Eastcliff Shelters Update

The Ramsgate Society restored the 14 Listed seafront shelters with a grant of £450,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2011/12. At that time the Society was granted a 12 year lease on the shelters by Thanet District Council (TDC), who own the asset, with an obligation to maintain the shelters in good condition.

That lease expires in May 2023 and discussions about the future maintenance of the shelters have begun. One option being considered is that ownership of the asset is transferred from TDC to Ramsgate Town Council (RTC), and that the Society continue to play a major part in partnership with RTC in maintaining the shelters going forward.

During the Summer of 2022, Davena Green, Vice President of The Ramsgate Society has been working with a small team of volunteers to redecorate the four shelters in The Paragon and Nelson Crescent and these are now looking very good.

We are also planning to redecorate the five shelters on the Eastcliff which suffered badly from vandalism during the Covid Pandemic and are currently in a sorry state. Before they can be redecorated there is a great deal of preparatory work to be done. Some of the timbers are rotten and need replacing and there is a lot of rust in the metal frames that needs removing and treating before painting can begin. The Society is employing a specialist to replace any rotten timber and remove the rust on the window frames in preparation for decoration.

Preparation work started in October 2022 and once completed we will be looking for some volunteers to help with the painting.

If you would be interested in volunteering to help with this work, please email our Hon. Secretary, Graham Woolnough at secretary@ramsgate-society.org.uk.

Interested volunteers will be invited to an informal meeting for a briefing before we start the work and we will then liaise with Ramsgate Glass regarding the re-glazing of the shelters on completion of the redecoration.

Once the Eastcliff Shelters have been repaired and repainted we will be turning our attention, in the Spring of 2023, to the larger shelters on the Westcliff which are also in need of attention.

Written by:
John Walker,
Chairman of The Ramsgate Society