DEAR Editor,-
There is probably no one more qualified to comment on the declining numbers of tourists visiting Margate beach than the person who sells umbrellas, chairs, ice-creams and cool drinks to them.
That person is Mike Jones, who runs the Bambi Ice Cream Parlour on the beachfront and, according to last week’s Herald, Mike has noted a 40 percent drop in income over the last two years. That tells us in no uncertain terms that visitors are avoiding Margate. The fact that our Olympic-sized pool has been closed since June last year has significantly added to his shortfall.
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The pool, besides providing a significant service to locals in the form of lifeguard training, school galas, coaching classes and fitness training, also offers a haven for visitors from the frequent prevailing winds during our summer months. We are (probably) the only beach on the South Coast that has this facility. And yet we dither while the tourists vote with their wallets and go elsewhere.
If the pool is not fixed, probably owing to a lack of funds, it will have to be filled in. We cannot have a glaring 50 x 25m billboard advertising our declining standards to all and sundry.
The cost of closure will, in all likelihood, exceed the cost of repairs. It will also mean the end of Bambi, which is part of the structure, and provides a vital service to beachgoers.
This would be another nail in the coffin of the failing economy of Margate.
I realise council is making an effort to resurrect the pool, which probably runs at a loss, but that loss will be made up by increased activity in restaurants, B&Bs, flat rentals, pubs, shops and the like if we offer visitors a safe, clean and well-appointed beach with the unique feature of a sparkling Olympic-sized pool. If we get the beachfront right, the rest will follow.
We’ve already disappointed our Christmas-season visitors, let’s try to get our act together for the Easter tourists and the bikers who will follow a few weeks later.
If we fail in these coming weeks, the word will be well and truly out that Margate is going down the tubes.
ROGER MAKINGS
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