Dear Friends,Well doesn't time fly? It is now over a month since the Friends Of Margate Caves were formed and our website went live. And what a great deal we have achieved in such a short time! We would like to thank you all for your support and also provide you with an update on what is happening withthe Margate Caves. The Friends of Margate Caves campaign group was created at the end of January. Its aim is to see the caves re-opened as a tourist attraction and to prevent development on the site that would prevent such use. The first objective of the Group was to ask for the Planning application on the site to be withdrawn. If you have not already done so, could you please visit the ukplanning website (www.ukplanning.com The application number is F/TH/10/0546), and submit an objection, which will further strengthen our case.
MediaSince our group was created, we have had a phenomenal amount of press coverage for our campaign, with interviews on BBC TV & Radio and also on Meridian local news, as well as many articles in the local press. You can find links to some of these articles at http://www.margatecaves.co.uk under the news section.
English HeritageFollowing the recent listing application submitted, English Heritage have been in contact to say that they 'are now assessing the building'. An initial report will be produced and an update will be posted on the website at that time. Thanks to everyone so far who have contacted English Heritage in support of the application.
Planning Application and our Concept PlanThanet District Council requested a meeting with the Friends Group and this took place last week. We have been informed that the planning application is currently under abeyance but we have no information on when it could be re-activated and go to the Council's Planning Committee. We have requested that the council withdraw the planning application, and were told that they would not consider doing so until we supplied more detailed proposals for the site.
The Friends of Margate Caves produced a concept plan for the future of the caves. Starting with a vision of : “Margate Caves, equipped with a Visitor and Interpretive Centre, will become a 21st-century visitor experience, which will play a key role in Margate’s tourism offer. It will explore the Caves’ cultural heritage as well as the area’s rich geological assets and unique coastline, giving visitors an insight into the natural world around us. It will be a source of education, fascination and fun.”The plan details how the future of the caves could be shaped, the challenges involved and the importance of retaining the caves as a tourist attraction. The Concept Plan can be viewed in full on our website.The Concept Plan was not considered detailed enough by the Council to withdraw the planning application. We fully intend to produce something compelling and professional and we have talented and generous professionals who are willing to help us. However, it will be difficult to produce thesedocuments at no cost at all.
DonationsWe are raising funds to support the campaign to save the caves and to support our vision for the future of the caves. If you can, please visit our website to donate to our fund. You can donate securely on our website using Paypal. We wish to thank Councillor John Watkins who has already made a £100 donation through the TDC Members Community Project Fund.
Cost for making the Caves safeThere has been a lot of misinformation about the Caves generated by TDC over the years, but we hope that now we have uncovered the council's own 2005 estimate for repair, we can all move forward and work with the facts, rather than rumour and exaggeration.Since January, the Council, and its Councillors, has stated various figures ranging between £100,000 and £250,000 for the costs of the works required to be able to open the caves again.. The Friends of Margate Caves used the Freedom Of Information Act to request from the Council how they arrived at these figures. We have had a response and they have confirmed that they "do not have a detailed cost estimate for the works required to comply with the recommendations of the Atkins report that described the required improvement works to the caves", however they "have been able to trace a report from the Councils chief engineer in 2005 that indicated that the works would cost in the region of £55,000, with a contingency of £5,000 for works to comply with the HSE prohibition notice". Obviously a long way short of the figures the Council have repeatedly been quoting to the press.
This is a very exciting time for the Margate Caves. We are receiving a huge amount of support from the local community and beyond and our campaign is gaining a high profile. We need to maintain this profile to prevent us losing the Margate Caves for future generations. If you know of others who you think would like to support our campaign, please do refer them to the website to sign up for regular updates. In between newsletters you can keep up to date with our progress by visiting
http://www.margatecaves.co.uk Once again, thank you very much for your support. Until the next newsletter...Kind regards,Peter Davis, Liaison Officer
Thursday 10 March 2011
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The £55,000 was an estimate made in 2005. That's six years ago and it's only reasonable to assume that costs have increased since then. Other so called estimates given were my own opinion and not that of council, which if you read my weblog were based on the on-going costs and development of the attraction. I wish them good luck with their project!
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