In April 2003 , Dreamland reopened for the 2003 season, operated by showman David
Wallis, who supplemented the remaining rides (many had been sold off since
December 2002) with his own rides. The Scenic Railway was operated this year by an
informal organisation called the Scenic Railway Trust, and opened from May. By the
end of the year, operator David Collard confirmed to the Save Dreamland Campaign
that the ride made a profit, despite not being part of the wristband scheme operating
across the rest of the park.
During 2003, the Campaign was contacted by two theme park operators that
confirmed their interest in acquiring Dreamland and operating it as a going concern.
The first of these was Grevin & Cie, a Paris-based theme park operator that operated a
number of sites around Europe and contacted the Campaign in April. They visited the
site in April 2003 and made an offer to acquire the site. The owner refused this offer
because it was below residential and retail development value. The second operator
was the owner of Southend's successful Adventure Island amusement park, Philip
Miller, who contacted the Campaign in November 2003. Mr Miller had the park
independently valued by Humberts Leisure and made an offer for the park at that
valuation. The offer was refused by Dreamland Leisure because in their view it
seriously undervalued the site. This reinforced our belief that it was necessary for the
Local Plan to protect Dreamland; otherwise it was unlikely that a tourist attraction
operator would be able to compete with the values that were being sought for
residential or retail development. The operator of Dreamland in the 2003 season,
David Wallis, also told the Isle of Thanet Gazette on 4 April 2003 that he believed
Dreamland to be viable.
On 30 th November 2003, six fire engines attended a fire that had broken out on
the Waltzer ride at Dreamland. The ride was completely destroyed. By the end of the
Save Dreamland Campaign's first year, Dreamland had seen two fires, the Local Plan
had been amended in an unhelpful way, but he people of Margate had come together
and were not going to let this happen without a fight.
Nick Laister
Nick Laister (Chairman, The Dreamland Trust)
www.dreamlandrnargate.com
www.savedreamland.co.uk
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