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Dear *|FNAME1|*,

Good News Continues

Another encouraging month of progress! We are pleased to be able to announce a significant step forward on emergency repairs to the Clock House and that the Society has planted 50 new trees which will soon be available for sponsorship. We can also thank TDC for the speedy repair of the East Cliff Lift after vandals stripped the lead from the roof. The photos below record the transformation from the initial temporary protection from rain in October to a new lead roof in February.

Terry Prue,

Ramsgate Society Communications Lead

Emergency Repairs to The Clock House

Last year the Clock House was placed on the Historic England Buildings at Risk List and, due to the Coronavirus restrictions, the building has remained closed since March 2020.

Members will be pleased to hear that the Society has been successful in obtaining a grant of £22,812 from the Historic England Heritage at Risk Response Fund to carry out some emergency repairs at the Clock House. The repairs are essential to stabilize the loose stonework around the clock tower, which is in danger of falling through the roof, and to repair the leaks in the roof that are causing damage to the interior of the building. View the Damage Report.

The initial survey, specifications and quotations for the work were prepared by Michael Foley of Standard Heritage on a pro bono basis. Mike is a Ramsgate resident and a qualified Heritage Surveyor, a member of the Ramsgate Heritage and Design Forum and a great advocate for the protection of Ramsgate’s historic buildings. Following the receipt of three quotations the contractor chosen to carry out the work was Colman Contractors of Canterbury.

The work is due to commence soon and will be supervised for the Society by Simon Clark of Copperstone Consultants and Mike Foley of Standard Heritage. Mike has very generously agreed to act pro bono and Simon Clark’s fee is included in the grant from Historic England.

We currently await the TDC response to the WSP Report and Consultation on the Feasibility of the Ramsgate Port and Harbour which is expected in the Spring 2021. If the Clock House is identified in that Report as a defined project then we have been told that TDC will support our proposals for a new Ramsgate Maritime Heritage Centre in a newly renovated Clock House.

John Walker,

Chairman

(Photo: Copyright Images of England Mrs Dawn Davison. Source Historic England Archive)

Ramsgate Conservation Area Tree Planting Project

2020 marked the 50th Anniversary of the designation of the Ramsgate Conservation Area in 1970. The Society was very much involved in a Conservation Area Appraisal lead by Historic England in 2019 as part of the Ramsgate Heritage Action Zone Project, and this gave rise to the idea of celebrating this Golden Anniversary by planting 50 trees in the Conservation Area in the Autumn of 2020.

Working closely with Kevin Pressland, the Thanet District Council Officer responsible for Biodiversity and Open Spaces, Ramsgate Society committee member Irene Seijo worked on the detail of the project. Irene is a highly qualified and experienced landscape consultant with 25 years experience in public realm planning and development.

We were very fortunate to obtain grant funding from a number of sources including the Post Code Lottery Fund, Ramsgate Town Council, The Mayor of Ramsgate Raushan Ara and Street Trees for Kent. The Society also ring fenced funds from its own Projects Account to make up the balance.

Our original plan to plant the trees in the Autumn of last year using local volunteers was frustrated by the Covid Restrictions in force at the time but fortunately we were able to obtain the services of the specialist landscape contractors Harmer and Sons who undertook the planting of the trees on Wednesday 18th and Friday 19th January. This was not achieved without some difficulty and Wed 18th proved to be the day Storm Christoph hit Kent with winds of up to 55 miles an hour making the job quite difficult. Fortunately, all went well. We lost only 1 tree which snapped in the wind and this will be replaced shortly.

The next stage in the project is our “Adopt a Tree” campaign where we are asking local people to adopt a tree in their name or that of a family member, or friend. For a small contribution your name or that of your chosen person can be allocated to the tree of your choice and your contribution will help us finance the watering costs over the first two or three years until the trees become established. More on this in the March newsletter.

John Walker

Goodwin Sands Heritage Trust

From time to time we like to draw attention to other organisations doing good work in our region. One of these is the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust. The aim of the Trust is to raise public awareness of the importance and significance of the Sands, not only as part of our national maritime heritage and marine environment but also as a natural sea defence.

You can find their February newsletter here.

Contact the Ramsgate Society

If you have any queries about or for the Society please get in touch

Members with events, workshops or news that you would like the Society to consider featuring in its newsletter please contact: news@ramsgate-society.org.uk