150 homes at former Foxwood School Hythe will not be going ahead anytime soon.

On 31 August 2016, Foxwood School, Seabrook Road, Hythe, Kent, CT21 5QJ closed its doors for the last time. The 15.5 acre site (6.3ha) was at the time of closure owned by Kent County Council. 

Foxwood School Site – Google My Maps

Planning Application for 150 Homes submitted to FHDC by Sunningdale House Developments Limited on 15 Jan 2020

On 18 Dec 2018, Sunningdale House Developments Limited submitted a form to Folkestone & Hythe District Council for pre-application planning advice under Y18/0270/PREAPP, for the site, marked in orange above.

So somewhere between 31 Aug 2016, and 18 Dec 2018, Sunningdale must have negotiated with KCC to draw up up a written agreement/contract that it could submit pre application planning advice to Folkestone & Hythe District Council, as the site was still owned by KCC in Dec 2018, according to the Land Registry.

On the 6 September 2019, Sunningdale House Developments (Foxwood) Limited was incorporated. The person of significant control of the company was Sunningdale House Developments Limited; which at the time was controlled by David Pownceby (pictured)

It is clear Sunningdale & KCC must have come to some suitable arrangement, as Sunningdale then submitted a planning application for full planning permission on the 15 Jan 2020, under 20/0015/FH, acting as the applicant for the application.

The application was for the erection of 150 dwellings and apartments – including the provision of 15 on-site affordable units – with associated on-site concierge together with retained and enhanced green infrastructure framework, open space, parking and all associated engineering operations.

The application sought to build 125 apartments, 16 houses and seven self-build plots, with 10% being classed as “affordable housing” and a financial contribution equivalent to 20% affordable housing off-site.

The houses would be a mix of three and four bedrooms and the apartments are a range of two to three bedrooms.

Hythe Town Council objected to the proposal on the grounds that the applicant had increased the number of homes from 132 to 150, the intensification of the development and “insufficient” affordable housing in Hythe, among other concerns.

The application came before Folkestone & Hythe District Council planning committee on the 27 July 2021. A vote to refuse the application on the grounds that there was insufficient affordable housing scheme and the slope stability and drainage issues be resolved was lost. And then a second vote as per the officer recommendations was passed.

Then at sometime in 2022, KCC and Sunningdale had a legal dispute regarding the site which ended up in court, and went in Sunningdale’s favour. The legal dispute was around contracts of sale and purchase of land, and the last case activity was on the 11 Nov 2022.

On the 18 Jan a legal charge on the Foxwood site was placed on Sunningdale House Developments (Foxwood) Limited by Prospect Capital Security Trustees Limited; which is a dormant company, and was incorporated on 1 July 2020.

On the 31 Jan 2023, KCC received £4,645,000 for the site, according to documents released while KCCs accounts were open for inspection. That said, the Land Registry as of 4 August 2023 still states KCC is the owner of the land. Now this might have been caused by a backlog in registering land, but an email from the land registry say this is not the case. So, something is amiss, but exactly what is hard to tell.

For those of you not aware, Sunningdale House Developments Limited, the mother company who owns Sunningdale House Developments (Foxwood) Limited, has gone into administration.

This mean that at sometime in the future, Foxwood, will no doubt be bought from the administrators of Sunningdale, but by who, we wait to see. 

For those who live close to the site, they can rest assured they’ll be no 150 homes on the site anytime soon. 

The Shepway Vox Team

Journalism for the People NOT the Powerful