Tracey Emin – Photo: Thanet District Council
Artist Tracey Emin has bought the Westbrook Loggia building at Westbrook Bay from Thanet District Council.
She plans to renovate it into a community bathers club with a café, sauna, art studio, gym, restaurant, and sunbathing area. She said she wants to make it “beautiful and grand again” and that Margate will have a bathers’ club for all seasons.
The Loggia was built in 1910 as a bathing pavilion and has undergone many architectural changes over the years. It is currently empty except for a lifeguard club, who will stay as tenants. The public toilets will also remain open.
The council said the sale will secure a positive future for the Loggia and improve the appearance and facilities of Westbrook Bay.
Tracey Emin already owns several properties in Margate, including the TKE Studios, which she opened in March as an artist residency project. She also owns her studio/living space at the former Thanet Press site, a pub in Broadstairs, and the former Margate Constitutional Club.