All photos are used with the kind permission of the Save Dreamland Campaign.

Nick Laister - founder of the Save Dreamland Campaign very kindly took some time out of his campign schedule to give CoasterForce this exclusive interview about Dreamland and its Grade II listed (and oldest operating in the uk) coaster: Scenic Railway. Nick was actually the driving force in gaining the Grade II listed status for Scenic Railway and is also a prominent planning consultant in the theme park industry. Let's see what he can tell us about the future of our heritage...

CF - For those who know very little about Dreamland and the Scenic Railway how would you describe the park and the historical coaster?

NL - Dreamland is one of Britain's major seaside parks, and was often called 'the Blackpool Pleasure Beach of the south'. In fact, little more than 10 years ago, it was achieving annual visitor numbers of 2 million people, behind only the Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers! Sadly, the park changed ownershipin 1996 and has been run down by its present owner over the past few years in order to try and secure its redevelopment. Thankfully, the Scenic Railway still survives. Built in 1920, the Scenic Railway is a grade II listed wooden roller coaster and is both fun and charming.

CF - You personally pushed for the Scenic Railway to be awarded a listed status, why did you orginally go about doing that?

Firstly, you should know that I am a planning consultant, working extensively (but not exclusively) within the theme park industry, acting for many UK theme parks. So I am regularly involved in this type of thing in my 'day job'. Back in 2001, I was tipped off that there may be attempts to redevelop some or all of Dreamland. The Scenic Railway is a remarkable survivor - built in 1920, it is the oldest operating roller coaster in the country. Besides its age, one of the most interesting things about the ride is the way it actually operates, which is very different to modern coasters. Most roller coasters (including all five wooden roller coasters at Blackpool Pleasure Beach) have ‘underfriction wheels’ (wheels underneath the track as well as on top of the track) which ensure that the trains stay on the track. The Scenic Railway, on the other hand, operates like a regular railway train. This is why a brakeman is required, who keeps the speed in check - your life is, quite literally, in his hands!

CF - The status of both the park and the Scenic Railway has been very rocky ever since 2003, how far along has your campaign come along since then?

We have come a long way. For a start, we have raised the profile of the issue - it is now one of the hottest topics in that part of Kent, and a lot of people feel passionate about it. When we started the campaign, the council were saying things like "it is Mr Godden's park, he can do with it what he likes". Now we have a situation where the Council is proposing to include a policy within its Local Plan that requires the Scenic Railway to be protected. And there are some great people in the campaign working away
behind the scenes, it most certainly isn't only me. Sarah Vickery, who owns Margate's Shell Grotto (a grade I listed visitor attraction) organises all our events and is very knowledgeable about local politics. Former Scenic Railway brakeman, Dave Collard, keeps members up-to-date with local news and also puts a lot of time in behind the scenes. Susan Marsh MBE was our advocate at the public inquiry an 2004 and has vast experience as a seasoned campaigner in the north west of England. We also have a lively forum discussing Dreamland (http://www.joylandbooks.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=4). In fact, we are now speaking for almost 14,000 people, a large number of who are actively involved. Not bad for three years work!

CF - What exactly was the Thanet Local Plan?

This is the statutory development plan for Margate. All planning applications have to be determined in accordance with it.

CF - What implications would it have for Dreamland?

Thanet District Council initially proposed a policy that would protect mostof Dreamland because they (like me) believed that there was going to be anattempt to close the park and redevelop it. Redeveloping Dreamland would have meant the loss of the biggest tourist attraction in East Kent. Unfortunately, when the owner (as expected) announced he was going to close it, the Council inexplicably suddenly changed the policy to allow the entire site to be redeveloped! This was considered at a public inquiry in 2004, at which the Save Dreamland Campaign gave evidence. Thankfully, the Inspector, in his December 2005 report, accepted our view - not the Council's - and recommended that Dreamland and its Scenic Railway be protected. Unfortunately, under the old Local Plan rules (under which this inquiry was held), the Inspector's decision is not binding. In January 2006, the Council decided not to accept the Inspector's recommendations. We are now actively involved in consultation on this decision and a large number of people have written to the council objecting. Thankfully, though, as I said earlier, they have inserted a policy to at least protect the Scenic Railway, which is itself a positive step. But we think, like the vast majority of local people and the government inspector, that the Scenic Railway should be retained within an amusement park. A lot of people are very angry with the way that Thanet District Council has handled this.

CF - And the same for the Margate Masterplan?

This is a non-statutory document, so is much less important than the Local Plan. Interestingly, though, when the Council consulted on the Masterplan and asked the public what they wanted for Dreamland, keeping Dreamland as an amusement park was not one of the options they put forward. And guess which option resulted in the largest number of responses? Yes, despite not being available as an option, keeping Dreamland resulted in by far the largest number of 'votes'. That goes to show how strongly the people of Thanet feel about this.

CF - How did the I dream of Dreamland concept come about?

We were approached by Jean-Marc Toussaint, a Paris-based designer working within the theme park industry. He had been heavily involved in the campaign over a long period of time, and was instrumental in putting us in touch with a major French theme park operator which made attempts to buy the park in 2003. He offered to create a concept plan, showing what Dreamland could be like were it acquired by an established operator. As you can see, the plan he created was fantastic and the Campaign adopted it as our vision for the site.

CF - If, or more to the point, WHEN dreamland is saved how much of that concept plan do you think will become a reality?

I think the essence of the Plan is likely to become reality, if not the exact rides shown. The high quality environment, the family-orientated approach. Whichever operator finally acquires the park will want to make their own mark on it and will have their own ideas. But, importantly, the operators that are interested in acquiring the park have endorsed the plan.

CF - As mentioned on your campaign website, Phillip Miller of Southend's Adventure Island has endorsed the plans and has been very public about his ambitions for the park, has there been any further development from Phillip?

Philip is one of the most highly regarded operators in the UK theme park industry. What he has achieved at Southend is really quite remarkable - he has, almost single-handedly turned the resort around. He genuinely wants to acquire Dreamland and has made offers for it at full, independently assessed market value. The problem he (and other operators) has is that until the Local Plan stops allowing the possibility of retail or residential development, then the value of the land is going to remain far too high for a theme park operator to acquire it. Until the Local Plan is changed, I cannot see Dreamland being anything more than a temporary fairground with a huge wooden roller coaster in the middle, which is what it is at the moment.

In addition to acquiring the site, Philip has pledged to invest an initial £10m on new rides and attractions, along with much-needed infrastructure improvements (e.g. landscaping, most of which has now been ripped out). I speak to him regularly, and as of last week, his interest had not waned in the slightest. As anyone who has spent a day at Adventure Island would know, he would be the ideal operator.

 CF - What events have you got planned in the near future for the campaign?

We have a Dreamland Disco planned for Saturday 29 April in Chatham, all welcome (click on the link on the Save Dreamland front page for details). We will also have a stand at the Preston Rally on 24 and 25 June, where we will have several items of Dreamland history on display (www.prestonservices.co.uk/diary.htm). We also have other events in the pipeline, which I can't really talk about at the moment.

CF - How long do you think it will be before a final decision is made about Dreamland?

The Local Plan should be finalised before the end of the year. But the final decision will not be made until a planning application is submitted for the site. The owners of the site (Waterbridge Group: www.waterbridge.co.uk) have said that an application will be submitted this year, so we could have a decision by 2007.

CF - What can CF members do to help the campaign?

Firstly, they can join the campaign. They can do that here: http://www.joylandbooks.com/scenicrailway/joinus.htm . We will then send details of when they can get involved; either objecting to plans and applications, or coming along to events. That is the best way of getting involved, as we can make sure that people put their effort in at the right moment, which maximises the impact.

Thank you very much Nick for the Interview and to all you CFers out there, you know what to do now: sign up to the campaign and let's really stick up for our coaster history!