Entrepreneur Philip Miller was today a giant step closer to buying another theme park.

Mr Miller wants to add Dreamland in Margate to his entertainments empire, which already includes Adventure Island and Sea Life Adventure on Southend seafront.

He made an undisclosed offer for the Kent theme park in June this year, but claimed at the time owner Jimmy Godden was not interested because he seemed to be planning to sell the site to retailers or housing developers.

Mr Miller 49, of Poynters Lane, Shoebury, was more upbeat this week after Thanet District Council, the local authority in charge of planning for Margate, passed a ruling that the Dreamland site should only be redeveloped for tourist purposes.

He hoped this would force Mr Godden to reconsider his offer, as he could no longer expect to generate more cash from selling to firms planning to redevelop the 18-acre site into shops or homes.

He said: "Dreamland was a really wonderful place in its 1950s heyday. But only about an acre-and-a-half of the site is used for rides at the moment which is a shame.

"I would like to build it up again like we have done with Adventure Island."

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