Installation of the Harbour Street Gate

Ramsgate Town Council is delighted to report that a gate at the South entrance of Harbour Street has been installed to help enforce the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) that prohibits vehicles from entering the pedestrianised area of our town centre between 10am to 5pm. This project has been in the pipeline for several years and the Town Council has worked with Kent County Council, including Cllr Karen Constantine, who has contributed towards the costs through her Combined Members Grant, Thanet District Council, local businesses and residents to try and find the best solution to this ongoing problem in the town centre. After alternative options such as automated bollards and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras were ruled out, a gate was agreed upon. The hope is that this will help to make the town centre a safer and more welcoming space for residents and visitors.

The Town Council then invited young people to enter a competition to design a gate suitable for this entrance and 48 entries were submitted for consideration. The winning design, created by Lily Headley, aged 17, was unanimously approved by the judges as it reflected the town's heritage, incorporating our lighthouse, a RNLI lifeboat and fishing vessels. The judges were particularly impressed with the lighthouse and the innovative way the rays incorporated the word RAMSGATE. It was manufactured using a local company, with the support of other Kent businesses and was finally installed last week.

From today, the gate will be closed in line with the TRO and all emergency and security services are aware. If tradespeople require permits to enter the area and remain in the pedestrianised part of town between 10am and 5pm, they can apply by contacting car.parking@thanet.gov.uk.