Thanet District Council (TDC) has revealed that plans to transform Margate's historic Fort Road Hotel into a new boutique property have now taken a step forward.

Expressions of interest are now being sought for the site after it was acquired by the council in December 2010 through the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order. Architecture students from the University of Kent are already looking at how the hotel - one of the few remaining recognisable from JMW Turner's day - can be brought back into use.

TDC leader Bob Bayford said: "It's one of the few buildings that the painter would recognise from his day and, of course, it also shares the same beautiful views of Margate's beach and sunsets as the [new Turner Contemporary] gallery does."