When, in 2008, a fire ripped through the Scenic Railway rollercoaster on Margate’s Dreamland site, it was hard to see any way back for the once all-conquering pleasure park.

As the flames licked around the listed structure, it resembled nothing short of a funeral pyre for the place.

Stuck in limbo – plans at the time proposed it be turned into a lucrative, but far from attractive, housing estate and car park – the blaze was just the latest blow for a town fast becoming a byword for past glories.

In fact, fires in former leisure sites had become something of a theme in Thanet at the time.

In 1998, the former Pleasurama site on Ramsgate seafront – partially sculpted out of the grand former railway station building that once stood by the beach – also found itself the victim of an inferno of dubious origin.

The site had also been earmarked for commercial development. The fire ripped the heart out of the seafront, leaving a smouldering mess of debris.

Back to Margate, and just five years before the Scenic Railway’s misfortune, the Mr G’s amusements on the seafront – backing onto the Dreamland site – burnt down too. The hole in the seafront remains to this day.

It was certainly an unfortunate string of events. Some would say an awful coincidence.

All sites left charred remains.

Yet, salvation would, eventually, come a-calling.

Today Dreamland is a remarkable fusion of classic rides and a vibrant live music venue; the Scenic Railway rebuilt.

The former Pleasurama site is now an impressive array of swanky flats with the promise of stores and restaurants fronting the seafront. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s certainly better than being an empty patch of land which, for more than 20 years, it resembled.

I recently paid a visit to Battersea Power Station on the south banks of the Thames. It too was once threatened with demolition, despite its iconic status. For years, it stood empty and crumbling.

Today it has been reimagined, its chimneys rebuilt and the place turned into a blend of retail and ludicrously-priced apartments courtesy of multi-million-pound investment.

It survives by conforming to modern needs and demands – much like the two Thanet sites.

Crucially, from being in dire straits, all have been reimagined for the 21st century.

I mention all this because it should remind us all that when we see historic buildings in the county – or further afield – at risk, there is a way back, in one guise or another.

Just keep those matches away from them.