\n<\/p>\n
One of the biggest and most radical recent seaside redevelopment projects in the UK has been given the go-ahead by planners in Kent despite opposition from residents.<\/p>\n
The development at Folkestone harbour was approved by a planning committee this week after a two-hour debate.<\/p>\n
Initial plans had been turned down five months before, but a revised application for 410 homes and 54 commercial units was finally put through by local councillors by a vote of nine in favour, two against and two abstaining.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the decision to approve, the councillor Adrian Lockwood acknowledged the scrutiny the plans had come under, but said the council \u201ccannot block the blocks. These are going to be built.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe love the harbour and it\u2019s hugely successful. I fear we\u2019re going to lose some of the amazing things that have been done down there, but I can\u2019t see any material reasons to refuse this application and potentially subject this council to legal action.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span>Residents say the new development will ruin the natural beauty of Folkestone\u2019s coast.<\/span> Illustration: Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development<\/p>\n The company behind the development, Folkestone Harbour and Seafront Development Company (FHSDC), claimed the construction would generate \u00a321m a year for the local economy and create more than 700 long-term jobs. A spokesperson for FHSDC hailed the approval of the development as a \u201conce-in-a-generation opportunity to secure real, lasting prosperity\u201d for the town that would unlock \u201ca transformational set of benefits for Folkestone\u201d.<\/p>\n Many in Folkestone, however, are unimpressed with the development, feeling that the units will destroy the natural beauty of the town\u2019s coast and beachfront.<\/p>\n Mark Hourahane, the vice-chair of the New Folkestone Society \u2013 a \u201cvoice for the community\u201d \u2013 lamented the decision to approve the development, saying the new buildings would \u201cpermanently and irreversibly change the appearance\u201d of Folkestone\u2019s seafront.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst the New Folkestone Society acknowledges there have been minor tweaks to the \u2018harbour plan\u2019 since it was unveiled in 2023, our survey showed that 91% of 1,350 people who took it were against the plans for the plots around the station. We are deeply disappointed that it has now been approved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/span>Developers hailed the projects as an opportunity to secure \u2018real, lasting prosperity\u2019 for the town.<\/span> Illustration: Folkestone Harbour Seafront Development<\/p>\n There are also concerns about the financial feasibility of the plans.<\/p>\n Luxury flats that have already been built on the seafront have not sold well, and a construction on the site of the former Leas Pavilion was paused in March due to apparent financial issues.<\/p>\n Tony Vaughan, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, expressed reservations about the harbour project, echoing concerns that it would not fit into the town\u2019s landscape and would be unaffordable for locals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe strength of feeling among many local people about the development has been significant and understandable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that people worry about the development\u2019s impact on the local heritage and character of the seafront, and feel like a development of this nature is not what Folkestone needs when there is a housing crisis in the local area. Folkestone desperately needs more affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Folkestone & Hythe district council has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the biggest and most radical recent seaside redevelopment projects in the UK has been given the go-ahead by planners in Kent despite opposition from residents. The development at Folkestone harbour was approved by a planning committee this week after a two-hour debate. Initial plans had been turned down five months before, but a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[919,915,914,918,481,917,920,324,916],"class_list":{"0":"post-9082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-action","9":"tag-approves","10":"tag-council","11":"tag-development","12":"tag-fears","13":"tag-folkestone","14":"tag-kent","15":"tag-legal","16":"tag-radical"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}