Mechanical Memories Magazine

Dreamland
MARGATE
Save Dreamland Update December 2009
Last month I told you about the application we made to the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport for £4m grant funding to allow us to start work on building the world's
first amusement park of thrilling historic rides. Well, we did it!
In the most important landmark in our nearly seven years of campaigning to save
Dreamland, the Government announced on Monday that it has awarded £3.7m to the
project. This is the largest grant in the 2009 Sea Change programme, funded by DCMS
(Department for Culture Media and Sport), which is designed to invigorate England's
seaside towns through investment in culture and heritage. This is absolutely fantastic
news and means that we can now start drawing up the detailed plans to deliver this
world's first visitor attraction, and should be on site building the new attraction in June
next year.
The Scenic Railway roller coaster has not operated since 2006 and of course was
badly damaged by fire following an arson attack last year. This grant should now secure
the future of this remarkable structure and allow work to start on rebuilding it next year,
along with all the other rides that we have rescued. We could see scaffolding around the
Scenic in a matter of months!
The Dreamland Margate project is being led by The Dreamland Trust, a not-for-
profit company born out of the Save Dreamland Campaign. The £3.7m grant will help to
create an exciting theme park from the past on the Dreamland site, giving the chance to
enjoy spectacular historic amusement park rides. Many of these have been rescued by
the Save Dreamland Campaign from amusement parks across the UK over the past
decade and many are the last surviving examples of their type.
The rides will be built around the centre piece of the park, the Scenic Railway, the
oldest surviving roller coaster in the UK and the fourth oldest in the world. Restoration
work will also be carried out on the Grade II listed Dreamland cinema building, creating
a major new visitor attraction of international significance.
We also announced on 10th December that we have appointed Jonathan Bryant as
Project Director, who will be responsible for implementing the project. With a wealth of
experience in the heritage and leisure sectors and in business leadership, Jonathan,
who's originally from East London, established the UK's first brewing museum and
opened a working coal mine to the public in Staffordshire. In Scotland he led the City of
Dundee's renaissance Discovery project as chief executive and on the River Thames set
up Henley's River & Rowing Museum, which won the coveted Museum of the Year
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