Dreamland Margate announces further expansion to 2017 plans Hot on the heels of announcing the sold-out Demon Dayz festival, Dreamland today unveils an exciting expansion of its 2017 plans for the park. The new additions for this year will further secure Dreamland as one of Britain’s must-visit cultural destinations, combining state of the art facilities, a festival atmosphere and an expansive street food-inspired offering, to redefine the ultimate day out for all ages. With the ambition to create a seaside entertainment park of the future, Dreamland – now opening on Friday 26th May – will now feature Wi-Fi across the park, a treetop bar, a 15 metre festival-style bar and an expanded [street food] dining offering. This is all in addition to the newly restored vintage rides, event spaces and interactive art installations announced in February. The enhancements have been brought forward thanks to a further investment of £10m from Arrowgrass Capital Partners, which is supporting the management team’s plan to create the ultimate reimagined day out at the seaside for families, couples and day trippers alike. 2017 plans also include investment into Dreamland’s back of house areas, including specific facilities for artist-led events such as green rooms and catering, with a new state of the art industrial kitchen which will service both the Hall By The Sea and Ballroom for large catered events, bringing multi-functional use to the event spaces. The Cinque Ports pub project has also expanded, with well over a million pounds being invested to upgrade two floors of the Grade II listed building, returning it to its former 1930s glory. Following recent acquisitions, Sands Heritage Limited, operator of Dreamland Margate, now owns land and buildings across a 60 metre stretch of Marine Terrace opposite Margate’s beautiful sandy beach. The investment in Cinque Ports is therefore just the first phase of a major regeneration of this beautiful seafront. This also sits alongside the exterior work that Thanet District Council are carrying out on the Dreamland Cinema and the Sunshine Café. Steven Mitchell, Interim CEO at Dreamland Margate, said: “Our plan is to operate a fantastic vintage park that showcases the Scenic Railway and our many other rides alongside destination dining and unique event spaces. We are accelerating some elements of our longer-term plan in order to deliver the best possible experience to our customers in 2017 and to avoid potential future disruption by doing the work in one go. To complete the additional improvements, and ensure the fantastic day or night out for customers from the get-go, we have decided to change the opening date for the amusement park by a few weeks to Friday 26 May and we are excited about what we will offer for the Spring Bank Holiday and the school half-term. Our outdoor events site will then open, as planned, on 10th June to coincide with the Gorillaz-headlined Demon Dayz festival. Following this, it will be converted into parkland and will re-open in time for the Summer holidays.” Amphitheatre style seating and a performance stage will form a backdrop to the new Dreamland street food court. Here street food will be served from vintage trucks, trendy shacks and 1940s airstreams all positioned to start the Margate food revolution as Dreamland becomes a destination for foodies to enjoy the best in simple and bold flavours including wood fired pizza, Mexican tacos, Asian stir fry, buttermilk fried chicken, fish and chips and tempting treats for anyone with a sweet tooth! For younger funsters, and to complement the all new Teddy and Betty Land, watch out for celebrity friends Peppa Pig and family, Chase and Marshall from PAW Patrol and Captain

Barnacles and Kwazii from the Octonauts all arriving for play dates with Teddy and Betty Bear on special Thursdays throughout the Summer. The latest update takes the total amount invested by Arrowgrass to £25m, and is a further demonstration of its support for the management team’s strategy to build a strong business that will have a positive and lasting impact on the local economy. Key dates for your Dreamland Diaries, with much more to be announced soon; 8th April - Big Fish Little Fish in collaboration with Camp Bestival 26th May - New look amusement park re-opens Includes; vintage rides, art installations, The Amphitheatre, street food court, festival-style bar The Garden Boardwalk alongside the menagerie cages, Teddy & Betty Land. Late Spring - Cinque Ports opens 28th May - Margate Wonderland Festival – The Kills headline 29th May - FUN DMC – free entry 10th June - Event space launch for Demon Dayz event 10th June - Demon Dayz event – Gorillaz headlines Summer - Ziggy’s rooftop bar opens 10th June - VIP bar opens for events and private hire 22nd July - Slaves 27th July - Peppa Pig and family appearance 10th Aug - PAW Patrol – Chase and Marshall appearance 12-25 Aug - Camp Bestival Bouncy Castle – the world’s biggest bouncy castle comes to Dreamland 24th Aug - Octonauts – Barnacles and Kwazii Kitten appearance

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Website: Dreamland.co.uk Newsletter: dreamland.co.uk/readallaboutit Twitter: @DreamlandMarg Instagram: @Dreamlandmargate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamlandmargate/ Notes to editors: Dreamland is considered to be the oldest-surviving amusement park in Great Britain: the site of Dreamland (as it was re-named in 1920) dates back to the British railway boom and the early 1870s when, in its original form, the ‘Hall by the Sea’ was operated by the circus tycoon, ‘Lord’ George Sanger. In 2003, a plan to close the park and build housing on the site triggered a 'Save Dreamland' campaign by locals and amusement park enthusiasts. Thanet District Council’s Compulsory Purchase Order unlocked the regeneration of the historic site and, along with other public organisations, secured £18m of public funding. It is likely that the site’s jewels: the Grade II*-listed Scenic Railway, Grade II* - listed cinema complex and Grade II-listed menagerie cages – would have further degenerated without this intervention. Sands Heritage Ltd. was appointed in 2014 as the commercial operator of Dreamland and has secured a £15 million investment from Arrowgrass Capital Partners. Architecture and design by d_raw and Aecom in collaboration with Neverland will see the next phase in the restoration project being realised as a fully re-landscaped park with world-class entertainment spaces, modern art installations and contemporary food and drink offerings. This will all sit alongside vintage rides all restored to their original glory.

The Dreamland project plays a significant role in community engagement, education, training, sustainable employment and boosting the local economy. It is also a major component in the continued regeneration of Margate, spearheaded by Turner Contemporary in 2011. Thanet District Council is now undertaking the next phase of redevelopment which will see the iconic Sunshine Café brought back to life and the front of the cinema building restored. Dreamland Margate is less than 90 minutes from London by train with Margate Station only a 5 minute walk away.