Movie magic or boulevard of broken dreams?
After the hype has died down, has use for filming helped rejuvenate Margate?
Margate might be one of the most evocative towns in the United Kingdom. You may think of it as an old Victorian holiday destination, or a deprived coastal town in need of regeneration so it doesn’t fall into the sea. You may also think of it as a place which has seen a new burgeoning arts scene after the opening of Turner Contemporary.
There is now, however, another reason why you might think of visiting the Thanet coastal town. Over the last few years, no small number of films and TV shows have used the town and its various landmarks for filming. Just these few: Killing Eve, Only Fools and Horses, Empire of Light, and Top Boy are all things you’ve probably heard of. No wonder then, that Margate’s visibility has increased recently.
This is also because something has undoubtedly been changing in Margate over the last 10 years. Tourism has increased massively, it’s home to a whole host of creative businesses which weren’t there before and house prices are set to skyrocket. The town is undoubtedly entering into a new era and all of the new filming projects happening could be seen as part of this.
But now that the casts and crews have long gone, and the films/shows have been released, have they contributed in any meaningful way to it? And is the change truly a positive one for those who live in the town rather than something which more closely resembles gentrification?
First, we have to understand exactly what has been going on in Margate over the last ten years or so. It all started with the opening of turner contemporary in 2011. Named after J.M.W. Turner, the artist widely known as the father of modern art, it introduced Margate to the trendy creative arts scene in London.
The connection of Margate to the high-speed line in that same year, slashing journey times between London and Kent, made it much easier to get there from the capital.
Added to all this was the reopening of Dreamland, one of the oldest theme parks in the UK, in 2015 bringing in millions more tourists and local job opportunities. Margate seemed set to undergo quite the regeneration, and if we look at the numbers, it would seem that this is now happening.
Margate's changes in numbers:
4.2m
The number of tourists who came to Margate in 2017. This was a record number and it added £319 million to the local economy.
Source: Thanet District Council
84%
The percentage that creative businesses increased in Thanet between 2013 and 2016. The number of arts studios increased just as much.
Source: Thanet District Council
£29m
The amount of money Margate could be eligible to receive from the Government as part of its Town investment plan.
Source: UK Government
19%
The rate at which house prices are set to increase in Margate in 2023-2025. The expected increase in the UK overall is just 8.8 percent.
Source: UK Property Index
When local residents have been asked how they feel about what’s been going on in Margate, the responses have been mixed.
A survey of 2,249 people was submitted to the government by Thanet District Council as it looked to shape its town investment plan. It showed a community divided between those who have moved down from London (DFL) and long-time residents.
One resident who had moved to Margate from London said as quoted in KentOnline: “It feels like Margate is being transformed for the DFLs (me included), and being neglected for the long-term residents. For example, the upper high street is very neglected, and the streets out of town look run down.”
Another resident said: “Despite the regeneration that has taken place, there is still a great deal of poverty and social deprivation here.” Overall, the most common words which came up in it were “fun,” “beach” and “dirty.”
This leaves us with the question: are the filming projects likely to change things, and if so, will it be to the benefit of everyone?
Dreamland now.
Dreamland when it was used as a location for Empire of Light. Pic: Roy Foord
In order to answer this, we must first look at the shows and flicks that have used Margate as their backdrop...
Sam Mendes' romantic drama Empire of Light might be the most high profile filming project to come to Margate yet. Starring Olivia Coleman and Colin firth, it saw the seafront turned into a 1980s winter and the derelict Dreamland building transformed into the Empire cinema.
Talking to the Kent Film Office about the location, Mendes said it was: "inspiring and exciting to be somewhere where, like all good locations, starts giving things back to you when you find it."
Released: 9 January 2023
Dreamland is the latest filming project to use Margate as its primary location. The Sky Atlantic comedy sees Lily Allen making her TV lead debut in a show that explores complex multigenerational female relationships.
Co-star Freema Agyeman said as quoted by BT: "The script examines gentrification rather than regeneration and placing the story against that backdrop amplified all the other themes that are being discussed in the series."
Released: 6 April 2023
The the latest season of BBC hit Killing Eve saw Margate being unexpectedly used as a location as its makers tried to restore the show's reputation after a disappointing third season.
The promenade and dreamland park featured prominently but interestingly, the Lido was also used to recreate Havana in Cuba...
First Broadcast: 27 February 2022
Initially broadcast on Channel 4 and then continued on Netflix, this drug rivalry story used Walpole Bay and Fuslam Rock Beach in Margate for its first season. It also used neighbouring Thanet coastal town Ramsgate as a location.
First broadcast: October 31, 2011
While a far less recent outing to Margate, the 1989 Christmas day special of Only Fools actually topped a recent poll of viewers' all-time favourite episode. It saw most of the cast going for a nice summer's day in the town before its decline really accelerated the following decade. It showed the centre of Margate as well as the railway station and Cliftonville.
An "Only Fools Day" was held on April 1st this year at the Dreamland park to commemorate the episode. It saw re-enactments by some of the cast members and behind the scenes stories shared with fans.
Those in authority and/or responsible for attracting filming in the town appear to have nothing but positive things to say about the impact that these projects – Empire of Light in particular – are having on the town.
The Senior Tourism Officer at Thanet District Council, Julie Edwards, said: "I believe this film [Empire of Light] has helped to raise awareness of Margate as a destination, it certainly gave us the opportunity to promote the destination on the back of the film throughout our and other tourism partner's social media sites." She also noted that an Empire of Light Film Trail created for screen tourists had proved popular.
Gabrielle Lindemann set up the Kent Film Office in 2006 which aimed at attracting inward investments from filming projects that took place there. She said about the use of filming: "The Kent coast is our most important asset where film locations are concerned. I Believe Margate is popular as it has many faces and can offer diverse locations within easy reach of each other, as well as being film friendly..."
She also said that Margate has "recently had a revival through a thriving artist community... as well as receiving attention as an easily reachable summer destination for Londoners through the pandemic when foreign travel was not possible." She also mentioned that Margate was their most filmed coastal town.
Once again, there are numbers which give this optimism more substance. The headline figure is that the filming of Empire of Light brought in £4.8 million in local spending and this doesn't even include the money that would hopefully be spent on tourism. Incidentally, Empire of Light page on The Council's website received over 10,000 views between January and April.
One of the locations that screen tourists would find on the Empire of Light Film locations map is Café Darcy. The family Run Café just off the main seafront opposite the high street was used in the picture to create "Thanet Chemist" in the fictional 1980s world.
One of the owners, Darren Barrett, 48, is optimistic about the effect that filming had had on his business and on the town as whole. speaking about the experience, he said: “We were quite excited about it... we’re hoping more and more people will come to Margate, and it brings people into the area, not just summertime but all year round. We’ve seen people taking pictures and asking about it already... when it turned back into a café, people were joking and saying, ‘where’s my prescription?’”
He also mentioned that far more business was brought to Margate during the winter when Empire of Light was being filmed.
While Darren is from Ireland, John Cleaver, 36 is a lifelong resident of Margate and manages Tivoli Amusements on the seafront. He had a more mixed reaction to the use for filming and also, what is happening (or perhaps, not happening) in the town.
“Anything that highlights the town draws people in... it’s good that people come, it highlights that we’re still here and make it relevant but we should be a town that can hold its own, not need films to be here,” he said.
“We’re still recovering from COVID. Lockdown crucified everyone along here. I was out of work for a year so if it’s drawing people, it takes time to filter down so we’ll see how this summer is based on that," he added.
He spoke about the future of Margate’s regeneration, saying: “I think it’s gonna be stagnant. I think unless councillors start investing money in projects around here... the gallery was attracting different types of people here. They were just going to Costa for an expensive cup of coffee and looking at expensive art. They’re not gonna go to all the independently owned stores here. The high street’s almost dead.”
There seemed to be a huge amount of positivity amongst the people who were involved in making the films as well as those who facilitated them. Even some in the town who participated in the making of them reckon things are looking up.
Speak to someone who has lived in Margate for years and has a more long-term perspective, and we can see a hesitancy to build up hopes unless they get dashed. If the opening of Turner Contemporary was supposed to bring more visitors to the area, it hasn’t brought the ones that most people were hoping for. If the reopening of dreamland was supposed to get more people to support the local economy, it only seems to be doing so for half the year.
The Dreamland Building seems to have gone back to being derelict, and the beautiful lights erected along the seafront for Empire have since been taken down. It remains to be seen if these films have a long term effect, like for example if this summer there is an uptick in “screen” tourists. Margate overall, seems revived but not necessarily regenerated. ONS statistics show that Thanet still lags behind the rest of the UK in terms of health and employment.
The big shows and the big names in these shows might, however, help raise the town’s profile still further and possibly, make it more likely to receive the Town Fund money. It certainly needs all the regeneration it can get.
The end.
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