The future of Britain's oldest surviving rollercoaster, a scenic railway ride in Margate, Kent, has been safeguarded after the Dreamland Trust was handed a GBP3.7m government grant.

The move, which marks the largest grant awarded through the Department for Culture Media and Sport's 2009 Sea Change programme, will allow the Grade II-listed railway roller coaster, built in 1920, to be restored to its former glory.

As well as securing the long-term future of one of the most iconic seaside structures in the country, the funding will allow the creation of the world's first amusement park exclusively comprised of historic rides.
 
Richard Simmons, chief executive of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, who has led the project on behalf of the government, said: "It is ambitious projects like this, creating new national attractions, that can rekindle the English love affair with our seaside."