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# News Blast: Thanet's bid for UK Town of Culture and more
- URL: https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/news-blast-thanets-bid-for-uk-town-of-culture-and-more/
- Published: 2025-11-30T08:00:53.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-30T08:00:52.000Z
- Description: MP Polly Billington's proposal that Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs jointly bid to beamed UK Town of Culture and more
- Author: Strange Tourist
- Tags: News, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate

**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**](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-town-of-culture-competition-to-shine-a-spotlight-on-the-contribution-of-towns-that-tell-national-story?ref=strangetourist.co.uk) 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**](https://www.instagram.com/p/DRcwGwNDCRR/?ref=strangetourist.co.uk).

**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**](https://www.margatepride.org.uk/the-heritage-hotline?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). 

**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**](https://www.ramsgatespace.co.uk/thanetbusinesssupport?ref=strangetourist.co.uk). 

[Interview: Ramsgate Space’s town centre revival plansA town centre revitalisation project has big plans for Ramsgate, aiming to turn its downtrodden high street into a main artery reflective of the town’s best bits![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/icon/Strange_Tourist_Vector_DOT_SMALL-92.png)Strange TouristZita Whalley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/06/39/0639efc0-b873-4e30-ac06-2893b029d0e0/content/images/thumbnail/alexis-mette-GcdxQVU5ZV0-unsplash-5.jpg)](https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/ramsgate-space-its-painful-to-see-the-high-street-of-a-town-you-love-so-much-struggle-to-survive/)

**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. 

Want more? [Subscribe to our newsletter](https://www.strangetourist.co.uk/#/portal) for a hit of arts, culture and fun things to do around Thanet and beyond in your inbox every Saturday morning.