Property News · January 9, 2015

Let’s move to… Folkestone, Kent | Tom Dyckhoff


It’s not the new Hastings. It’s the new and, indeed, the old Folkestone – and all the better for itWhat’s going for it? We’ve been to Folkestone before, in distant, heady times before iPhones and credit crunches, when I probably said it was the new Hastings or something. In fact, Folkestone is the new and, indeed, the old Folkestone. I visit often, always agog at how much more like itself it’s become, more Folkestoney, more magnificent. Grand plans have been around for a decade, but star architects have come, gone and left precious little. And in their stead the town has rallied with its own brand of regeneration. There’s something of Detroit about it – only Detroit with saveloys, crabstix and, er, no Motown. The Triennial has left an accumulation of art hither and thither, some good, some middling. “Creative” businesses occupy once empty niches in the old town, some more “creative” than others, but you can’t deny the collective chutzpah. I love the new Payers Park, a playground built on a patch in the heart of town that lesser towns might have flogged to purveyors of luxury apartments. An air of occasional dereliction still hangs over the town, but some might see that as potential.The case against Don’t come expecting Southwold, Brighton or even Margate (which may be a good thing). A whiff of melancholy and assorted socio-economic problems are standard by the seaside. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Let’s move to… Folkestone, Kent | Tom Dyckhoff

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