Much of the work is being
undertaken by a range of
organisations, including Thanet
District Council and the Margate
Renewal Partnership, which is
investing over £35 million in
funding to bring forward key
redevelopment schemes.
One such project focuses on the
town’s High Street, hit by the loss
of anchor store Marks and Spencer,
when it moved to a new town centre
development at Westwood Cross
in the centre of Thanet. Now the
building and land nearby has
been purchased by Thanet District
Council using funding from
SEEDA (South East of England
Development Agency).
Recognising the need for modern
retailing space, the property will
be used for a mixed development,
incorporating the much needed
element of modern retail, together
with commercial floor space and
residential use, bringing people
back to live in the centre of Margate.
With the prospect of a fast rail link
into the area by 2009 and land
values beginning to rise rapidly,
Margate is a town that’s attracting
national interest from the media,
investors and businesses.
Contact:
Tel: 01843 577 000
www.thanet.gov.uk
www.thisismargate.co.uk
It’s also a town that’s undergoing
a rapid transformation which will
see Margate building on its long
tradition of culture and creativity.
The first seaside resort in the
country, by the early nineteenth
century, Margate was home to
one of England’s greatest landscape
and marine artists, Joseph Mallord
William Turner.
The town inspired many of his most
famous works and his name will live
on at the new Turner Contemporary,
an international venue for visual
arts, due to open in Margate in 2010.
Designed by Stirling Prize winning
architect David Chipperfield, the
stunning building will be clad in
white opaque glass and will offer
visitors the panoramic views out to
sea that first inspired Turner. It is
key for Kent County Council’s vision
for Margate’s regeneration.
Building on the arrival of Turner
Contemporary, work is already
underway to transform Margate
Old Town, with its wealth of historic
buildings from the Georgian and
Victorian period, into a vibrant
cultural quarter.
The area is already home to a
number of niche shops, workshops
and galleries, complimented by
seafront restaurants and cafés and
residential development centred
around the seafront piazza.
district
focus
131
David Chipperfield design for Turner
Contemporary, which will celebrate
JMW Turners association with Margate.
Margate Main Sands, one of the country’s
top beaches, still draws thousands of
visitors each year
Thanet District Council
Margate is a name that’s well known as one of the country’s
most popular and best-loved seaside resorts.