The project.
From Empty Department Store to Digital Creative Hub
EKC Broadstairs College Margate Digital Campus is a landmark redevelopment transforming a currently empty, former department store in the heart of Margate into a purpose-built, industry-focused creative and digital education facility.
Delivered by the East Kent College Group (EKC Group), the project regenerates a long-vacant town centre building into a vibrant new home for the college’s Media, Creative Technology, and Digital courses, repositioning Margate as a centre of creativity and digital innovation in the South East.
The Vision
EKC’s mission is to develop people, nurture new ways of thinking, and innovate, collaborating with creative and digital industries to give students the skills and opportunities they need to succeed in these fast-moving sectors. Margate Digital brings that mission to life through a specialist campus designed around real industry workflows, giving students access to professional-standard facilities and direct links with employers such as Margate-based animation studio A+C Studios.
Our Role
b&m was appointed to provide Quantity Surveying, Principal Designer, and Employer’s Agent services on the Margate Digital Campus project, supporting EKC Group through the delivery of this landmark regeneration scheme.
Our involvement spanned the full journey from a vacant, former department store to a purpose-built creative and digital education facility, helping bring EKC’s vision for a vibrant, industry-focused campus to life.
Facilities
The redevelopment includes a range of specialist spaces designed to mirror industry environments:
- A skills demonstration space
- An open-plan, flexible and interactive media space
- Workshop-style visual media rooms
- A photography/film studio with integrated lighting, motion capture and video equipment
- Production rooms
- Digital suites for coding and user experience (UX) design
- A café
- Office space
Courses Delivered on Campus
The campus is home to a range of full-time programmes, including:
- T Level in Content Creation
- Level 3 Diploma in VFX
- T Level in Digital Production, Design and Development
- Level 3 Diploma in Animation and Illustration
Funding & Partnership
EKC Group worked in partnership with Thanet District Council and successfully secured over £5m in Levelling Up Funding from the UK Government to deliver the project. A significant public investment in the regeneration of Margate town centre and in the future of digital creative education in the region.
Recognition
The project has been widely recognised for its quality and impact, having been shortlisted for not one, but two awards including:
- Constructing Excellence Award
- RICS South East Award
b&m are incredibly proud of the team in the delivery of this project, and are honoured to be involved in improving career opportunities for the younger generation, something we as a company always encourage.
