Please sign this petition if you would like to protect Walpole Bay from overdevelopment. 

As part of the Margate Town Deal, Thanet District Council (TDC) is planning to build a two storey cafe, toilet, showers and community hub.  £1.025m has been allocated to this project. See building designs and full details here.

This petition asks TDC to scale back the development, and only install accessible, low impact improvements for real coastal wellbeing: 

• Accessible public toilets
• Accessible changing facilities
• Waste disposal and litter picking facilities
• Water fountain
• Public tap to clean feet, beach equipment etc.
• Improve tidal pool accessiblity (suggested ramp)

Public toilets could be maintained like the ones on Main Sands. Walpole Bay does not need a two-storey cafe, when five others are in close proximity, and this overdevelopment will spoil Walpole's biodiversity, whilst introducing more traffic, rubbish and dangerous congestion. Remaining funds should be reallocated to repair existing community buildings and support community groups who need this funding.

We don't have much time to make our voices heard! TDC planning committee will conduct a site visit on 5 December, and cast their vote at the next planning meeting on 17 December.

What you can do:

• Sign and share this petition.
• Most importantly - object to the planning permission on Thanet District Council portal. (Click 'make a comment' or 'log in and make a comment'). It takes 5 minutes and makes a huge difference - the planning committee will only consider these official comments when deciding on the development.
• Email protectwalpolebay@gmail.com if you need any assistance or have any questions.

Additional points against the proposed overdevelopment are:

It’s detrimental to the environment:

• The scale of the development is inappropriate for the site, when this coastline is triple protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Area of Conservation (SAC), and Special Protection Area (SPA). 
• This development is in high risk flood zones 2 and 3: This will only be worse in the future. 
• Habitats Regulations Assessment advises that designated wintering birds like Turnstones will be disturbed and this should only be overridden if there is ‘overriding public interest’. There is not.

Such a large development makes the beach LESS accessible, not more:

• Accessible parking spaces will be lost: Pushing people with mobility issues further away from the pool, and putting swimmers at risk of hypothermia.
• Single lane access is dangerous: Increased traffic will be congested on the steep access slope and in front of the cafe, with a blind bend turning into the site. Cars, jetskis, pedestrians, families carrying beach equipment will all be jostling for space.

It does not serve the community

• Toilets will only open during cafe hours. Limited hours will not service the early morning beach users.
• The 'community centre' is not fit for purpose: it is a 2.5 metre wide shipping container, with no heating. People will not attend events with 12ft waves in the depths of winter. 
• Ongoing maintenance of such a large construction is a concern, especially when the jet ski cafe and sauna have been vandalised in the past. 
• The Ecological Advice Service advises a 10pm lighting curfew to protect wildlife - but this will make it vulnerable to antisocial behaviour. 

Margate benefits from regeneration, and this funding is a great asset to the town, but it must be used with the best interests and genuine need of the community at its heart.

Walpole Bay is already a thriving, self regulating community. It’s one of the last remaining wild places and is a precious place to escape to nature. Let's keep it that way