Cinderella on Sea

                                                         “THE  RATEPAYERS  TEARS”

Ville Views blog says, us Ramsgatonians live in a beautiful place, therefore we should shut up and keep playing second fiddle to Margate. This is a typical view of Ramsgate, stated by an outsider who knows nothing about the town. Ramsgate’s downfall is its beautiful location and setting, visitors are enchanted by it and do not see Cinderella beneath its beautiful exterior.

 The odds have been stacked against Ramsgate since 1974 when local government re-organisation created Thanet District Council with a voting advantage of 60/40 in favour of Margate. Since then Cinderella’s fortunes have rapidly declined as all the attention is lavished on its ugly sisters. Ramsgate has even been struck off the tourist map with the closure of its Visitor Information Centre.

Fortunately for Ramsgate, it’s a bit like “Marmite”, it seems that depending on where you live in Thanet you either love it or hate it. Those who hate it put obstacles in the way of its success; those who love it volunteer their time and effort, free of charge to ensure its survival and progression. One thing’s for sure, the more obstacles that are put in the way of Ramsgate’s re-generation the more the town’s volunteers rally to keep it functioning.  There are more volunteering groups in Ramsgate than you can shake a stick at and even the Town Councillors donated their expenses to the good of the town.

We in Ramsgate have a marvellous opportunity to illustrate that “Localism” can really work and take charge of our own destiny to thwart those faceless individuals who are jealous of Ramsgate’s magnificent beauty and resilience. 

One small step for Ramsgate.

The first week of August 2011 will see two promenade shelters on the Ramsgate seafront cordoned off in preparation for their complete restoration. This work is a pilot scheme by the Ramsgate Society, the first part of a larger project to restore 14 shelters which has been two years in the negotiation stage but is now nearing fruition. These two shelters will be out of action until early October 2011 when they will be returned to public use in a fully restored condition.

The two lucky shelters are the centre one of three, east of the Granville Theatre and the prominent Westcliff shelter on Government Acre. The remaining twelve are scheduled for works beginning early in 2012, in batches of four, that is four on Eastcliff, four in the Paragon and Nelson Crescent and four remaining on the Westcliff.

These shelters are being funded to 90% of the cost by a Townscape Heritage Initiative Grant, jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Thanet District Council. It is up to the Ramsgate Society and people who care about Ramsgate to raise the remaining 10% of the cost of works. The Ramsgate Society already has raised sufficient funds for the contribution towards the pilot scheme, but will require assistance from the many businesses, organisations and people in Ramsgate to complete the whole scheme. It is now up to Ramsgate to take the first small step towards it’s own regeneration. This project will demonstrate how we can take charge of our own environment and make it better for the whole community. Hopefully, it will be the first in a long line of projects to make Ramsgate a better place to live and visit.

For more information and to get involved visit

www.ramsgate-society.org.uk