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What does Margate want from Andy Burnham?

Helen CattPolitical editor, South East
BBC A man with a ginger beard wearing a black shirt and camouflage hat. BBC
Callum Regan says he has seen big changes in Margate over the last 15 years

The incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham has promised to give powers to seaside towns to "reimagine themselves for the 21st century".

Margate on the Kent coast has spent many years doing just that.

After decades of decline, it's now home to the high profile Turner Contemporary art gallery, boasts a thriving food and drink scene and regularly hosts well-known acts at the revitalised Dreamland entertainment complex.

Even Madonna is apparently a fan of the town.

Despite that, the Thanet district, of which it is part, has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the South East and one in five working age people are in households where at least one member is out of work through unemployment, sickness or disability.

So what more do people in Margate think they need to make a difference?

A young man with a beard in a black cap and black t-shirt with an orange flame logo standing in front of a seafront row of shops
Kane McArthur runs a skate school in Margate and says there is a lack of opportunity for young people

Kane McArthur grew up in Margate and now runs a skate school in the town where he works with young people.

He says Burnham's promise sounds like a "really positive thing" but that investment needs to come "from the ground up" for young people to really feel the benefits.

"I feel like any seaside town or any smaller town outside of cities probably feel the same. There is a lack of opportunity."

He suggests regeneration needs to be driven by youth initiatives, charities and community groups.

He said: "There's already a momentum and energy here in the town but that's based off the back of the community."

A man with a long grey beard and glasses, wearing a cap, sitting in a shop in front of a row of skateboards
Skate shop owner Nic Powley says that, like many seaside towns, Margate's economy is very seasonal

Nic Powley , who runs a skate shop on the seafront, agrees that any investment should be guided by the local community.

He says the main problem is the seasonal nature of the town's economy.

"It needs a way of becoming more of an all year round destination," he said.

"That is happening. The Turner really helped that and there is a big food and drink scene which attracts people here a lot more in the winter."

The £17.5m Turner Contemporary opened in 2011 and has been credited with bringing more visitors into the town, although there have been questions about how widely its effects have been felt.

Powley says there should be more work experience, training and apprenticeships for young people to provide career options outside of hospitality, which he says is the main employment option.

He said: "There's very little manufacturing. There's a lot of work here for tradesmen, that's one of the areas where there are a lot of jobs, but a lot of the other areas are lacking."

A woman with long blonde hair, pink and green glasses and pink jacket.
Kathy Green says there has been significant change since she moved to Margate nearly nine years ago.

North Down Road in the Cliftonville area of Margate is another part of the town that had suffered but now has a number of independent shops and cafes and was recently named one of the coolest streets in the world.

At Lowlife, a coffee bar, social space and barbershop, co-owner Calum Regan says there have been huge changes.

"Going back 15 years ago, the street that we're on at the moment is one that I wouldn't have wanted to hang out on or even walk-up," he told the BBC.

There are still things that could be improved though.

He says one of the things local people "really struggle with" is pressure on housing from the number of short term holiday lets, and "how hard it is to actually get yourself a place."

Tourism remains a major part of Thanet's economy, generating around £349m a year, according to figures from Visit Kent published in December 2024.

Kathy Green, who works in a shop and as a tour guide, moved to Margate from London nearly nine years ago.

She says investment should go into reopening "the golden nuggets for tourists in the area" such as the Winter Gardens, Theatre Royal and Margate Museum, which are all currently closed.

Other people who spoke to BBC South East said journeys on the high-speed train line from London needed to be sped up even further and sewage spills into the sea should be tackled.

Exactly how and when Andy Burnham plans to transfer power to areas like Margate, which do not have elected Mayors, is not yet clear.

He has promised to bring economic growth to every area of the country but as Margate already knows, that is unlikely to happen overnight.

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