Plans approved to restore historic theatre

A historic theatre could reopen in 18 months after a multi-million-pound renovation plan has been given the green light.

Thanet District Council has agreed to allow Westwood One Theatre to restore Margate's Winter Garden, which has been empty and in disrepair for years.

The venue in Kent was built in 1911 and has hosted community events, as well as major music acts including Blur and Oasis.

In 2022, Your Leisure Kent, who ran it on behalf of the council, handed the lease back to the council due to a "significant backlog of repairs and essential refurbishments", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The authority closed the venue due to the cost of the works.

Council leader Rick Everitt said at a meeting on Thursday: "This has taken a long while to bring forward because it's immensely complicated and challenging."

Thanet District Council said previously it thought the structural, mechanical and engineering works required for the building would cost about £6m but its more recent estimate puts it "between £8m and £11m".

After tendering the contract to the private sector, the council selected Westwood One Theatre as the firm to manage the Winter Garden.

The firm, which also restored and runs the Granville Theatre in Ramsgate, will be given £4m towards the renovation works, the council said.

A new accessible entrance will be installed, as well as a new rooftop bar and restaurant, four new bars throughout the building, a drama school, a day nursery and an education centre.

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