Shadow Of Threat Looms In Margate’s Old Town Cultural Quarter

11th May 2009

Plans for a three-storey townhouse development in Margate’s Old Town threaten to cast a huge shadow over the future of a local voluntary arts and multimedia organisation, Beeping Bush Ltd, based at the Community Pharmacy Gallery.

A second planning application will finally go to Planning Committee for Margate Councillors to decide the fate of the community use building on May 20th. The case has been with Ombudsman for over 4 years, as the original application was passed without going to committee, despite receiving objections. The planning decision was finally overturned only as the originally submitted plans were eventually discovered to be inaccurate.

If these new plans are passed, developers will be allowed to literally overshadow the gallery when garages that back onto the Gallery in Newby’s Place are demolished, to make way for two three-storey residential townhouses.

Bizarrely, this will mean that Thanet District Council have effectively negated the £80,000 grant administered to establish the gallery in 2001. These TDC administered capital grants were combined CAPS and ERDF awards to specifically reinstate the Grade II listed building’s roof lanterns and rooftop terrace as workshop area. This will now be completely overshadowed by a 40ft sheer blank wall.

“Our development of the gallery has been on hold since this initial application was received in October 2004. We only started re-investing into the building again when the original application was finally overturned last year. We received another £18,000 of grants from Margate Renewal Partnership and Stronger Safer Communities Fund this year towards our £40,000 internal refurbishment costs which we are just completing. Now this total public investment of nearly £100,000 is in danger of being completely wasted if this new development is built ” Remarked Mick Etherton, Director of Beeping Bush Ltd

The planned building development is causing concern to commercial users of the gallery. Thanet Kent Adult Education previously used the gallery as an outreach centre for their stone carving sculpture classes, but this threatened proposal influenced their decision to leave last year. We are in negotiation to have new workshop classes’ return in the autumn, but this development will completely ruin the quality of light entering the space and jeopardise its continued use. Currently Turner Contemporary uses the space for their Cultural Ambassadors workshops. And we have a schedule of exhibitions planned for the summer.

Mr Etherton added “Every visitor comments on the wonderful quality of sun-light streaming through the south facing gallery. It was designed as the dominant feature of building and is the reason why artists want to show and work here. It took nearly two years to rebuild the roof and reinstate these Victorian roof lanterns to their former glory, so I hope that the councillors will have the insight towards encouraging a sense of artistic community in Margate! What is was the point of spending all this money to create this beautiful exhibition space and then completely ruin it by allowing a housing development, which will neither benefit the artistic, or business community in the old town?

Other local arts businesses agree. Stephen Roper, co-owner of the Old Town Gallery and chairman of the Old Town Action Group commented: “The Community Pharmacy Gallery was the first and largest arts venture in the Old Town. It remains a valuable asset to the Cultural Quarter and it’s closure would be a great loss. I hope that a way to resolve this situation can be found.”

The Community Pharmacy Gallery is a regular venue for art exhibitions and art workshops, and hosting charitable events, with over 28,000 visitors since 2002.It has also been a key building for the Margate Rocks art exhibition festival office. In 2005 it displayed work from over 200 local artists in a charitable show to help the Tsunami victims, and hosted a recent poetry evening in aid of The Cyrenians

Says Mick Etherton, “I have objected to this proposal since the original application in 2004, and my concerns have been completely ignored. I did suggest a compromise, with a hipped end roof to allow less shadow and match with existing adjacent houses, but the excessive height of this development will undoubtedly affect our exhibition and workshop events. I am disappointed and dismayed that there has been no compromise with the new proposal. I Just want the councillors to have this final opportunity to decide whether they truly want arts regeneration in the Old Town or just private property development in the Cultural Quarter. We will have to seriously consider our commercial sustainability as an arts venue”

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