Progress has been made on key projects as part of a multi-million upgrade of a "miserable" UK seaside town. Residents they wanted to see Margate's cultural assets safeguarded. Overall, the area is "pretty miserable at the moment", Patricia Hinde, 69, said, adding she would like to see more . Locals also said the high street is not what it once was, and fewer jobs are available. However, officials say that £ 22.2 million in improvements will be delivered by 2026 as part of the "".
There is also £6.3 million from the "Margate Levelling Up" pot. Boris Johnson's government announced in 2019 that 101 neglected English towns would share funding from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. Now, Thanet District Council has said that progress is being made on regeneration projects. Work has started and is expected to be completed in the autumn after delays to the Margate Digital project.
Isle of Thanet News reports that the first students at a digital and education campus with studios, galleries, café, and workshops in the former Marks and Spencers building in Margate, which has been empty since 2017, are expected to enrol in courses starting in Autumn 2025.
The facility will include 2,000 square metres of training space, focusing on digital technology. The property is owned in a joint venture between Thanet Council and Homes England and rented to EKC Group on a 125-year-long peppercorn rent lease.
The scheme was scheduled to be completed last year.
In addition, a proposal to build two new buildings to house accessible toilets and baby changing facilities at Margate Main Sands has been approved.
The project will link the new facilities to the long-closed underground toilets on Marine Drive.
The works are estimated to cost £358,000, and they are thought to start this year. The new toilets are expected to open before the summer season in 2026.
The Margate Creative Land Trust has bought the former St George's Garage site in Cliftonville. This mock Tudor building is set to be transformed into a mixed-use studio space.
The more than 110-year-old Winter Gardens in Margate closed in August 2022.
In December, Thanet council said it was "in detailed external discussions" over the venue's future.
During its halcyon years, it hosted iconic acts like the Beatles and Laurel and Hardy.
Local reports suggest that reports describing recommendations for the Margate Winter Gardens and the Port of Ramsgate Infrastructure Project will be presented to councillors for consideration in the spring.
A projected reopening date for Margate's 245-year-old Theatre Royal, which was shut in 2022, is May 2027.
Further, councillors agreed last year to ringfence £350,000 for a skatepark at a former putting green at Ethelbert Terrace in Cliftonville.
Moreover, Walpole Bay is set for a "makeover". Stevie, a resident, told the Express during our visit: "It would be good to have some facilities down there because it's become more popular with local people.
"There are a lot of cold water swimmers."
