Dreamland Margate
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| Slogan | We cater for pleasure |
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| Location | Margate, Kent |
| Coordinates | 51°23′11″N 1°22′33″E / 51.3863°N 1.3759°ECoordinates: 51°23′11″N 1°22′33″E / 51.3863°N 1.3759°E |
| Owner | Thanet District Council |
| Opened | 1880 |
| Previous names | Bembom Brothers White Knuckle Theme Park |
| Rides | |
| Total | 22 |
| Website | www |
| Status | Open |
Dreamland Margate is an amusement park, entertainment and amusement centre located in Margate, Kent, England. The site of the park was first used for amusement rides in 1880, although the Dreamland name was not used until 1920 when the park's Grade II* listed Scenic Railway wooden rollercoaster was opened.
The number of amusements at the park increased during the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1981 the site was sold to the Benbom brothers, who renamed it "Benbom Brothers White Knuckle Theme Park". The name remained until it reverted to Dreamland in 1990.
In the early 2000s, the park began to enter into decline, and a number of rides were sold to other theme parks. The park's owner announced in 2003 that Dreamland would be closed and the site redeveloped, although the listing of the scenic railway meant it could not be moved.
Public support and a government report led to the site being sold to Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company in 2005. A number of residents launched a campaign to restore the site, although Dreamland subsequently closed in the same year. The site fell into a state of disrepair and was subject to a series of arson attacks, one of which significantly damaged the scenic railway.
The public campaign to restore the park continued, and in September 2013, ownership passed to Thanet District Council after a compulsory purchase order was approved by a High Court judge. In 2014 it was confirmed that the park would be redeveloped. It re-opened in June 2015 as a "Re-imagined Dreamland".
The Dreamland site was a salt marsh known as the Mere that was inundated at high tide until 1809 when a causeway and seawall were built. In 1846 a railway terminus was built on the present Arlington site for the South Eastern Railway, followed in 1864 by a further terminus, for the rival London, Chatham and Dover Railway on the site of what is now Dreamland Cinema. The LCDR subsequently failed to secure Parliamentary approval for its private bill, so the station, already built in the expectation of receiving Assent to the Bill, remained unused and unconnected to the railway network.
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