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Dreamland in Margate set to celebrate centenary in 2020 with new history projects

A century of history at Dreamland will be celebrated in a series of projects to remember the amusement park.

The Margate theme park turns 100-years-old next year and The Dreamland Trust - which was instrumental in reopening the park in 2015 - is looking to mark the park's colourful and vibrant past.

The group has been awarded nearly £100,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to employ staff to oversee and dig to discover more of the theme park's history.

Dreamland is planning a range of projects to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2020
Dreamland is planning a range of projects to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2020

The work is designed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Dreamland Trust, which was established in 2009.

A development manager and archivist will be employed to work on the various projects.

The development manager will be working with volunteers, schools, colleges and community organisations to share the history and enjoyment of Dreamland come up with new ways to interpret and reuse heritage rides.

The archivist will work on cataloguing the Trust's archive to make it accessible online and to bring a new and fun dimension to its interpretation.

Bernie Morgan, chair of the Dreamland Trust said: "As we reach our tenth anniversary, we are looking to the future and working on innovative and fun ways to interpret our archive and other heritage assets, bringing them to life.

"We believe heritage is not something that is just in the past. It is about what is happening now and how that might be interpreted in the future.

The park celebrated its best opening weekend in April this year
The park celebrated its best opening weekend in April this year

"This grant will set us on our way to bringing Dreamland's heritage to life and to making new collections for the future. This grant will support our work and it heralds a new era for the Trust."

Eddie Kemsley, chief executive of Sands Heritage, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Dreamland, as we near our centenary year.

"The Trust has done an outstanding job of celebrating the park’s rich heritage with the world over the past ten years, and we look forward to helping them share our story with new generations of Dreamers for years to come.”

The park is currently operated by Sands Heritage Ltd which brought the park out of the mire when it reopened four years ago. An expansion in 2017 costing £25 million followed with more parts of the site restored. Earlier this year, the park revealed free entry for the 2019 season.

Thanet District Council (TDC) owns the land and is now looking to sell the freehold to Sands Heritage saying the transfer will allow the company to continue regenerating key parts of the site.

Cllr Bob Bayford (Con), leader of TDC, said: “For coming up to 10 years, The Dreamland Trust has worked tirelessly to protect and promote Dreamland’s heritage. This successful bid, which we were delighted to support, will ensure this legacy continues and will help bring history to life for a modern audience."

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