The Regent shortly before it closed 14-years-ago
Dover & Deal MP, Natalie Elphicke, this week visited the Regent building on Deal’s seafront amid residents’ concerns about the familiar Art Deco building falling into disrepair.
It has now been closed for 14 years and this once loved community asset has become an eyesore, urgently in need of repair.
The site has had many entertainments uses since its opening in 1928 – firstly as a theatre, transformed into a cinema and most recently as a bingo hall.
Plans to build a cinema and flats were scuppered in June 2022 when a fire broke out at the building. Since then, the building has remained undeveloped and unused.
Natalie Elphicke MP said: “After the fire in June 2022, I gained assurances from the Council that the site owners were soon to resubmit their planning application to restore this building. More than six months on, these plans have still not materialised.
“I understand that Dover District Council are pressing the site owners to get moving on their plans to reopen this seafront asset as soon as possible. Also that enforcement action may be on the cards if they don’t deliver. This has gone on long enough. It’s time for action on the Regent.”