Folkestone & Hythe residents asked to help shape new district plan to 2045

Folkestone & Hythe District Council has opened a six-week consultation asking residents, businesses and community groups what its new Local Plan should cover — but the stage does not yet include proposals for specific development sites.

Households across Folkestone, Hythe, Romney Marsh, Hawkinge, Sandgate, Lydd, New Romney and the surrounding rural and coastal communities can now have a say in what goes into a planning blueprint that will guide decisions on new homes, jobs, community facilities, green spaces and the district’s response to climate change until 2045. The consultation opened on 7 September 2026 and is the first formal step in preparing a Local Plan 2045 for Folkestone & Hythe District.

This stage is a scoping exercise — think of it as the council asking “what should we even be thinking about?” before any draft policies or site proposals are written. The council says early involvement will help it identify the key issues the district faces and decide how to engage communities throughout the process. A draft Local Plan is expected to go out for further public consultation in September to October 2027.

What the consultation does — and does not — cover

Residents hoping to find out whether a field near their street is earmarked for housing will need to wait. No development sites are included at this stage. The council is clear that this round is about shaping the plan’s scope and the way it will be prepared, not about approving or blocking specific locations. Site proposals are expected to appear in later consultations as the plan develops.

That limited scope has drawn some criticism. With no site-specific information available yet, residents concerned about housing density, traffic, pressure on local schools and GP surgeries, flood risk or coastal resilience cannot raise objections tied to particular places. The long timetable — around 30 months of preparation after a Gateway 1 assessment scheduled for October 2026 — means detailed answers on sites and infrastructure are still some way off.

A deadline that needs checking

There’s a practical problem residents should know about. The council’s own materials give two different closing times for the same deadline: the social-media post states 4pm on 16 October 2026, while the council’s scoping-consultation webpage states 5pm. The discrepancy is unresolved in the available official information.

To be safe, submit your response before 4pm on 16 October 2026, and if in doubt contact Folkestone & Hythe District Council directly to confirm the correct time before that date.

How to take part

Comments can be submitted through the council’s Local Plan consultation portal online. For anyone without reliable internet access, paper copies of the consultation documents and the statutory notice — issued under Regulation 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026 — can be inspected at the council’s Civic Centre, local libraries, and town and parish council offices including those in Folkestone, Hythe, Lydd, New Romney and Sandgate, during normal opening hours.

According to the council, responses to this scoping stage will directly inform what goes into the draft Local Plan — so this is the moment to flag issues the district faces before policies are written, not after.

Key information

• Consultation opened: 7 September 2026
• Deadline: 16 October 2026 — submit before 4pm to avoid the earlier of two conflicting official times; confirm the exact time with Folkestone & Hythe District Council
• Paper copies: available at the Civic Centre, local libraries, and town and parish council offices during normal opening hours
• Next stage: draft plan content and supporting evidence expected out for consultation September to October 2027