If you care about the progress that Margate has made in the past few years, hopefully you’ll already understand what a terrible idea the planned Tesco superstore is.

Please take the time to write an email and demand a public enquiry into this poor decision. Thanks to the No Tesco Superstore campaign here’s more information:

If you would like a better future for Margate we need to make sure there is a public enquiry of this application. Do this this by emailing The National Planning Casework Unit at npcu@gowm.gsi.gov.uk and copy also to Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at eric.pickles@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Quoting application ref F/TH/10/1061 and giving your name and address.

Suggested reasons could be:
- The effect the development will have on traffic in town.
- The impact the development will have on local businesses.
- The scale of the proposed store is disproportionate for this prominent seafront location.

Here are some answers to questions you might have about the Arlington site:
Who owns the Arlington Site?
The freehold of the land is held by Thanet District Council. The company Freshwater have a long lease of 199 years granted in 1961. Thanet District Council as an Authority can require Freshwater to maintain and repair their building.

Have Tesco promised to renovate Arlington House?
No!
The planning application is from Freshwater, not Tesco.
Many people are under the impression that Tesco will pay for the refurbishment and redevelopment of Arlington House. Actually, Tesco has promised nothing.

Who are Freshwater?
Freshwater is a family business. They are a large worldwide property investment company. They own large amount of property in Central London in prime locations such as Shaftsbury avenue as well as all over the world.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-924128-who-really-owns-london.do

Since Freshwater bought Arlington House, they have not only failed to maintain the building, but have actively evicted businesses and made changes to make the shops unviable. They are incredibly rich, yet they have brought our town into disrepute by the continued neglect of the Arlington site.
So can we rely on Freshwater to improve things for residents or our town?
Probably not!

Won’t it be good to have a supermarket at Arlington?
It could be good to have a small supermarket where local people could shop. Many people are under the false impression that what is proposed is small Tesco Metro sized store. But in fact it is a superstore as big as 2 football pitches (82,000 square feet) so most people will come by car. This is the first proposed seafront superstore that has been approved in the UK. This will bring thousands of extra cars, vans and lorries on the seafront every day and will bring a loss in trade to local shops. The council’s own report predicts almost 17,000 extra vehicle movements on a Friday and Saturday. The traffic report the applicant conducted was carried out in October out of season, before The Turner Contemporary opened. Turner was not accounted for, neither was a future Dreamland or a regenerated Margate.

Will the seafront look better?
No. Tesco is not offering to redevelop the seafront part of the site. Only outline planning has been submitted for a potential hotel at the front. With no commitment from an investor the shops at the front will be demolished to avoid business rates. Margate seafront will have a derelict boarded up site for decades.
Is this any better than we have now? It could look even worse!

So will Margate get a contribution?
When big projects are granted, developers are usually asked to put something back into the area in return. This is called a Section 106 agreement.
Usually, for a store this size, Tesco would be asked to contribute millions.
In this case, all that is being offered is “improvements” to the roundabout at Station Green – which means Freshwater will pay for the changes they need to make in order to get lorries for the Superstore into All Saints Avenue. Not exactly a generous gift to the community!
Arlington House looks a mess. Won’t it be improved if Tesco pay for it?
Tesco has not offered to pay for any improvements to Arlington house.
The “improvements” promised by Freshwater will be paid for by Arlington House residents. And even then, they might not be able to deliver. Freshwater cannot make residents change their windows. It will be a patchwork of old and new. The building will actually look worse than it does now.

Will Tesco bring prosperity and jobs to Margate?
Large superstores kill more local business and jobs than they create.
Supermarket chains control more than 80% of the grocery market and yet they employ only 50% more staff than small shops. Small shops are better for employment than having a superstore. To increase local employment would be better off encouraging smaller local shops not bringing in a Superstore to kill them.
Freshwater have predicted an estimated 30% loss of business to existing trade (20% Westwood Cross, 10% the centre of Margate). Our local shops are already struggling, with Margate at the top of the chart with 37.4% shops lying vacant. Shall we say it again? Superstores cause more loss of jobs and wealth in an area than they create. See this report for details of community impacts:

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/good_neighbours_community.pdf

Does a superstore bring money to the area?
No, it will take money out of the area. Profits from Superstores go to shareholders worldwide. Local shops spend their profits back into the local economy. See report from FoE above.

If Freshwater doesn’t get permission will the site remain an eyesore?
Not necessarily. There are alternatives.
For example, TDC could serve Freshwater with a repairs notice, obliging them to un-board and renovate the retail units, carry out repairs etc.
If Freshwater had to spend money on the site, they would think of a profitable scheme.
A smaller supermarket could bring shoppers to the arcade. The carpark could be used for people going to the beach, the Turner Contemporary and to Dreamland. If the gates were removed between arcade and parking, there would be lots of footfall.

And how about this for inspiration for an alternative use for Arlington?
The Sands Development in Scarborough, built without public money during the recession, is an award winning seafront development offering high quality tourist accommodation and long term lets. It has brought valuable investment to Scarborough, which has a history very similar to Margate. Locals didn’t think it would work, but now the flats sell at £200k-£250k and have brought valuable investment and money to the town. Here’s info on the development.
And also this alternative vision from Sam Causer Architect:

http://margatecaag.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/a-plan-for-arlington/

If you would like a better future for Margate we need to make sure there is a public enquiry of this application. You can do this by emailing The National Planning Casework Unit at npcu@gowm.gsi.gov.uk and copy also to Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at eric.pickles@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Quoting application ref F/TH/10/1061 and giving your name and address.

Suggested reasons could be:
- The effect the development will have on traffic in town.
- The impact the development will have on local businesses.
- The scale of the proposed store is disproportionate for this prominent seafront location.

Tonight is the first true test for Turner Contemporary, and we can’t wait!
All this week, private views will be held at the gallery, but for those who can’t be there, look out for tweets and updates here – I’ll be doing my best to keep you updated.

The gallery is looking great, with the final finishing touches being made up until the official opening this Saturday 16th April – remember, it’s free, so don’t miss out.

With just nine, yes nine, days until Turner Contemporary finally opens it’s doors, The Guardian has posted a fantastic video interview between Guardian architecture critic Jonathan Glancey and Sir David Chipperfield.

If you watch one thing today, make it this.

We’ll be doing our best to report from the private views and of course grand opening on the 16th April 2011.

Only a quick post, but too good to save for later. Enjoy some photos of Turner Contemporary during tonight’s great sunset. (The first of many great sunsets in what will surely be one of the most important years in Margate’s history.)

Heads up: BBC arts editor, Will Gompertz has posted an excellent article inspired by a visit to Turner Contemporary.

In an attempt to cheer the old port up, the council have “done a Bilbao”. That is built a funky modern art gallery in the hope that fortune will favour a brave contemporary design. It’s a bold move, but is it a wise one?

Yes.

Turner Contemporary, as the David Chipperfield-designed building is known, is a success inside and out. But then what would you expect from one of the world’s most gifted living architects, who on Wednesday evening will pick up the highly-prized RIBA Gold Medal at a ceremony held in his honour.

Read more at Will Gompertz’s BBC News Blog, and do your best to ignore some of the same tired arguments in the comments section.

Well, things have gotten rather stale around here, haven’t they. Let me explain.

Turneround Margate was set up in 2007 to document the Margate regeneration process and provide a home to discussion.
Since that date, Turner Contemporary has made the leap to real physical foundations, the town has been the focus of countless articles, television reports and became host to two teams of wanna-be Apprentices.
New shops have opened, some to close down soon after and others which continue to attract business, the opening of the Harbour Arm development, and the establishment of many popular annual events (Thanet Pride, Kite Festival, Quad Bike Championships and the upcoming Festival of New Variety and Burlesque).

So what’s happened to the site? I can’t deny, it’s slipped from my attention, but my passion for Margate hasn’t. It’s for that reason that I would like to announce my plans to relaunch Turneround Margate into a new, more useful site that might better serve the regeneration efforts.

If you have any thoughts on what you’d like to see on the new site, or thoughts on the current state of regeneration in Margate, please leave a comment!

One of the aims of Turneround Margate has always been to document the progress of arts regeneration in the town, and the redevelopment of the Harbour Arm must be one of the most obvious improvements for a while.

Already open on the arm is Vanilla Sky (a cafe selling ice cream and waffles) and the fantastic IOTA Gallery. Joining them over the summer months will be an impressive seafood resteraunt at the lighthouse end of the arm, along with another cafe, a florists and a ‘girls gift shop’.

Since we visited late last month, the Harbour Arm held it’s reopening event, but in effect, I understand that the arm will be fully complete over summer. Here’s a selection of photos we took when we dropped in to the IOTA Gallery.

Andrew Baldwin’s Walking Fish sculpture. (Andrew also created some incredible work for The Margate Exodus)

Artist’s Impression of the completed Margate Harbour Arm

The Harbour Arm is hosting a series of summer events every weekend (except the 21/22 June), with everything ranging from a High Tide Concert on the 12th July and a Kite Festival on the 21/22nd September. For more information, visit The Harbour Arm website.

Sarah Craske and Stacy Keeler’s ‘Shed Museum’, Substation Gallery

Will Sayel’s cyanotype photographs.

… and the less than welcoming face of one of Margate’s shell ladies infront of our beautiful old town architecture.

As one visitor commented last week:

At a fun packed Margate Rocks, I was accompanied by a first time visitor to Margate. He stopped dead in his tracks in horror at the site of the skirted ones.

Has anyone else noticed that all publications from TDC now go overboard to underline the public consultation process in chooseing the project? Did anyone here actually go or hear about the process that was on for a full 4 days at the library midweek?

The statue is now to be made of cast bronze. How much will that cost out of the 50k I wonder?

And what happened to the signage that was in the proposal?

So many questions…

Building Design, the architects magazine, has always shown a keen interest in the design of Turner Contemporary, and news has reached me of a quite excellent interview they’ve conducted with Victoria Pomery, Director of Turner Contemporary.

Victoria Pomery speaks extremely honestly about the Turner Contemporary project, discussing a broad range of topics that range from the crisis that surrounded the axing of Snøhetta and Spence’s original gallery design to the fast paced progress of the current David Chipperfield plans.

She describes the emotions of the scrapping of Snohetta and Spence’s design:

It was a massive shock, almost like someone dying. You work with something for a long time, you’re living and breathing it — then it doesn’t happen. It put a real strain on the team here. 2006 was a very difficult year.

And with regards to more recent progress:

Margate has some of the most deprived wards in the South-east. Lots of things can help turn a town around, it’s not just about new buildings. Our commitment to working with the community, as well as our education and training remit, are very important.

Other projects in the next 10-20 years will also help to move things forward, including plans for the Dreamland site and the lido, the government’s housing agenda and the future of key spaces such as the M&S building on the High Street, which is currently our project space.

It’s about thinking differently about the town — can it be that seaside resort again? If not, it should aim at something else. Obviously, I want the gallery to be a fantastic cultural institution. I also want it to support the wider regeneration of the town and east Kent, but it’s never going to be easy or fast. Turner Contemporary has done a lot to create confidence in the town, and change is afoot.

Whatever you make of Turner Contemporary, this interview is a must read for anyone with a passing interest in the project. Bravo to bdonline for their continued interest in Margate. Click here to read the full interview with Victoria.

And of course, the excellent Margate Rocks kicked off yesterday with a full day of events, and will continue to work to bring you amazing contemporary art throughout the next week and a bit! Make sure you keep up with the programme calendar!

Please do email me with your reviews, videos and photos of Margate Rocks!

Remember Mark McGowan? Yes, he’s the artist who, amongst other things, has rolled a peanut from Goldsmiths College to 10 Downing Street using only his nose, crawled on all fours around Manhattan wearing a George Bush mask and a “Kick my Ass” sign on his back and left a tap running in the backroom kitchen of a London gallery to protest Thames Water’s leakage problems.

Well now, supported by Margate Rocks, he plans to be buried up to his neck in sand on Margate beach for 48 hours, in a performance/protest to help save the Great British Holiday.

The traditional British seaside holiday is in decline, everyone is flying abroad, this year 30 million people will go on holidays abroad. This is due to cheap flights, sunnier climes and bargain bucket destinations. I am starting a campaign, which will include an art performance where i will be buried in the sand for 48 hours with a notted hankerchief on my head some Margate rock, holiday momento’s and fed fish and chips everyday, this is to encourage people to this year, when the time comes, dont just book a holiday abroad, come to Margate.

Mark will start on Saturday 3rd May at 12 noon and end at 12 noon on Bank holiday Monday 5th of May 2008.

Find out more about Mark McGowan on his website, and keep up to date with all the upcoming Margate Rocks events.

A short update, but an exciting one none the less.  Thanet Council have voted unanimously to demand the rebuilding of the Scenic Railway, deciding it’s restoration must should be made a legal requirement.

This is very encouraging news indeed – it’s rare for councils to commit like this  – TDC have said they think it is reasonable to expect the coaster to be repaired and operational by Easter 2009.

Members of the Save Dreamland Campaign were in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting, and have begun to post their reactions to the news on the campaign forum.

No doubt you will already be aware that the Scenic Railway caught light earlier this evening. I have just returned from the the sea front, and at the time of writing (7pm), the fire seems to have been extinguished and bought under control. I would estimate that at least a quarter of the railway has collapsed.

Police are regarding the fire as suspicious- what with Dreamland’s recent firey reputation, it seemed only a matter of time before an attempt would be made to clear the listed structure.

I’ll go out on a limb, and suggest that any arson attempt has fallen short. The majority of the coaster is still intact – we must of course wait for any police verdict, but it should now pass to Thanet District Council to put their foot down and stand up for Thanet residents, by demanding the swift repair and restoration of Margate’s most treasured listed landmark.

We need to take action here, to resist further demolition and for everything the Save Dreamland Campaign has worked for. Those that care for Margate and for Dreamland simply can’t lie down and admit defeat – the interests of a few businessmen cannot be allowed to dictate. We must be vocal and demand that the interests of local people are at the forefront of any decisions made regarding Dreamland’s future.

Update
09/04/08: Thanet Police have confirmed that they are treating Monday’s fire as arson.

Despite this, I regret to say that I have needed to edit several potentially libelous comments regarding the fire. I would ask you to please keep any accusations non specific.

News reached me today that Turner Contemporary and University College for Creative Arts at Canterbury are looking for people interested in taking a free twelve week art and design course, on Mondays and Tuesdays from 21st April, 10am till 2pm.

Working with artists Sara Wicks and Kevin Jones , you will be able to develop your creative skills through experimenting with art materials, visits to leading London galleries and designing an exhibition of your own work in Turner Contemporary’s Droit House gallery.

Esther Collins at Turner Contemporary describes the course as ‘a fantastic opportunity for people to develop their creative skills and to get a taste of life working in the Arts’.

At the end you will be awarded a nationally recognised qualification which could lead on to other courses or jobs in the arts. No news on how many places are available, so if you are interested in participating, get in there quickly and contact Esther Collins on 01843 294305 or email ecollins@turnercontemporary.org

Frankly, I think this is an amazing opportunity for anyone interested in art and design – I attended University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury for part of my art education, and couldn’t recommend it enough.

News reached us today that planning approval has been granted for David Chipperfield’s design for Turner Contemporary. Work will begin on construction this autumn, ahead of an opening date of 2010.

In support of this, work by Kent Highway Services to transform Fort Hill to a single carriageway will begin in April. The work is intended to improve connectivity between the Old Town and the seafront and will improve pedestrian access to the gallery site, the stone pier and the rest of the Rendezvous site. The area around the entrance to the Rendezvous site will be landscaped and high quality materials will be used for kerbing and footways.

KCC Cabinet Member for Community Services Mike Hill said:

“This is a tremendous step forward and we remain on schedule for the creation of this landmark building for Margate. A vast amount of work has gone into this project and we will soon see it really taking shape using David Chipperfield’s superb designs.”

Planning approval is great news for the town – finally, investors and businesses can start work with a greater confidence in Margate’s future.

If you’re interested, it’s well worth having a look at the planning application by visiting the UKPlanning website, and searching for application reference 07/1600.

A new exhibition, “Love Letters for Margate”, opens today at the Sandy-Wiches cafe in Cliftonville, which intends to express people’s love for Margate. Show your support for local art, and if you see any of the work, let us know what you think.

It’s not the first time that an artist has proclaimed their love for Margate – in 2003, Tracy Emin was commissioned by Turner Contemporary to create a neon sign for Droit House.

Alas, Emin’s sign, blazing in pink neon the words “I never stopped loving you”, was denied planning permission by TDC, who felt it was inappropriate on a Grade 2 listed building in the old town. Early plans were made to find it a new home in the town, but as to my knowledge, the plan didn’t progress any further. Does anyone know what happened?