Additional reporting by KMTV’s Oliver Leader de Saxe A cash-strapped council is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds maintaining and securing a run-down music venue as concerns mount over its future, KentOnline can reveal. Thanet District Council (TDC) has stumped up £177,911 on security alone for Margate’s historic Winter Gardens since it closed in August 2022. It comes after former management firm Your Leisure handed back its lease to the authority after reporting financial losses.
Now, figures KentOnline has obtained via a Freedom of Information request reveal mothballing the 2,500-capacity venue, which famously hosted The Beatles, has set the taxpayer back £382,694. While some say the council should work harder to mitigate soaring costs, others praised the decision to stand firm on its pledge to revive the venue. Thanet district councillor Barry Manners (Con) said: “The authority’s attitude is to look backwards to the days in the 50s when a building like that was viable.
“Unless we can build a time machine to go back to the 50s then the venue will remain empty. “It’s beyond economic repair. Its listed status puts the council in a hopeless situation - it should be a year-round tourist destination.
“It’s easy for a council to kick the decision down the road when it’s spending other people’s money, but when it’s your own money you have to grasp the nettle.” Local musician Aidan Sheridan was due to play at the Winter Gardens, close to his home,.