Dilapidated Royal Victorian Pavilion in Ramsgate likely to be restored and redeveloped into Wetherspoon pub

Once a busy beachfront hub, Ramsgate's Royal Victoria Pavilion has fallen into disrepair, but not everyone is happy with plans for a superpub. Photograph: Colin Bowling /Alamy

It was once a people's palace, a bustling, beautiful pavilion by the beach that was the epitome of the English seaside.

Today the deserted, dilapidated Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate is one of the most at risk Victorian buildings in the country and at the centre of a debate over whether it might become the nation's largest pub.

On the one side are proposals to create a Wetherspoon superpub. On the other is a plan to develop something more akin to a "foodie market" with restaurants and stalls. Then there is the Victorian Society, which would just like someone, anyone really, to restore the pavilion to its original glory.

"It is a splendid building," said Chris Costelloe, director of the Victorian Society which has placed it in its top 10 endangered list of Victorian and Edwardian buildings. "It's very unusual because it was designed and built in a very short space of time and has lasted for more than a century. It is integral to Ramsgate and the life of the town and ought to be the centre of activity.

"There are lots of problem buildings we deal with where it is really hard to imagine a potential use that doesn't involve injections of public money, but this is one that really ought to be viable," said Costelloe. "It is of a manageable size and it is in a perfect position for it to be used as it was built for."

Built in 1903, the 20,000 sq ft pavilion could not be better placed, just steps from Ramsgate's sandy beach on the north Kent coast. With its concert hall, assembly rooms and sun deck, the pavilion thrived in the first half of the last century. Costelloe said it was a place of "gaiety and amusement", the sort of building you would normally see on piers. He added: "It has its own unique design – there is nothing quite like it."

Since 1969, the pavilion has been a casino then a nightclub. It has declined markedly over the years, emblematic of the wider decline of Britain's seaside resorts.It closed in 2008.

Thanet district council sees Wetherspoon as a potential saviour for what is clearly a potentially expensive and tricky predicament. The plan is being fought by businesswoman Emma Irvine, who believes the superpub plan does not fulfil the pavilion's true potential.

There are more than enough pubs in the town already, she believes, and a better use would be to have restaurants and food outlets in the pavilion. "It is probably one of the most incredible development opportunities in the UK. It is stunning, the pavilion has enormous appeal and so does the area," she said.

Irvine claims the council has not acted properly in terms of the lease arrangements and has not marketed the building appropriately. She believes there are grounds for a judicial review. The council disagrees. This week it posted an almost 1,000-word statement on what it regards as the true situation.

In summary, it says that Rank, the leaseholders, has had 40 expressions of interest since 2008 but only one party, JD Wetherspoon, has both shown an interest in proceeding and satisfied Rank.

"To our knowledge, none of the expressions of interest involve Emma Irvine, whose ideas are now the subject of public discussion. Legally, Thanet district council has no right as landlord to market the lease and Rank as tenant has recently made clear to TDC that it has no current plans to give up the lease other than in favour of JD Wetherspoon," the council said.

It also said Wetherspoon would restore the building and sub-let a third of it.

Irvine, who has developed eight properties in Ramsgate for holiday lets and is developing a historic building into a boutique hotel, claims local businesses have not been given a fair chance. "All I want is a level playing field," she said. "If everybody wants a Wetherspoon then great, let's have a Wetherspoon … bring it on."

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