A NEW attraction is to be built at one of the UK’s ‘trendiest’ seaside resorts.
The £1.8million project will include a new pavilion, pool access and beach lift.
A new £1.8million attraction is coming to MargateThanet Council
Thanet CouncilInside will be a cafe, wellbeing space and changing facilities[/caption]
GettyIt also includes improvements to the Walpole Bay Lido[/caption]
Set to be built at Margate‘s Walpole Bay, the renovation is part of the £22.million Margate Town Deal back in 2021, part of the Coastal Wellbeing project.
The pavilion will have a cafe and wellbeing space, as well as changing rooms, outdoor showers, toilets and lockers.
The space would be open to the public, and could include activities such as art classes, yoga and festivals.
Also being proposed are lifeguard facilities, with the beach currently unmanned.
There will also be improvements and better access to the Walpole Bay tidal pool, the biggest of its kind in the UK.
The 4-acre pool is popular with both swimmers and kayakers and is open all year round although is advised not to swim during high tide.
And the Grade II Listed lift, which has since fallen into disrepair since being built in the 1930s, could be reinstated, allowing direct access to the beach.
Mark Attmore, from architects Curl La Tourelle who are part of the designs, told local media: “The project aim is to bring more users to Walpole and have a pavilion that serves existing users and encourages more people to come to the tidal pool which is one of the largest in the UK and Europe.
“Part of this engagement is to find out what people would like the space to be, so there are cakes and tea at the café, and that’s part of wellbeing, and then the flexible, bookable venue that could be for exercise classes, educational purposes, community groups, rock pool search programmes or arts, craft, parties, community use.”
Planning permission could be given by next summer, with the attraction opening by summer 2025.
Other new plans for Margate include the new £750k Margate Skatepark and £500k Oval Bandstand project.
Next to Walpole Bay is Palm Beach, which is much quieter than the Main Sands and popular with locals.
Margate has boomed in popularity in recent years, with Londoners leaving the city for the seaside town.
And Time Out even said it had one of the “coolest neighbourhoods in the world”.
Some have likened Margate to Ibiza, with many also calling it Shoreditch-On-Sea.
It’s even been used to film the Hollywood blockbuster Empire of Light and the Lily Allen Sky drama Dreamland.
Here are some other new UK attractions set to open.
AlamyMargate has become popular with tourists in recent years[/caption]