Legal action will be taken to ensure Margate’s historic Scenic Railway is properly repaired.

Thanet Council’s planning committee has voted unanimously in favour of taking legal steps to secure the future of the fire-damaged feature at Dreamland.

Members gave officers the power to serve repair notices on the former amusement park’s owners, Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company, which will compel them to bring the 1920 ride back to operating condition.

The committee heard at Wednesday’s meeting that council officers are already working closely with MTCRC and its consulting engineers. At the moment, they are in the process of deciding which additional parts of the Scenic’s structure can be removed before restoration can go ahead.

Hopes are high that work can be completed on the railway by Easter 2009.

Issuing the order is seen as a last resort move by the council, but also gives it the option of compulsorily purchasing the entire 15 acre site and paying for the work to be done before reselling it again on the open market.

Subject to further legal advice, the council might include the 1935 built cinema building on the seafront in the same order.

Moving agreement to the notice, Cllr Steve Ward told the meeting: “The Scenic Railway is one of the most important pieces of equipment left in Margate. There will be degradation of the whole structure if the council doesn’t agree with the officers’ recommendation.

“I hope the Scenic Railway will be running by next summer at the latest and our officers will be working with the owners to ensure that happens.”

Cllr Ezekiel told Thanet Extra after the meeting he was delighted at the decision and confirmed MTCRC was already working closely with the council.

He said: “This is the right decison for Thanet and a vital tool in our armoury. Although the Scenic Railway is like Trigger’s broom, people love it dearly.”

Sarah Vickery of the Save Dreamland Campaign was among those watching proceedings from a packed public gallery. She said: “This is a robust stand by the council and it’s very good news. It’s interesting to note that legal advice will be sought to include the cinema in the order. This has needed restoration for years but its demise hasn’t been as dramatic as the Scenic Railway.”

Finding new uses for old cinemas is a problem facing many places up and down the country, she said, and a lot of creative thinking would be needed to decide how to best use the Dreamland building.