THE owners of Margate's Dreamland have unveiled their vision for the site – an attraction called Dreamland Contemporary.

Margate Town Centre Regeneration Company (MTCRC) presented its plans as part of a public inquiry into whether Thanet District Council will be allowed to compulsorily purchase the former fun park.

The owners' scheme was designed by award-winning architect John Assael and includes 474 homes around the park's heritage attractions – the scenic railway, Sanger's Cages and cinema.

Mr Assael gave evidence on behalf of the owners, who object to plans for the council to buy the land to further the Dreamland Trust's proposals for a heritage amusement park.

The other objector, the Close Brothers bank, is owed £6 million from mortgages on the site and is understood to be willing to lend MTCRC at least half of the estimated £20 million development costs.

Mr Assael believes the Dreamland Trust's plans for a heritage amusement park do not deliver Thanet council's brief for the park to be a year-round attraction. He said the scheme would have a lot of four- and five-bedroom private family housing in short supply in Margate.

He revealed plans for a second signature ride alongside the scenic railway to draw the crowds. A 4D simulator ride would attract a wider market than the vintage selection of rides proposed by the Dreamland Trust, it was claimed.

Dreamland Contemporary would include a restoration of the listed cinema into a "cultural hub", in contrast to the first phase of the Dreamland Trust's plans which does not include a re-opening of the building.

On Friday, John Collins gave evidence on behalf of the site owners and cast doubt on the number of visitors the Dreamland Trust claims will come to a heritage amusement park.

Mr Collins, who has previously owned and operated leisure attractions, serves on the board of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach and helped set up Port Aventura in Spain. He was appearing on behalf of the MTCRC.

He told the inquiry that the proposals from the council and the Dreamland Trust were "unlikely to be viable in the long term" and were "not as appealing to a modern audience as believed by the Dreamland Trust".

Mr Collins argued that the trust's rides would have to compete with more modern rides at other theme parks and called into question whether the project had a large enough budget to deliver heritage rides to the required safety standards.

The inquiry was scheduled to end next week but has progressed more slowly than expected due to the long list of witnesses. Planning inspector Tony Davison has pencilled in two extra weeks in February and March.

Thanet council remains confident of its case for compulsory purchase.

A spokesman for Thanet council said: "The council is keen to get the public inquiry completed as quickly as possible, given the significant public interest and as the council is ready to commence with its proposals.

"However, this has to be balanced against the rights of the objectors to put their case forward and do what they deem necessary to protect their rights to their land, as required by the Human Rights Act and common law."

Thanet council took action to compulsorily purchase the site after negotiations broke down with the owners last year. The fun park closed in 2008.