A maritime village redevelopment of Ramsgate Harbour must be seriously considered after the latest bid to return ferry services failed, campaigners say.

Thanet councillors have now agreed to fund a report exploring future options for the Royal Harbour and commercial port which should be tabled by the end of the year.

It comes after Thanet District Council (TDC) decided to pull the plug on funding to keep the port ready for ferries.

The council is setting aside around £40,000 to commission a feasibility study after residents proposed their vision for the harbour, county councillor for Ramsgate, Paul Messenger, said.

The ideas from Ramsgate Action Group (RAG) include a hotel, conference centre, shops, restaurants, artisan workshops and markets and berths for cruise ships, large yachts and facilities to service boats and ships docking in the marina.

The group says the time has come to take other options seriously and called on TDC - which runs the port and Royal Harbour - to take up an offer proposed last summer.

The group published its dreams for a multimillion pound overhaul of the harbour following the Seaborne Freight saga, which saw the government cancel a £13.8 million contract to run ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend.

The ambitious plans were endorsed by Thanet council leader Bob Bayford after meeting with consultants last year who proposed developing a concept design.

Council officers and Cllr Bayford met with MDL Marina Consultancy in Southampton with the company offering its services and submitting a 56-page report to the council last June.

But the council continued to hold out for a ferry service until this week when it finally committed to developing a masterplan for the port and set aside money for an appraisal.

The majority of councillors agreed to scrap £730,000 of funding from the council-owned facility due to the lack of an operational ferry service.

Cllr Ian Gregory (Con), cabinet member for financial services and estates, said: “As the hopes for a ferry service from Ramsgate have faded, we should now be looking to develop a masterplan for the Ramsgate port and harbour.

“I can confirm we have set aside funding for a full feasibility study to be carried out to assist council in agreeing the way forward.”

Cllr Bayford confirmed the work will be “completed by the end of 2019”.

Steve Coombes, chair of the Ramsgate Action Group, pressed the council to "move on and look to the future".

"It is now clear that radical and alternative strategies for the use of this prime, 32-acre site must be evaluated and given urgent consideration," he said.

"The Maritime Village is intended to revitalise the West Cliff area and all of Ramsgate and will be very well served by excellent road and rail infrastructure which we believe will motivate development of a multi-purpose concept built around leisure and commercial use."

Cllr Messenger said: "This is great news for Ramsgate and the district of Thanet. So, I absolutely congratulate Bob Bayford for taking this very important step.

"The losses on the port are a huge issue for Thanet and have resulted in acute pressure on TDC’s main budget and will continue to put pressure on that budget in 2020-21 and 2020-22 unless urgent steps are taken.

"An independent feasibility study which transparently and openly costs all options for the port is the best way for councillors and senior management at TDC to reach a clear and rational decision to settle once and for all the future of the port."

RAG is calling for an "open and transparent" group to be formed made up of councillors, RAG members and industry experts to oversee the feasbility study and report back to the council at regular intervals.

'Thanet District Council is undertaking a comprehensive review of the Port and Harbour.' Cllr Bob Bayford

Cllr Bayford told Thanet Extra the council has spoken to "a number of marina development specialists" and established a cross-party Port and Harbour Working Group.

He said the group "will be involved in informing the scoping of any future options" but added "no specific plans or designs have been provided or commissioned".

"Thanet District Council is undertaking a comprehensive review of the Port and Harbour to determine the most cost effective way forward for both assets," Cllr Bayford said.

"Whilst the strategic approach has been to focus on securing a ferry operator, the council has been clear that this would not necessarily preclude any further development of the site."

Seaborne's contract with the government was terminated due to a lack of confidence in the firm being able to run the service between Kent and Belgium.

The company lost its main financial backing from Irish investment firm Arklow Shipping last month prompting the Department for Transport to cut the deal to provide a service to keep freight moving after Brexit.