A place plan is a blueprint for how an area will evolve. Back in 2021 we started work on a place plan for Folkestone Town Centre. We wanted to maximise the potential of the area in the future to benefit residents, businesses and the wider district.
After an urban appraisal, development of ideas, community engagement and testing of ideas, the final place plan documents were released. These documents will guide the direction of Folkestone Town Centre for years to come.
After input from experts and a thorough engagement process with the community output documents will be produced that will guide the direction of Folkestone Town Centre for years to come. Doing this work now will mean that Folkestone Town Centre can maximise it's potential in the future benefiting residents, businesses and the wider district.
This output revealed six key priorities to regenerate Folkestone. These were - the Folkestone Central rail station arrival and town centre connections, the gateway into the town centre and Bouverie Square, the public realm of Sandgate Road and the town centre, the area around the new skate park F51 and Payers Park, bringing forward the Harbour Line and reconfiguring Tram Road and improving Sunny Sands.
Three of these priorities are now being addressed through the Folkestone – A Brighter Future project.
Below is an overview of the place plan process:
Making it happen
It all started with getting the right expertise and we went out to tender at the end of 2020 to find an experienced partner who could lead on the project.
In October 2020, we announced a visionary Place Plan would be created for Folkestone Town Centre. We announced We Made That had been appointed as our Place Plan partner in January 2021.
Architecture and urbanism firm We Made That impressed with their strong track record of promoting positive change in town centres. They headed up the design team for the project, led on engagement and were the overall lead firm.
"We Made That" brought together expert businesses in different fields to bring their specific skills to the project:
- Architects Fletcher Priest advised on the architecture of specific opportunity sites
- Transport and infrastructure consultants Steer will investigated town centre access
- Socio-economic analysts PRD advised on economy and town centre business opportunities
- The Night Times Industry Association provided support to review the existing licensing policy
These experts worked with us, residents, businesses and the wider community to find out what makes Folkestone Town Centre tick and what needed to be done. Folkestone Town Centre has so much potential and we are keen to build on previous investment in the town and its natural strengths to create the best possible evolution of Folkestone
Commissioned by us. Designed by all.
We wanted to get everyone involved in designing what Folkestone Town Centre should look like in the future. The engagement process for the place plan made a commitment to listening to the full spectrum of Folkestone's communities.
Consultants "We Made That" held a series of focused workshops and one-to-one conversations over February and March. The team spoke to strategic & delivery partners, key stakeholders, community and interest groups, business groups and residents’ groups.
Virtual events
We held two virtual public events (April and June 2021) to provide everyone with a chance to share the emerging priorities and vision for discussion. 266 people tuned in live and 322 questions were asked across both webinars.
You can see the recording of these webinars below:
Watch the Public Place Plan webinar April 2021
Watch the Public Place Plan webinar June 2021
After each of these webinars we launched a survey to capture feedback on the proposals shared.
You can download the presentation slides from the webinars. These include an overview of work to date and proposals for town centre
The final Folkestone place plan
The final draft of the Folkestone place plan was published in August 2021 and approved by Cabinet in September 2021. Members also approved the submission of an application for government funding.
As part of the place plan six priority projects were identified as being key to regenerate Folkestone Town Centre. You can find out more about these and other actions identified on our dedicated Place Plan progress page.
In January 2022, "We Made That" were further appointed to further develop these six priorities ahead of a bid by F&HDC to secure government funding. We Made That held online focus group meetings with key stakeholders addressing the themes of Connecting the Town Centre, Town Centre Improvements and Creative Quarter/Harbour Area Improvements.
These included:
- A public engagement event was held on 31 March 2022 at 16 Bouverie Place (between the bus station and Folca).
- Drawings and information were shared about six proposed projects for the town centre.
- A webinar held on Wednesday 6 April 2022 giving information about six priority projects.
- An online survey (printed copies available on request) asking for views on the projects ran until Sunday 17 April 2022.
You can find press releases issued before 2022 about the project in our development project press release archive.
View the Folkestone Place Plan documents | Folkestone & Hythe District Council.