Margate: Vets removes three feet long tinsel from dog

Margate in the Nineties was ready for change. The seaside town, an important English port since the Middle Ages, had bags of potential. But, as with other settlements around Britain, it had been long ignored.

After a period of decline, the Chairman of the Margate Civic Society, John Crofts, was determined to boost the town’s image.

What transformed the town was the arts: conversations in the Nineties led to the establishment of the Turner Contemporary art gallery in 2001.

It went on to become one of the UK’s most celebrated contemporary art galleries and brought with it a serious cash flow.

“The Old Town now looks great,” Daniel Goldman, owner of Cafe G which sits just off the sandy promenade. “It’s come together well, as have the Parade and Market Streets.”

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But, while the Old Town has been revived, parts of Margate remain as they have been for years: boarded up and poverty-stricken.

This is mostly the case in Arlington, an area just outside of the Old Town. It is the first thing visitors see when they hop off the train.

Locals told Express.co.uk that many of the shops in Arlington are boarded up, scenes that are seen up and down the UK. They cited high rents as the reason why businesses won’t move in.

“Many of the shops in the area are owned by one of the largest landlords in Britain, so until they do something and allow projects in Arlington, nothing will happen — people don’t want those units right now,” Mr Goldman said.

Natalie, a worker at Aarven, a boutique in the Old Town, similarly lamented the state of Arlington.

“It’s an eyesore,” she said. “It could really do with some money being put into it.”

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She described numerous derelict properties boarded up with wooden planks “to stop the windows being smashed”. “It’s a shame,” she added.

Natalie also talked about the homelessness problem in the town. “There are quite a few homeless people out on the street,” she said.

“They’re mainly along the seafront where they use the shelter to sleep underneath. There are also quite a few people wandering around asking for money. It’s visible, but if you’re not looking for it, it can easily be missed.”

According to a 2021 study by researchers from the London School of Economics, Margate is notable for its “poverty-based polarisation”. It said people there are divided into extremes of wealth and deprivation, with very few in the middle.

This, according to Iain Aitch, an author who lives in East London but is from Margate, is largely due to the high numbers of people moving into the town from more affluent areas — in the process skyrocketing house and rental prices.

He said: “In more recent years Margate has had lots of people moving in, especially from East London after being a student or buying their first plant in East London, who then sell up and move on to the town.

“Often, these people have quite a good chunk of money behind them, and where they’ve landed is in areas which had the most poverty. So there are lots of demographic changes that have happened.”

He said this has resulted in either locals and people from Margate being priced out of their homes or pushed out of their homes altogether.

Twinkle Troughton, a Margate local, also talked about poverty in the area, saying: “It’s a huge issue. There are people living in dreadful conditions.

“A lack of affordable housing has been exacerbated by the surge in flats and houses which have been purchased as holiday homes, and there are huge issues with litter, especially in the summer months when lots of people come from out of town to use the beaches but leave them strewn with rubbish and the local authorities just do not seem to have the capacity to deal with it properly. Rise Up Clean Up Margate has been working hard to combat this, another amazing grassroots organisation.”

Thanet District Council, the council that covers Margate, was contacted by Express.co.uk but couldn’t provide comment at this time.

While some say poverty may still be an issue in a regenerated Margate, others disagree.

Mr Goldman said: “The way we look and what the way we are down here, I think statistically, if you look at any areas, we’ve got more housing than job opportunities.

“So the figures get thrown around, I think. The people who are living here and spending money within the area have suddenly boosted the area.”

Similarly, Ms Troughton was upbeat about Margate’s prospects: “It’s an exciting town. There are people here pushing for real change such as Margate Pride, People Dem Collective and Rise Up Clean Up, and there are organisations which have been set up to provide support and care which really should be coming from those in power, but thanks to years of austerity is seriously lacking.

“Margate is filled with people from all walks of life doing wonderful work, and community is at the heart of so much that happens here.”

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