Striking new artist’s impressions show how a 291-home development could look on a town’s golf course.
GSE Group – owner of Hythe Golf Club and neighbouring Hythe Imperial Hotel – wants to redevelop the “under-utilised” 18-hole course as part of a £120m scheme.
Now new images show what it has planned – including a new leisure centre on land to the east of the hotel, which would feature a publicly accessible 20-metre indoor swimming pool.
A planning application is yet to be submitted to Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) but – if approved – the 40-acre private Hythe Golf Club would be reduced to a pay-to-play nine-hole par-three academy course, including a new clubhouse on the eastern half of the site.
The images show how the layout of Princes Parade – the long seafront road alongside the golf course – would remain unchanged, but GSE says it plans to “improve road safety and parking” as part of the scheme.
A mini adventure golf course is also planned – which bosses say would be themed around the Napoleonic Wars.
The 291 homes would be built on the western side of the course, including 48 three-bedroom houses and 243 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats.
Extra hotel accommodation is also proposed, as bosses want to construct a new west wing with 24 additional bedrooms, taking the site’s capacity to 116 rooms.
A new outdoor pool, gym, spa and wellbeing centre could also be added to the venue.
The proposals come a year after plans for 150 holiday chalets – described as a ‘mini Center Parcs’ by residents – were dropped by the developer.
Darrell Healey, chairman of GSE Group, said the company has been working on the updated proposals for months as the course is currently “under-utilised”.
“We’re excited to present them to the public,” he said.
“We believe they offer a vote of confidence in the future of the town as a destination, and at the same time improve what it offers residents and visitors alike, as well as creating much needed new jobs and homes.
“We listened to the public comments to the previous schemes.
“We’re proposing to keep Princes Parade open to traffic while improving road safety and parking.”
Bosses have also confirmed the current plans would retain the nearby coastal road Princes Parade for traffic, instead aiming to enhance road safety and parking.
GSE says 25% of the properties, about 73 homes, would be designated as affordable.
At the opposite end of the seafront, part of Princes Parade has been subject to many development proposals in recent years, however FHDC confirmed this summer that the land would be “left as it is”.
The 18-acre council owned plot – which sits between the beach and the Royal Military Canal – was earmarked for a £29 million scheme of 150 homes in 2017.
However, Cllr Jim Martin (Green) – the authority’s leader – confirmed the site would be left untouched following more than a decade of bitter rows about its future.
Residents can learn more about GSE’s project at a public exhibition at Hythe Imperial Hotel on Thursday (November 27), from 2pm to 7.30pm.