Otterpool Park Garden Town
Plans for the new garden town at Otterpool are proceeding steadily and the council is now negotiating with Homes England as a potential strategic partner.
This landscape-led development will have around 50% open space and many thousands of new trees. There are also plans for a dedicated solar farm which will supply electricity directly to the site ensuring that both the construction and building phase will be genuinely carbon neutral. The houses will all be fitted with solar panels.
Otterpool Park Garden Town is one of the largest planned developments in the region and is seen as a flagship project for sustainable growth. It is expected to provide thousands of new homes, significant green infrastructure, and community facilities, setting a benchmark for low-carbon living in the district.
Social housing retrofits
Improving the energy efficiency of social housing is a major priority in Folkestone & Hythe, both to reduce tenants’ energy bills and to help the district meet its climate targets. The council has secured significant funding to upgrade its housing stock, with a focus on insulation, renewable energy, and modern heating systems.
More than 120 council-owned homes have recently been retrofitted with measures such as insulation, solar panels, and heating upgrades, resulting in lower energy bills and improved comfort for tenants.
The council has also received £2.6 million in government funding for further improvements, matched by its own investment, targeting another 300 homes over 2025. Upgrades include loft, wall, and roof insulation, double glazing, air source heat pumps, and solar PV installations, with a goal of achieving at least EPC band C for all social homes.
Solar PV on council housing stock
The Council has also made significant progress in expanding renewable energy generation across its housing stock. FHDC currently has Solar PV installed on 380 council homes, including 103 homes delivered through Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1, 270 homes through Wave 2.1, and 7 additional non-scheme installations. The 2026–27 programme is expected to deliver around 100 further installations, increasing the total to approximately 500 homes by April 2027. These installations help residents benefit from lower electricity bills by using solar-generated electricity at the point of generation.