Folkestone & Hythe District Council Monthly Update: August 2025

A monthly bulletin from F&HDC. This month: Coastal destination project, The Romney Marsh Visitor Centre, Solar Farm proposals, Princes Parade, Asian hornets, Rural Grants, Dog PSPO, Folca, Folkestone - A Brighter Future & consultations.

Coastal destination project 

More than a third of the new beach huts in Coast Drive, Greatstone, have now been built.

The project is bringing to the site a new visitor hub, improved water sports facilities, 93 beach huts and a 120-space car park with electric car charging points. Public toilets will include a Changing Places facility.

The council is funding the scheme with the support of the Nuclear Decommissioning authority through the Nuclear Restoration Services.

Also on the Romney Marsh:

The Romney Marsh Visitor Centre opened its doors again at the beginning of August and is to be known as The Nest.

Dymchurch resident Nicola Adam has taken on the centre and will be offering a café, retail and community space.

The Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership, with Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s support, has continued to manage the 11-hectare nature reserve and will work alongside the visitor centre’s new operator.

A New Romneyreuse shop has been opened at the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Mountfield Road.

The shop, developed by Kent County Council in partnership with FCC Environment, will sell good quality items donated on site or at other HWRCs in the county.

Solar Farm proposals

A webpage explaining the council’s role in solar farm planning applications has been published.

Currently, solar farm applications projecting a generating capacity below 50 megawatts (MW) are decided by the local planning authority.

Those above 50 MW are known as a National Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and are submitted to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.

Princes Parade, Hythe

More than 50 people attended two public consultation events at Hythe Town Hall at the beginning of July.

The two sessions were designed to give residents further opportunities to make suggestions for the future of the stretch of land on Hythe seafront.

Reflecting views shared in the online consultation, the majority of those attending the events wanted the site left as open space supporting biodiversity.

Leisure facilities and the children’s play area were discussed and these will be addressed in the council’s forthcoming leisure strategy.

Asian hornets

Residents have been encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for the invasive Asian Hornet.

The council has joined the awareness campaign aimed at encouraging residents to report sightings of the insect which can cause significant losses to native bee colonies.

Sightings can be reported via the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs free Asian Hornet Watch. The  app can be downloaded via the Apple and Android app stores.

Rural Grants 

The Rural England Prosperity funding has been extended with a further £180,000 from central government to help businesses and rural communities in the district.

The Folkestone Works website has further information including how to apply for grants and the eligibility rules

Dog PSPO

A new dog Public Spaces Protection Order came into effect in the district on Friday 1 August.

Council officers have been out and about advising dog owners about the changes, including in the Lower Leas Coastal Park where there are new areas for dogs to be on leads. 

The Greatstone beach seasonal dog ban has been lifted as part of the changes.

Folca in Folkestone

The Edwardian section of the former town centre department store is to be put up for sale. This is part of a new strategy for the building agreed in July by the council’s Cabinet members.

The future of Folca 2 – the Art Deco section on Sandgate Road – is being explored with a mixed-use scheme the preferred option. This could be fully commercial or a combination of public sector, medical and commercial uses.

Folkestone - A Brighter Future

Work is fully underway on this £20m regeneration scheme with a quarter of the ambitious programme now complete.

As part of the project the Folkestone bus station will move to a linear layout and Bouverie Square will return to its former use as a garden square.

The two bus stops outside the bus station will be moved temporarily from Tuesday 2 September. National Express services will relocate to the bus stop outside the back of Sainsbury's on Bouverie Road West.

The rest of Folkestone bus station will close on Saturday 20 September. Stagecoach services currently operating from the bus station will run from temporary stops erected along Middelburg Square.

Consultations

A consultation on the council’s draft statement of principles relating to gambling is open until 11 August.