New town for Folkestone with 8,500 homes begins planning route

A new ‘garden town’ near Lympne is set to be created between Hythe and Sellindge after outline planning permission was granted by Folkestone and Hythe District Council last night (4 April).

The ‘Otterpool Park’ development will provide 8,500 homes, a town centre, shops, leisure, educational and cultural facilities and employment land.

It’s expected the new community will offer more than 9,000 new job opportunities centred on the former Folkestone Racecourse site at Westenhanger Station with the cultural heritage of Westenhanger Castle positioned within a central park.

The plans for the ‘garden town’ include a range of market and affordable homes, age restricted homes, sheltered housing and care villages, together with a range of community facilities including primary and secondary schools, nurseries, health centres, leisure and business, commercial and retail opportunities.

Improvements to the existing road network, the creation of pedestrian, road and cycleways within the site and to public rights of way off-site have all been promised as well as around 50% of the site is to be allocated as accessible green space.

A council spokesperson said, “The creation of a well-designed new garden town at Otterpool Park, with all the necessary infrastructure, will fulfil the housebuilding requirements for the district for the next decade.

“Residents across the district will benefit as smaller villages will be protected from inappropriate incremental development.

“The revenue generated by Otterpool Park will also benefit residents and businesses across the whole district by providing the council with investment funds to support local services over many years to come.”

The outline application was submitted by Otterpool Park LLP which was established by the council.

The application has been approved subject to the completion of satisfactory s106 agreements which will secure the necessary commitments to ensure that the development is successful.