In contrast to the approach of Margate, which seems to have adopted a 'top down' strategy, with its landmark Turner Contemporary Gallery, Whitstable has exploited a healthy grass-roots arts scene to consolidate its regeneration.
I first came to know Whitstable in the mid-90s, when I was studying architecture in Canterbury. The town then was busy, with many traditional shops still thriving in the High Street. The focus of the town was the harbour - which the council had bought from British Railways some time ago. It was (still is) a busy commercial hub - large amounts of stone and gravel are imported and stored on the quay, and seafood is landed and sold wholesale as well as directly to tourists and locals.
Along the beach was the Royal Native Oyster Stores, which showed that a decent restaurant could be an effective tourist attraction. Owned by the Green family, it was the first hint that the town was on the up. It acted as a magnet to people to travel down the M2, to stay in one of the Green's 'fishermans huts', and enjoy a weekend by the sea. By the turn of the century, they had taken over a building I'd known only as a squalid boarding house, and turned it into the 'Hotel Continental'. The people attracted by these facilities provided employment for the town, and customers for other local business.
As a mere resident - not even a home-owner - I was pleased that the town was being improved. However, there was some disquiet over the Green's success from other quarters.
One of the other things the town had was a healthy community of artists. The centre for this community was a set of run-down buildings (one had been a bus garage, another had several incarnations - built as a church, converted to a supermarket - pictured above, in 2001) in the middle of town, in a block called the Horsebridge. There was a well-used community hall there, and an art gallery used by the local art clubs and societies as well as students from Canterbury Art School. Some of the small shops in town also came to be occupied by artists attempting to sell their work.
Other shops we had know as proper Junk Shops, had by now received a coat of Farrow and Ball's best, and begun selling the same stock as 'vintage'.
When Canterbury City Council proposed to renew the facilities at the Horsebridge by building a mixed-use development there were mixed feelings among the community, with a vocal element against what they saw as a co-opting of the community by over-bearing planners and vested interest.
There was the inevitable competition, won by local architects Clague, who designed a scheme which dramatically improved the spaces around the site, provided 34 new dwellings, and housed the community centre under an eye-catching 'up-turned boat' roof.
I can't say how much the community likes the new facilities (I haven't asked), but they are certainly well used.
More recently there was an attempt by the council to redevelop the harbour. The brief must have been vague, because responses included a supermarket, a 'traditional' English pub and others too outlandish to mention. This time feeling in the town was far from mixed, and the next time we visited we were glad to see the plans had been dropped, and the vacant space occupied by something much more vital.
Visiting the town now, in the middle of this huge recession, I am struck by how resilient it is - seemingly the right combination of community spirit, enterprise, council funding and (last, not least) natural resource can make a huge difference.
By the way - if you visit, make sure you get your Fish and Chips from Jones'.
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