Councillor Wise would like to paint Margate Lighthouse in stripes for £10k

Feature on Cllr Martin Wise's idea to spend £10k painting the lighthouse blue and white stripes. Amazing what gets PRd ain't it!

Perhaps sorting out the seaweed smell would help the Harbour Arm.

Some more dog waste bins from the main sands down to the Lido might help. How about some litter bins and a general clean up of the area round the Lido?

Article in today's Daily Wail:

It is known as one of the South East's most tired seaside resorts, but could a blue and white striped lighthouse cheer it up?

A Tory councillor has suggested the paint job to help improve the image of Margate in Kent and attract more visitors to the once-premier beach resort.

Martin Wise said he wants to spend £10,000 on decorating the 85ft lighthouse 'to make it feel more like the seaside'.

He has suggested a traditional red and white stripe, but blue and white has also been put forward to represent the town's football team, Margate FC.

'It is a deprived area and we just want to put a smile on people's faces,' said Mr Wise.

'We want to enhance the area and put it back on the map.'

But the sandy bays of Margate are often at the mercy of the North Sea and the exposed lighthouse would need frequent retouches to its colourful exterior, argue residents.

Local Labour councillor Clive Hart has gone one step further, labelling the plans a 'waste of money' and saying the funds could be better spent elsewhere.

Once one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK, Margate has been struck by a series of unfortunate incidents over the past few years, sending already-diminishing tourist numbers plummeting further.

Its Dreamland amusement park has, on many occasions, been threatened with closure despite its posession of the world's oldest wooden rollercoaster.

In 2003, disaster struck when a fire tore through two seaside arcades, destroying them and leaving a great hole in the buildings along the front just before the Easter season.

Then in 2008 another iconic attraction, the Grade II Listed Scenic Railway, was severely damaged by a fire.

However, things are looking up with the alternative art gallery Turner Contemporary due to open on the seafront in 2011.

Locals hope it will do for Margate what the Tate gallery has done for St Ives in Cornwall. It is certainly already inspiring regeneration projects.

'There has been a lot of regeneration,' said Mr Wise. 'We want to be like the European resorts where people are always very proud of making the place look smart.'

Local businesses also received another boost this month when Margate was voted joint second in a poll of Britain's best beaches.

Its nine blue flag beaches saw it tie with Blackpool, coming second only to Tresco beach in the Isles of Scilly.