MUCH NEEDED AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORTH ALMOST £5MILLION WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED IN MARGATE ON FRIDAY (15 FEBRUARY).
RESIDENTS OF THE NEW HOMES AT DALBY SQUARE AND ALL SAINTS AVENUE HELPED THE MAYOR OF MARGATE, CLLR WILLIAM SCOBIE CUT THE RIBBON TO OPEN 41 NEW HOMES.
BOTH DEVELOPMENTS ARE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN TOWN&COUNTRY HOUSING GROUP AND THANET DISTRICT COUNCIL WITH THE GOVERNMENT’S HOMES AND COMMUNITIES AGENCY (HCA) PROVIDING FUNDING GRANTS. KENT COUNTY COUNCIL’S NO USE EMPTY CAMPAIGN WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE DALBY SQAURE PROJECT.
20 NEW HOMES ARE LOCATED AT DALBY SQUARE. BUILT AT A COST OF £2.7M THE DEVELOPMENT PROVIDES 8 X 2 BEDROOM FLATS AND 12 X 3 BED HOUSES, ALL FOR AFFORDABLE RENT.
THE DEVELOPMENT COMPLETELY TRANSFORMS WHAT WAS WIDELY KNOWN AS THE NUMBER ONE ‘GROT SPOT’ IN THE AREA – THE DERELICT WARREN COURT HOTEL IN CLIFTONVILLE. THE BUILDING IS INFAMOUS FOR FEATURING IN THE 1989 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL EDITION OF THE BBC’S ‘ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES’ – “THE JOLLY BOY’S OUTING” AS A DARKENED RUNDOWN HOTEL WHERE DEL AND RODNEY STAY ON A VISIT TO MARGATE.
WARREN COURT HOTEL HAD BEEN EMPTY FOR MANY YEARS AND A PRIME TARGET FOR VANDALISM, SQUATTERS AND ARSON ATTACKS. LAND ADJACENT TO THE HOTEL WAS ALSO GIVEN BY THANET DISTRICT COUNCIL TO ENABLE ADDITIONAL HOUSING TO BE PROVIDED.
THE NEW DEVELOPMENT MAINTAINS THE ORIGINAL FACADE OF THE WARREN COURT HOTEL IN ARTHUR ROAD WITH NEW BUILDING BEHIND TO PROVIDE 8 X 2 BED FLATS ON THE ARTHUR ROAD SIDE OF DALBY SQUARE.
SEVEN IMPRESSIVE NEW THREE BEDROOM HOUSES, SPANNING THREE STOREYS, EACH WITH THEIR OWN PRIVATE BALCONIES AND SEA VIEWS ARE ALSO PROVIDED ON THE FRONT OF DALBY SQUARE. THESE FAMILY HOMES ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN CLIFTONVILLE, AN AREA DOMINATED BY FLATS AND BEDSITS. THE DESIGN INCORPORATES SIGNIFICANT DETAILS FROM THE SURROUNDING VICTORIAN BUILDINGS, TO ENSURE THESE HOMES ARE IN KEEPING WITH THE AREA.
THE HOMES WERE BUILT BY CROUDACE PARTNERHSIPS LIMITED AND THE ARCHITECTS AND EMPLOYERS AGENTS WERE CHURCHILL HUI.
COLIN LISSENDEN, TOWN&COUNTRY HOUSING GROUP’S DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR IS DELIGHTED WITH BOTH SCHEMES:
“BOTH OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE EYE-CATCHING IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS….AS A TOWN MARGATE HAS A LOT TO OFFER AND I AM THRILLED WE CAN PLAY OUR PART IN HELPING TO REGENERATE THE AREA”
MARK DANCE, CABINET MEMBER FOR REGENERATION&ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT KENT COUNTY COUNCIL ADDS:
“IT IS GREAT TO SEE MORE QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING BEING DELIVERED IN MARGATE. KENT COUNTY COUNCIL, IN COLLABORATION WITH THANET DISTRICT COUNCIL, HAS DEVOTED CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES TO CREATING MUCH NEEDED HOUSING IN THIS AREA THROUGH THE ‘NO USE EMPTY’ SCHEME, WITH THE WARREN COURT HOTEL BEING ONE OF THE FLAGSHIP PROJECTS. THIS WAS ONCE ONE OF MARGATE’S LANDMARK BUILDINGS, BUT IN RECENT YEARS HAS FALLEN INTO DISREPAIR AND BECOME A MAGNET FOR CRIME AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR. WE HOPE THE REBIRTH OF THIS BUILDING WILL INSPIRE FURTHER REGENERATION WORK BEING UNDERTAKEN WITHIN THE SURROUNDING AREA IN ORDER TO MAKE MARGATE A DESIRABLE PLACE TO LIVE.”