mlouis@thekmgroup.co.uk

If you care about Cliftonville West then sign a new petition in a bid to make things better.

Petitions are widely available in local businesses for a campaign to protect and bring fresh ambition to the area.

Conserving Cliftonville’s “Camelot” has been launched by South Thanet MP Laura Sandys.

Ms Sandys wants to get maximum support in her bid to push Thanet District Council to designate most of Cliftonville West a conservation area.

The aim is to protect the architecture and quality of housing for generations in Northdown Road, Eastern Esplanade, Ethelbert Road, Athelstan Road, Edgar Road, Sweyn Road, Grotto Gardens, Clifton Place, Warwick Road, Norfolk Road, Surrey Road, and roads between.

Ms Sandys said the designation would provide new enforcement opportunities to address absent landlords and dilapidated buildings, enable funding for conservation projects and give a new branding for the town.

She has dubbed the earmarked area Camelot because road names including Athelstan, Ethelbert, Edgar, Sweyn and Harold, were once those of ancient British kings. Camelot is also “a symbol of a time of promise, potential and vision”.

Designation as a conservation area would bring greater enforcement opportunities against absent landlords and dilapidated properties. It would also provide funding opportunities for conservation projects.

Ms Sandys referred to national media coverage about the Isle being a “dumping ground”.

She said: “I firmly believe however that the tide is changing; there is a new era on the horizon and that’s very exciting.

“I want people to come to the area to visit and to invest. One way that I believe that we can push this agenda forward is by campaigning to preserve Cliftonville’s heritage, providing a new and very exciting offering.”

The area had wonderful architecture but historic buildings without conservation orders were vulnerable and could be knocked down.

Petitions are widely available and can also be signed online at: www.telllaura.org.uk/petition