THERE will be no visiting attractions at the Dreamland site in Thanet this summer.

It is hoped to operate the Scenic Railway, a heritage switchback rollercoaster, as usual, but a senior figure at owners Waterbridge admitted the quality of the rides at the Margate site in the past has not been good enough.

The news came at a consultation on the future of Dreamland being held at the Winter Gardens in the town.

Waterbridge’s Toby Hunter said: "People have been disappointed by the showmen that have been on the site for the past couple of years. We don’t don’t want to bring people to Margate and then disappoint them."

And he added: "We want to run the Scenic Railway and we are employing an events manager to put on a programme of events."

It is hoped that work will start on the Dreamland redevelopment by 2009. The consultation was intended to gain Thanet’s opinions before finalising plans for the site.

Dan Anderson of town regeneration consultants Tribal, stressed the need for whatever is created to be for residents more than tourists.

He said: "Financially, one resident is equal to 2,500 tourists. Seaside towns that buck the trend [of deprivation] are the ones that are designed around residents. The tourist market is very high risk."

The timescale for the redevelopment is fairly loose but Waterbridge say it is hoped to have an application in by June this year.