News Blast: Thanet's bid for UK Town of Culture and more
MP Polly Billington's proposal that Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs jointly bid to beamed UK Town of Culture and more
The bid for Thanet's three towns work together to be named UK Town of Culture, a massive LGBTQ+ heritage project, the revival of two Ramsgate venues and more. The latest creative and cultural news from across Thanet.
The government has launched a competition to find a UK town of culture to deliver a cultural programme during the summer of 2028. MP for East Thanet Polly Billington is encouraging Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs to stand on each other's shoulders, pull on a trench coat and go for it together. The winning town will receive £3.5 million of funding to deliver their programme. Watch Polly’s plea.
Margate Pride has secured a £123,968 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to carry out an 18 month project titled ‘The Heritage Hotline: Thanet’s LGBTQ+ history from the 1960s to 2000s’. “This intergenerational project will celebrate and invest in the LGBTQ+ community through training, archiving, and research, empowering individuals to shape their own narrative,” they say. Find out more.
Thanet District Council has approved plans to convert a Grade II listed former language school on Hawley Square in Margate into a theatre and acting school. This will return the building to its former use in the late 1800s, when it served as the Sarah Thorne School of Acting - run and named after then manager of the Theatre Royal from 1885 to 1899. Once complete, the venue will also house a bar and two flats.
Ramsgate Space has announced the launch of the Thanet Business Support Programme. Running from December to March, the series of events aims to provide business across Thanet with practical training, specialist advice and growth opportunities. Find out more.
Zita Whalley
The start of the £750,000 refurbishment of Folkestone’s Lower Leas Coastal Park play area has been delayed. It was due to begin over the winter and be complete for the summer. Building cannot begin until the completion of cliff stabilisation works, being undertaken following a landslide in February last year. This was due to be complete by the end of this year but is now unlikely to begin until early next year.
Ramsgate’s Camden Arms is open again under the management of landlady Jo Park, reviving it after more than a year spent empty. She is organising a schedule of events including quizzes and pilates, and invites other locals to use the pub's large function room.
A ‘friends garden’ is being planted in Ramsgate’s Ellington Park. Once complete, it will fill a currently unused space next to Ellington Park Community Café with pollinator-friendly flowers and new benches. The project is a collaboration between Friends of Ellington Park and Thanet District Council.
Union Yoga on Queen Street in Ramsgate has found a fit for its cafe, which will reopen next week. The cafe will now be run by couple Lucy and Justin who will plate up simple but nourishing veggie dishes and treats, made in-house. For the cafe’s December 2 soft launch, expect a taster of dishes to come and drinks to warm you up. Going forwards, the cafe will be open Tues-Sun, 9am-5pm as well as hosting live music evenings and nice stuff like that.
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