamland site in Margate, as part of a multi-million pound bid to create a new and unique visitor attraction for the town.

It is a legal function which gives some organisations and local authorities the power to take over the land without the consent of the owner.

The council, which is working in partnership with the Dreamland Trust, has been in talks with the landowners, the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, since last year, but an agreement on terms has not yet been reached.

Millions of pounds have already been invested by the council, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Heritage Lottery Fund into the project.

It is hoped the new Dreamland will become the world's first heritage amusment park, full of thrilling historic rides, classic sideshows, vintage cafes, restaurants, special events and gardens.

Chief Executive Richard Samuel said: "We are determined to continue the regeneration of Margate, which has already seen an enormous boost with the opening of Turner Contemporary, with the project to open a world first at Dreamland.

"Because of the importance of this site to the town’s future, we need to take action to ensure that the heritage amusement park goes ahead. This is not something we wanted to do, but the failure of the owners to reach a sensible agreement has left us with no choice but to take compulsory purchase action.

"We have been in negotiations for many months now and we feel that we have been generous to a fault. We are fully committed to supporting the Dreamland Trust in making this happen and that’s why we’re taking this action."