Folkestone was a tough seaside city – it is now certainly one of UK’s greatest | UK | News | EUROtoday

I like the place I stay – and I’ll by no means be ashamed to confess that. I’ve resided in Folkestone for practically 32 years and I can’t consider a greater place to be, and produce up my daughter.

My lovely house city of Folkestone, in Kent, has been named as among the best locations to stay within the south east of England by the Sunday Times’ Places to Live information. Noting its “impressive schools and regeneration”, its no surprise the city is rising by way of the ranks, and deservedly so.

Tim Palmer, one of many judges, stated: “It isn’t only the artists’ studios, the cool shops or the chance to sip cocktails on the restored Harbour Arm that make this resort our best place to live in the south east. Folkestone also has impressive schools, state-of-the-art sports facilities and high-speed trains to London.”

With a bustling and quirky seafront, which is now busy practically all 12 months spherical, a thriving arts scene and a growth in home costs, it is no surprise the city is lastly getting the appreciation and adore it has longed for.

But its picture has not at all times been so gleaming. In truth, within the early noughties, I’d say it was at its very worst. The dilapidated Rotunda amusement park on the seafront was torn down – a staple of childhood recollections from the Nineteen Nineties. Folkestone adopted an industrial look, and located itself with the undesirable title of being a tough seaside city.

The seaside vacation vibe had been diminished after a long time of being one of many coastal retreats for staycations within the Sixties by way of to the Eighties.

Aesthetically, the city wasn’t fairly. Apart from insurance coverage big Saga, and the Channel Tunnel providing cross-border employment alternatives for locals, there wasn’t a lot to entice a crowd from additional afield to our nook of the south coast.

I keep in mind being a youngster within the city and hanging across the seaside space. The stays of The Dome, which was the focus of the previous amusement park, was the one factor left operating. Inside was a grimy previous arcade, a musty odor of damp and barely anybody in there having fun with its retro machines.

It had run its course, and the mismatched concrete outdoors it confirmed previous pathways between funfair rides and rollercoasters which had been now gone. The city felt bleak, under-appreciated and fairly frankly a boring place to develop up. A breeding floor for anti-social behaviour.

The excessive avenue was rundown, with solely a smattering of half respectable retailers out there, and by way of issues to do for younger folks, effectively, there have been at all times under-funded youth centres for youths to congregate in. But, quick ahead 20 years and the image could not be extra completely different.

The rejuvenation started from 2007 to 2009 and began with the city centre. The new Bouverie Place procuring centre – which is not the greatest by far, nonetheless stands and it is not often empty. It homes staple style manufacturers resembling Primark, TK Maxx, Asda and JD Sports.

Without it, the excessive avenue could be underneath much more immense pressure, particularly after the departure of Debenhams in January 2019.

Property costs in Folkestone are additionally bucking the nationwide common and the city is bursting on the seams with guests. It’s more and more widespread to stumble upon somebody who has moved to this neck of the woods from London.

According to Rightmove, properties in Folkestone had an general common worth of £314,107 during the last 12 months. It says: “The majority of sales in Folkestone during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £281,187.

“Flats offered for a mean of £214,978, with semi-detached properties fetching £367,283. Overall, offered costs in Folkestone during the last 12 months had been one p.c down on the earlier 12 months and 4 p.c up on the 2021 peak of £302,698.”

No piece on Folkestone can be written without mentioning business tycoon Sir Roger De Haan, one of the UK’s richest moguls who owns the seafront, and whose team is responsible for its incredible facelift.

His former seafront regeneration plans were scuppered by the 2008 recession, which was a low point for the town. It was so rundown it became the focal point of satirical YouTube videos mocking its ailing landscape.

Even today’s plans for even further regeneration of the harbour are raising eyebrows – with large towering buildings threatening to spoil all the good that has been done to make the town a trendy place to be.

But there’s no denying that the progress thus far by De Haan’s Folkestone Harbour Company has put the town back on the map. The Harbour Arm, which once housed old shipping containers and was extremely industrial up until recently, is now buzzing with food businesses, quirky restaurants and cafes.

On a hot summer’s day it’s incredibly hard to get a parking space, with queues of vehicles circling car parks with beachgoers eager to lay down their towels.

Live music often plays on weekends, and even in the winter, the area turns into a Christmas market – which seems to be growing each year. Away from the harbour, there is the pristine Leas promenade pathway linking the seafront to the high street which offers panoramic views across to France.

There is also more than enough choices when it comes to beaches. There’s the Warren, a slightly hidden beach at the foot of the cliffs where dogs are welcome all year round. The more popular Sunny Sands and pebble beaches stretch all the way from Folkestone through to neighbouring Hythe.

As a journalist with a job in London, plus a mum to a three-year-old, it’s almost unheard of that I haven’t ventured further towards the capital to lay roots. But there’s absolutely no reason for me to.

Trains are expensive, but I can get into central London in under an hour (just) and this town has more than enough schools for me to pick from when the time comes.

The town is home to an array of schools mostly rated as good by Ofsted, with a selection of outstanding primary schools among them. I’ll be ultimately spoilt for choice when I put my options down later this year, a position that not everyone has on their doorstep.

Chris Wallington, a sales manager at estate agent Motis, has lived in Folkestone for just five years, but it was the hype that led him to make the big move, one he says he does not regret.

Speaking to Express.co.uk he said: “I’ve lived in Folkestone for the final 5 years, working within the space for simply over a 12 months within the property market. I made a decision I needed to transfer right here for work as I had a lot to speak about with this extremely various and vibrant city.

“Folkestone to some people is the ‘Rotunda’ and the ‘average seaside town’ but it’s so much more now… We have the Old High Street in the Creative Quarter which offers incredible coffee shops and independent restaurants alongside quirky shops and bars.

“Then there’s the Harbour which mixes a various number of bars and eateries with a backdrop of the ocean and seashores.

“In the sunshine, Folkestone beach turns into a mini Ibiza, which sounds like a very bold statement but in the hazy evening sunshine, sat at Pilot Beach bar with a signature cocktail you could be anywhere in the world. It truly is an incredible place to live and work in.”