The Folkestone – A Brighter Future scheme is more than a third complete with works planned to finish in late 2026.
Any regeneration project of this scale will inevitably cause disruption, and we are grateful to residents and businesses for bearing with us as we shape Folkestone town centre into a safer, greener and more welcoming place to spend time. Full details of the scheme are available on our dedicated FABF pages where you can also sign up for a newsletter from our contractors Jackson Civil Engineering for monthly updates.
Below is a summary of the most recent project changes:
Station Approach / Cheriton Road Junction
The four-way traffic lights at Radnor Park roundabout have now transitioned to three-way lights which is causing slightly less disruption. Unfortunately, in order to safely complete the works needed in the area, these three-way lights will need to remain until the end of August.
There is no single detailed master map of where utilities are underground so like all large projects Folkestone – A Brighter Future has had to dig trenches to survey services and then adapt plans as necessary. The utilities under Station Approach have proved particularly unpredictable with UKPN having to complete emergency work and address significant uncharted buried services found on site. Unfortunately, this has made excavation slower and has had a knock-on effect in terms of timelines. The Jacksons team have been working to remedy this, completing overnight works to try and make up time and minimise disruption. However, these unexpected issues have necessitated design changes including a small diversion for underground services.
There has also been a need to redesign areas to accommodate changes including a widening of footways and adjustments to drainage. This extension is naturally disappointing, but we aim to complete these works as quickly and safely as possible. Thank you for bearing with us as we make Folkestone town centre greener, safer and more welcoming.
Closure of Cheriton Road junction
Resurfacing of the footway on the Western footway of Cheriton Road (outside of the tattoo shop) will still take place on Monday as planned with the road closure of the main junction at Cheriton Road to proceed from Tuesday next week.
This closure will allow footway works to take place outside of the Premier convenience store and down towards Co-op and then also on the opposite side of the road outside of the South Kent Community Church. Access and delivery arrangements to South Kent Community Church, Premier, Pharmacy, and Coop will be maintained throughout these works. A vehicle diversion will be provided via Cheriton Road, Middelburg Square, Cheriton Gardens, Shorncliffe Road, Castle Hill Avenue, and Radnor Park roundabout. A pedestrian diversion will also be provided; adequate signage and safety fencing will be installed to make the area safer and easier to navigate.
Overnight works on the Middelburg Square loop
Middleburg Square, Folkestone will be closed from 22:00-05:00 each night on 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th August and again on 1st & 2nd September for resurfacing. All services will be operating via Castle Hill Avenue, Sandgate Road and Manor Road to get to Bouverie Road West where there will be a temporary bus stop in position.
The following services will be using the temporary bus stop adjacent to Manor Road in Bouverie Road West:
71 to Cheriton, departures are at 22:12, 22:42 & 23:12
16 to Canterbury departures are at 22:13 & 23:13
105 to Dover departures are at 22:45 & 00:05
103 to New Romney at 22:10
102 to Marine parade at 22:40
Grace Hill roundabout steps
Unfortunately, the steps near the Grace Hill roundabout have collapsed. At this stage, the cause of the collapse is not yet known. While these steps were not part of the Folkestone – A Brighter Future project area, the project team has taken immediate action to make the site safe by fencing off the affected area to protect members of the public.
KCC is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the steps, as they are considered part of the public highway. KCC has been notified of the issue and has acknowledged that repairs are required. We don’t yet have a timescale for when KCC will be able to undertake the necessary repair works. We’ll share any further updates as soon as more information becomes available.
More information
If you have any concerns or queries related to the works you can contact the Public Liaison Officer for Jackson Civil Engineering on 07974 416435 or via folkestone@jacksoncivils.co.uk
Jackson Civil Engineering compile a monthly letter with the latest project updates. You can sign up to receive the monthly newsletters or find previous issues of the newsletters here.
Traffic management plans can be viewed for each stage of the project on our project progress pages.