Plans for a new 8,500 home garden town near Folkestone in Kent have been given the green light by planners.
Last night (4 April), Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s planning and licensing committee resolved to grant outline planning permission for Otterpool Park, which is being led by master developer Otterpool Park LLP on behalf of Folkestone & Hythe District Council, supported by planning and development specialists Quod, Arcadis, Tibbalds and Farrells.
The 8,500 new homes will offer a range of types and tenures, including more than 1,870 affordable homes and more than 400 self-build homes.
The site will also include up to 29,000 sq m of retail and related uses, up to 87,000 sq m of employment floor space, including commercial business hubs, a commercial business park and a light industrial park, up to 67,000 sq m of education and community facilities floorspace and up to 8,000 sq m of hotel floorspace and 8,500 sq m of leisure floorspace.
Approximately 50% of the site will be open space with new cycling and walking routes.
Master developer Otterpool Park LLP will now progress the detailed planning for the first phase, which includes the town centre and Castle Park, a park centred around Westenhanger Castle. It is anticipated that enabling works, including advanced planting on site, will commence later this year.
Andy Jarrett, managing director of Otterpool Park LLP, said: “This landmark decision is a pivotal point in the delivery of Otterpool Park and follows seven years of planning, masterplanning and community engagement.
“We are committed to creating an exemplar and sustainable garden town that will do so much more than meet local housing needs. This is about creating a new community which includes everything it needs to thrive now, and in the future, with a fundamental focus on enabling healthy, active, and sustainable lifestyles and early delivery of the infrastructure needed to support a community of this scale.
“Having secured outline planning, our immediate focus now is to submit the details for the first phase and then start work on site by the end of the year.”
