THE battle to retain a family leisure attraction on Margate seafront is underway. The owner, Jimmy Godden, who plans to close the Dreamland fun park at the end of the 2003 season, is considering a number of possibilities for the attraction.

These include leisure and retail ideas such as a hotel and casino, supermarket and car park.

Thanet council members and officers are awaiting firm details of Mr Godden’s proposals and council leader Richard Nicholson said: "The site is earmarked as a family leisure attraction in the local plan and that is the way we want it to stay."

He stressed: "Dreamland is well known throughout the country and it is a large part of our tourist industry. We need to study visitor statistics to see if numbers have fallen as dramatically as Mr Godden suggests.

‘It would be a great shame for a resort area like Thanet to be without one of its best known attractions. However we are under no illusions that Mr Godden can close the site, no matter what the council says, and the worse case scenario would be if it were allowed to become derelict."

The council will work closely with Mr Godden, seafront traders and other resort business as the future of Dreamland is decided.