Popular English seaside town’s much-loved attraction set to reopen after £8million upgrade
PLANS have been revealed to rescue a historic English seaside venue and return it to its former glory.
The Margate Winter Gardens in Kent – where stars such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have performed – is set to be restored and reopened.
Dating back to 1910, the venue has previously had a number of different areas including the Main Hall, Queen’s Hall, two side wings and an open-air amphitheatre.
As part of the Thanet District Council’s plans, the seafront venue will reopen with a new rooftop bar and restaurant, a drama school and a 100-place nursery.
As part of the plans, the Main Hall and Queen’s Hall will be made fully accessible and reopened.
And the decor and balconies inside will be kept.
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There are also plans to create two mezzanine pods, similar to those found in Peckham Library.
The restaurant will then be located above the Main Hall, with both indoor seating and an outdoor terrace.
As for the nursery, that will be in the upper part of the site and will feature separate areas for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
The new drama school will be held in the smaller Queen’s Hall and have classrooms and dance studio spaces.
In all, the project is expected to cost around £8million to complete.
According to the plans, the vision for Margate Winter Gardens “marries both history and opulence, creating a visually stunning seafront icon with nods to its luxurious past as well as futureproofing the building for years to come”.
The aim is to reopen the Main Hall by late 2026, then other parts of the venue will open in phases from 2027.
Margate Winter Gardens, which closed two years ago, sits on a site known as Fort Crescent and looks over Margate Main Sands and the English Channel.
When the venue opened, it featured a Concert Hall, four entrance halls, two side wings and one open-air amphitheatre.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Winter Gardens was a much-loved entertainment venue with performances including cabaret and tea dances.
Then, during World War II, the venue was used initially as the Dunkirk evacuee reception before later being turned into an ARP shelter and food depot.
In 1946 the building was partially rebuilt after bomb damage.
After the war, Winter Gardens was once again used as an entertainment venue with performances by Laurel and Hardy, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Dame Vera Lynn.
However, over the decades visitor numbers declined and in 2022, the Winter Gardens closed for a while to assess concerns over the building’s condition.
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