Last minute call to object to the development of houses over Margate Caves

Thanet District Council - who own Margate Caves - has applied for planning permission to build houses on the site. The application says that the houses will not prevent the Caves re-opening, but my opinion is that if this development goes ahead it's almost impossible to see a viable future for the tourist attraction.

It takes only a minute or two to object to the planning application. If you can spare the time, and of course if you agree, we’d be grateful for your support. The deadline for Comments is Tuesday, the 27th.

You can view the application by going here

http://www.ukplanning.com/ukp/custom/forwards/selectandsearch.jsp?council=Thanet%20District%20Council&fwd=search/

And searching for Application No: F/TH/10/0546 (Can’t provide a direct link as it changes daily!)

If you haven't time, and would like to object, you can add your name and address and send the note below to thandi.zulu@thanet.gov.uk and a send a copy to cllr-Clive.hart@thanet.gov.uk and cllr-Linda.aldred@thanet.gov.uk .

Dear Thandi

I am fully in support of Claire Blackwell’s statement below. These houses should not be built here.

Best wishes

[name and address]

I believe that this proposal does nothing to safeguard the Margate Caves and almost completely extinguishes any prospect of them re-opening as a tourist attraction.

In addition, the houses proposed are of poor design, and would represent a discordant and derivative addition to the built environment immediately adjacent to a conservation area.

Many millions of pounds of public money have been invested in Margate’s future as a tourist resort, both at Turner Contemporary and Dreamland. We stand on the brink of a bright new future for the town, but tourism experts speak of the need for a ‘broad offer’ ie a range of attractions for the visitor to enjoy.

This proposal removes all of the Caves’ roadside presence, thus rendering them invisible from the highway. More importantly it takes any land that might be utilised for ancillary uses, such as a gift shop and café. It is generally accepted that secondary spend is vital to a tourist attraction’s viability, often accounting for at least 50% of turnover. The removal of land for this purpose effectively renders the Caves unviable as a business proposition. (The damp conditions in the Caves themselves preclude the creation of an underground shop/café.)

The proposal sees the loss of the original access tunnel (created in 1914 by tunnelling from the cellars of the Vicarage for incumbents to gain safety during air raids). Indeed it suggests that this tunnel is infilled. There is a suggestion that Forsters Entrance could be brought back into use, but details as to how this might be achieved are completely lacking.

Forsters Tunnel was filled with rubble and sealed off after the bombing of Holy Trinity Church and Northumberland House. Research suggests that it was last used in 1941, so we cannot know – without extensive surveying – whether it represents a suitable alternative entrance.

Crucially, there is no assurance that Forsters Entrance will be opened before the existing entrance is closed.

There is no provision for testing the ground under the proposed development for any unknown caves/voids. There are known caves across Northdown Road under Flint House so it is not inconceivable that there may be something south of the Vortigern Caves, under the proposed development site. Also it is known that there was at least one WW1 'dug-out' dug somewhere near the Caves – however, the exact location is unknown.

Adam Single, the Archaelogical Officer at Kent County Council, has reported that there is potential for iron age and Romano-British remains on the site. This is, therefore, a potentially important historical site even without considering the Vortigern Caves.

Lastly, this proposal flies in the face of the results of TDC’s own Margate Caves Consultation (2009). Over 90% of respondents opposed the sale and development of the site. Specific concerns voiced included infilling of any part of the Caves and the potential loss of a tourist attraction for the town. Representations included one from Margate Civic Society and a petition of 2,592 signatures.

The Margate Caves are an important and fascinating part of the town’s tourism offer. Their potential worth is far greater than that of seven poorly-designed houses.

Claire Blackwell
Trustee, Friends of the Shell Grotto

Margate Photofest Saturday 31st July & Sunday 1st August

Please see the attached flyer promoting Margate’s First Photographic Festival, exhibiting the work of professional and contemporary photographers which will be held on Saturday, 31 July and Sunday, 1 August from 11:00-17:00.

Venues are: The Community Pharmacy Gallery (Market Place), the Substation Project Space (Bilton Square), CRATE Galleries (1 and 2) (Bilton Square) and The Pie Factory (Broad Street).

The organisers are also in desperate need of volunteers to help look after the work during the show. Given that they have 5 venues they will need 25 people to watch the work. It is only a 3 hour shift and any one that helps will be invited to the private show.

If you can help, or require further information regarding the event, please contact mark@tomthumbtheatre.co.uk or ring 07982726109.

DISPLACEMENT- MARGATE HARBOUR ARM GALLERY

Helder Clara is a Portugese artist living in Margate, which has been his home for the last 14 months. His new work ‘Displacement’ explores the feelings of disconnected-ness, of being cut adrift, that are experienced if we live in one place, but have our origins in another.

Helder has used recycled materials and the knitting process to create an installation that addresses these conflicting feelings . Knitting, like most craft work, is a repetitive and contemplative activity allowing the artist to ponder over, to sift through, his feelings about being a stranger in another land. The recycled clothes he has used carry their own meaning: they are ‘cast off’, ‘unwanted’, but yet they hold potential for another owner.

Using jellyfish as symbolic representations, Helder creates an immersive environment in which we are invited to imagine ourselves cast adrift. Jellyfish are ancient primitive animals: they encompass both beauty and danger. We are fascinated when we see them, but keep our distance. At the mercy of currents, tides and the weather, they are a metaphor for the lives of immigrants: disconnected, adrift, displaced.

‘Displacement’ runs from Saturday 31st July to Sunday 8^th August, Margate Harbour Arm Gallery - open daily from 1pm to 6pm and 7pm – 10pm, Admission free.

Scaffolding erected at Arlington House

We noticed this week that scaffolding has been erected at Arlington House by the freeholders Freshwater.

We enquired at TDC what was going on and got the following reply.

The scaffolding is to enable test cleaning to be carried out on the
building and the subsequent application of stain to try to return the
panel finish as close to the original finish as possible. It would not
require a planning application for that work.

The owners also intend to use the scaffold to replace windows to one
flat to those proposed for the whole building as part of a planning
application for the refurbishment of the building and redevelopment of
the car park and shopping precinct. They will not change the windows
until after they have submitted the application. The application
design and access statement will include confirmation that this will
be a sample installation to show what is intended and enable
assessment of its suitability. It will also confirm that should
permission not be granted, the original windows will be reinstalled.
This will give everybody the ability to make an informed assessment of
their refurbishment proposals.

Online discussions reportedly from Freshwater tenants across the country here. They are one of the biggest property companies in the UK.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daejan_Holdings

Cliff Terrace the story continues

The press release from TDC in November 2008 stated that the renovation at Cliff Terrace, Cliftonville was a success story of the No Use Empty Scheme with Councillor Zita Wiltshire stating:

“Seeing this beautiful building finally brought back into use is perhaps one of the biggest achievements of our Empty Property Strategy to date. It’s a stunning property that’s well known to many local people and it’s excellent to see it now being used to house people again. Our programme of bringing empty properties back into use has achieved some considerable successes in the last few months, with 77 Eastern Esplanade further along the seafront in Cliftonville also being returned to use for shared ownership flats. It just goes to show the achievements that can be made when pressure is put on owners to bring their properties back into use, with 170 properties brought back into use with the help of the council over the last two years.”

However, as we've posted here, it would be a further 18 months when we paid a visit to the building in December 2009 and we posted photographs of the rear facade with no secure windows, no utilities in place, and there was clear evidence of water ingress. And most importantly the building was uninhabited and looking derelict again. It then took until around June 2010 for there to be people living in the end building of 14 and 15, whereas 12 and 13 remain empty.

We have recently learned through recent Freedom of Information requests that:

- No funds were actually allocated to the developers or the owners from the KCC No Use Empty Scheme.
- That the building currently has not got a building control completion certificate.

FOI Enquiry to KCC

FOI Enquiry to TDC

Yet 14 and 15 have people living in there.

So what's going on?

We also see from the Land Registry records no evidence of a property having sold on the whole of Cliff Terrace, Margate since 2006.

How much of a success and a flagship project is this site? It is standing half empty and really, seeing as it has no completion certificate should this have been removed from the threat of CPO and triumphed as a success?

Google's useful caching facility reveals the TDC press release from November 14th 2008 that for some reason is no longer active on their website. (Why do they do this messing around with URLs?)

Work completed on eyesore property
An eyesore property in Cliftonville that was threatened with compulsory purchase action by Thanet District Council, has been brought back into use.

Work has now been completed on the group of buildings at 12 – 15 Cliff Terrace, opposite the Lido, which had been empty for almost a decade. Cabinet Members agreed in July 2006 to take compulsory purchase action using funding from the “No Use Empty” campaign, which brings together Thanet, Dover, Shepway and Swale District Councils with Kent County Council. This brings extra resources to tackle the problem of long-term empty properties and enhances the Empty Property Strategy already in place in Thanet.

The owner was then informed of the council’s decision and told that the required work could be either be carried out immediately by him or the building could be sold to a developer with an agreed programme of work, but if neither happened, the property would be compulsorily purchased.

The owner chose to sell the property to a developer, with a planning application submitted in July 2007 to convert the former shop units on the ground floor and the accommodation above into 13 flats. Wards Renovation and Construction Ltd. have now completed the work.

Cllr. Zita Wiltshire, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “Seeing this beautiful building finally brought back into use is perhaps one of the biggest achievements of our Empty Property Strategy to date. It’s a stunning property that’s well known to many local people and it’s excellent to see it now being used to house people again. Our programme of bringing empty properties back into use has achieved some considerable successes in the last few months, with 77 Eastern Esplanade further along the seafront in Cliftonville also being returned to use for shared ownership flats. It just goes to show the achievements that can be made when pressure is put on owners to bring their properties back into use, with 170 properties brought back into use with the help of the council over the last two years.”

Dave Goulding, Property Development Manager, from Wards Renovation and Construction Ltd. said: “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved with this property. It’s been a very difficult project with a number of complications and the building was in a worse state of repair than had been first envisaged. This presented us with a number of challenges as work got underway, but the result has been excellent. We’ve been determined to keep as many features as we possibly could and to retain the exterior look of the property and we feel that we’ve been successful in achieving that.”

Publication date: 11 November, 2008
ENDS

As posted by marvellous Michael on the other side of the isle, permission has been applied for to build on the Margate Caves site. To download the files from Uk Planning, you will have to navigate to:

http://www.ukplanning.com/thanet

And search directly for planning application 10/0546 because the links keep changing from TDC.

The design and access statement states that advice has been sought from conservation and planning officers and it was decided to take design cues from the neighbouring application for Capital House that had at the time just been submitted.

The amount of dwellings proposed is 7. They state 'the land to be developed is to the south of the caves and does not encroach on land above the caves or preclude to the reopening of the caves in the future....The land above the caves will be secured with fencing and access retained from Trinity Square.'

In my opinion, these are truly uninspiring designs in very close proximity to one of Margate's main heritage sites and possible future attraction if it could be reopened in the future. It's an extremely sensitive site and deserves to be fully debated.

Here is the Archaeological Survey document from 2008

If you have an opinion or background information please comment here and also add comment to TDC planning for the application.

Middle of Hartsdown Park to be sold off and turned into a synthetic pitch

I'm a bit late on this one as I've been up to my ears in stuff of late. From the island's favourite bookshop, comes news of the disposal of a large are in the centre of Hartsdown Park and the creation of a fenced off artificial pitch:

Michael's post here:

http://thanetonline.blogspot.com/2010/07/middle-of-hartsdown-park-to-be-disposed.html

I've 'borrowed' Michael's image as I think he won't mind seeing as it's important to cover this. Its already been decided and planning permission to construct granted.

Did you know about this and what do you think?

Did this slip by the local press?

I believe there is a petition from parks users. Will post back here with details as soon as I get them.