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Plans submitted for play park on Folkestone seafront near Harbour Arm
13:41, 19 October 2023
updated: 14:10, 19 October 2023
A new play park is set to open at a popular seaside attraction - but the site will only have an eight-year lifespan.
Bosses at Folkestone Harbour & Seafront Development Company (FH&SDC) want to build the facility opposite the 12-hole ‘Putters!’ adventure golf course near the Harbour Arm.
They have submitted plans to Folkestone and Hythe District Council and believe their proposal will be a great addition to the “family-friendly destination”.
If approved, the horseshoe-shaped park will be embedded into the shingle alongside the timber boardwalk which runs along the seafront.
It will be the first play park at the harbour area, with the closest other playground being the coastal park based at the Lower Leas Coastal Park.
But bosses say the scheme is only a temporary planning application lasting eight years as the area is due to be redeveloped as part of plans for 1,000 homes on the seafront.
The first phase of the residential scheme - the Shoreline development close to Leas Lift - is in the final stages of construction.
Yesterday, KentOnline reported homes at Shoreline will soon be available for wealthy buyers, with townhouses starting at £1.85 million and flats at £430,000.
FH&SDC says the maximum height of the playground will be 2.8m with timber posts used to make up the structures.
Additional climbing frames and a slide would be placed in the centre of the horseshoe, while timber sleepers will be used to create seating areas around the play space.
In a statement submitted with the planning application, FH&SDC said: “Folkestone Harbour Arm has been re-imagined and re-purposed as a place where people come to promenade, enjoying the seafront vista, a wide choice of good food and drink, live music, arts events and other entertainment.
“More than a dozen small retail and food and drink outlets have been introduced as part of the imaginative renovation of the Harbour Arm, carried out under the stewardship of FH&SDC.
“The temporary planning application looks to provide a playground and external seating areas as part of the continuing redevelopment.”
