Designs unveiled for Margate’s new Dreamland
Designs have been unveiled for Margate’s Dreamland – the seaside amusement park set to reopen next year following a project led by Hemingway Design.
In 2012 it was announced that Hemingway Design had been appointed to work on the Dreamland site in Margate, Kent, looking to restore the disused funfair site to its former glory.
The site, which closed in 2006, will take the form of a “vintage-style amusement arcade” with restored rides including the 1920s Grade II* listed Scenic Railway Britain¹s oldest rollercoaster.
The new 16-acre amusement park will also house 15 rides dating back to the 1920s, such as the original Dreamland Gallopers, the Double Deckers and Caterpillar.
Visitors will also be able to see 1870s Grade II-listed menagerie cages “the last of their kind in the world” – according to Dreamland.
As well as hosting the amusement arcade and rides, the site will be used to house events and festival celebrating the history of popular British design, culture, music and film.
Hemingway Design is working with The Dreamland Trust and Thanet District Council to realise the project. The consultancy has worked on designs for the site and the Dreamland branding, and will also be curating the visitor experience.
A Dreamland spokesperson says: “Wayne Hemingway’s genuine passion for the British seaside will embody the creative use of up-cycled amusement park artefacts and fairground paraphernalia that have been an integral part of British culture over the last century.”
These pieces will include large-scale Tiffany Lamps donated from the Blackpool Illuminations collection.
The project has funded by Thanet District Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Department for Culture Media and Sport’s Sea Change Programme.
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A deprived area such as Margate (thanet) would have benefited from appointment by a local design agency. This problem is all too common.