Streets & spaces
The Harbour Plan aims to take the experience of visiting the harbour area to the next level, taking its cue from the look and feel of Folkestone’s historic lanes, streets, and residential areas, as well as the seafront and the harbour’s former railway yards.
When it bought the derelict harbour in 2004, Folkestone Harbour & Seafront Development Company committed to reopening it to the public. The aim has always been to create an open pedestrian space Folkestone can be proud of, offering great public spaces, new homes, and vibrant businesses.
A lot has already been achieved by restoring the Harbour Arm and lighthouse, along with the railway station and its historic buildings. The company has also invested in the harbour, including refurbishing the viaduct and swing bridge which make it possible to walk to the harbour from The Stade. It also created Fountain Square and installed the Boardwalk and shingle beach. The Harbour Plan is the next chapter in the regeneration of the site.
It seeks to embrace the evolution of the town and harbour area, while creating a dynamic contemporary place to live, work and socialise. All streets and spaces will be pedestrian priority, and vehicle access will be carefully managed.
The lanes offer a sense of intrigue and discovery, while the active frontages of the high streets are vibrant and busy. The residential areas counterbalance the commercial streets, with the seafront and the harbour edge continuing to offer expansive scenic views of the Channel and beyond.
The South Quay is an integral part of the plan as it is important the new development faces the town and is viewed as part of it. To help provide greater public space in this area Plot G2 was not brought forward. The Harbour Plan offers a diversity of new open space of a distinctive character that’s appropriate to the history of the harbour and seafront, including an amphitheatre overlooking the outer harbour.
