The Reading Rooms, boutique bed and breakfast opens in Margate

After over 6 months of intensive renovation, The Reading Rooms is now actually open for business. Three guest rooms on the top three floors of a grade II listed classic Georgian townhouse overlook Hawley Square and Margate's rooftops to the sea. The house will soon be featured on a channel 4 programme with Ruth Watson about people starting their first hotel business.

Saving Britain's Past

Nice programme on the history of the system of listing buildings and conservation. Interesting section of the programme on how much tourism is created by historic buildings in Bath. Obviously on a much smaller scale, but Margate could, if it is careful, create a similar scaled down draw for the Old Town.



It is utterly shocking not only the destruction of swathes of fine buildings, but the replacement with utter rubbish. Personally, I'd like to see more good quality modern architectural proposals backed up with enforcement so that historic buildings that remain are not left to rot.

Homes Under The Hammer - Albert Terrace

While I was looking around for the edition of Homes Under the Hammer from a few years ago in which 49-50 Hawley Square, The ex-Conservative Club featured, I stumbled upon an edition on iplayer with a double fronted building on 6-7 Albert Terrace. "Local lads" Adrian and Dave buying a Grade II Listed Georgian seafront property, who announce later they were upset to not to be able to put their own UPVC windows in. Damian Cooke of Cooke and Co. sites the property as ideal for converting into flats. The before and after shots show panelling and historic coving disappearing and the programme stated more than once, that the building's use as a guest house is over. What??? Why would a prominent seafront location not be viable as a guest house? And why would Margate need any more bland, low quality flats that are essentially historic buildings with their hearts ripped out.

The video is available at the moment here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00cfwg0/Homes_Under_the_Hammer_Series_11_Episode_5/

Planning files are here:
http://www.ukplanning.com/ukp/showCaseFile.do;jsessionid=6DB675CB67C3359AF1C3B34C36AB3FB5.wam2?action=show&appType=planning%20folder&appNumber=F/TH/07/1433