A number of parties interested in running a closed music venue where the Beatles once played are expected to come forward.

Thanet District Council (TDC) will review the various proposals lodged for Margate’s Winter Gardens which closed in August 2022 after the operator Your Leisure suffered significant financial losses.

The update comes as Cllr Rick Everitt, leader of TDC, called for £4m intended for Dreamland to be diverted to the troubled venue, after theme park bosses turned down the hefty sum.

The authority has been looking for a partner to run the Winter Gardens with, as they hope to reopen the historic concert hall, which hosted the Beatles in the 1960s, and other stars such as Madness, Blur, and Laurel and Hardy, after opening in 1911.

In a statement to KentOnline, a TDC spokesperson said: “We anticipate that a number of expressions of interest will be submitted to the council in relation to the Winter Gardens in Margate.

“The plan for the next phase of the process is a review of all Expressions of Interest (EoI) received.

“The hope is that they will be of a quality that allows for negotiation with interested parties and due diligence checks.”

“Potential partners will be invited to provide detailed proposals and business plans.”

The spokesperson added that details of the bids will be kept confidential but that a lease will be awarded once all options have been considered and a subsequent report reviewed by the council’s cabinet.

The council says precisely when the historic venue might welcome crowds once again will depend on “the scope of the responses submitted, and the delivery timeframe of the successful submission”.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the new owners of Dreamland, LN-Gaiety, have turned down public funds from the Margate Town Deal- intended to help the area “realise its full potential.”

Speaking at a council meeting on Thursday, Cllr Everitt said: “I will be quite candid that I believe this money should now be spent on the Winter Gardens.

“It is not sufficient to carry out all the required work but it is potentially a huge step forward in our determination to restore and reopen this cherished and iconic local facility.

“First however we do need to understand from the government how it interprets the flexibility it has given us in the simplification project but we are already seeking its view.”

The simplification project gives the local authority the ability to manage funds for the Margate Town Deal, Levelling Up projects and the Future High Street Fund as one £51m pot and move funding between the different projects.

Currently, Margate Winter Gardens has a £300,000 allocation to appraise and market the building.

So far, the council has spent or allocated £162,000 for surveys and marketing.

The council’s cabinet will receive updates on projects that were allocated funding under the Margate Town Deal at a meeting on February 29.