ABOUT
THANET COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST

Thanet Community Development Trust (TCDT) was created as what is called a ‘legacy project’ from the regeneration programme of Thanet District Council in the late nineteen-nineties.

The first recruit joined in May 2000 when TCDT was based in Margate’s old mortuary. It would be more than 7 years before they finally found a permanent home in Lillian Road, Ramsgate, and in the meantime, they moved around Thanet having bases at one time or another in Margate, Ramsgate, Cliftonville and Broadstairs. They could have been called the Thanet Community Development Travellers!

By the middle of 2001 TCDT had a full complement of staff, a voluntary board of trustees and in November 2002 it was awarded charitable status by the Charity Commission. It had come of age and was ready to begin charting its own course.

Since then, TCDT has been successful in receiving money from such bodies as, the National Lottery, the European Union, grant making trusts and charities, banks, local businesses, through local fundraising activities and from private donations: it leaves no stone unturned. Their current priorities are on helping people to get into or nearer to work, to start their own business, or to stay healthy. Working mainly from Lillian Road but also holding weekly Job Clubs at Margate’s Turner Centre, they run training courses on subjects such as: First Aid; Health and Safety; Food Safety; Cookery; CSCS Card Training, and many others. There are also a number of social clubs such as a Local History Club and a Craft Club.

They have found work for over 200 local people and have helped over 1,000 into further training, volunteering or apprenticeships. This project, the Ramsgate Military and Heritage Trail, is funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund which is a national pot created to support both serving and retired servicemen and women to get the most out of civilian life and also to allow those who haven’t had the privilege of serving to enjoy the history and pageantry with which the services have enriched all of our lives.

TCDT would like to thank the Armed Forces Covenant Fund for their support and we hope that everyone who follows this trail will remember those that went before and, especially in this centenary year of the Armistice, be part of the effort to keep their memories alive. If you’d like to learn more about the Trail, or about TCDT, please call 01843 855155 to speak to someone about how you might get involved.

Visit Thanet Community Development Trust's Website or Facebook page.