Council chiefs have served the owners of Dreamland in Margate with an urgent works notice insisting they erect a fence to protect the fire damaged Grade II listed Scenic Railway until it is fully repaired.

The notice was served on the Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company and requires them to put up a continuous 2.4 metre high steel fence around the entirety of the listed ride, the oldest of its type in the country and third oldest in the world.

If the fence is not up by Monday August 11, then the council will, using planning powers, send contractors to the amusement park to erect the fence. The council will then recover the cost of this work from MTCRC.

The move follows the fire, which broke out in early April, destroying approximately 30 per cent of the railway’s tracks, the workshop where the cars were housed and part of the station. The ride, built in 1920, was the first amusement park ride to be Grade II listed in 2002.

Sarah Vickery of the Save Dreamland Campaign said: “Anything which ensures the Scenic Railway is properly protected has to be welcomed.”

For full story, see the Thanet Extra, out on Wednesday