Part 2 – Land/Property Ownership by Companies & Organisations in Folkestone & Hythe District

Who owns the vast swathes of land and property in our district matters. It matters because land is a scarce resource – as Mark Twain put it, ‘they aren’t making it any more’ – and because ownership of it often confers wealth, power and influence. It matters because who owns land gets to choose how it’s used; and that has big implications for almost everything. Where we build our homes, how we grow our food, how we protect ourselves from flooding, how much space we set aside for wildlife – all this is hugely affected by who owns land.

All the data in this blog comes via the land registry and was published on the 3 January 2025. Any errors or inconsistencies in the data belongs to the land registry and not us, as it’s their data, which they’ve publicly published.  

All the data is set out in spreadsheets and can be downloaded for you to peruse at your leisure. Each spreadsheet gives the title deed number, if the land/property is owned freehold or leasehold, the price paid – in some cases, the company who owns the land, and when the date the land/property was purchased. The land/property ownership covers all parts of the Folkestone & Hythe District only.

The Dept of Environment owns land and property across the district for example West Wood between the six mile garage and Rhodes Minnis, land across Romney Marsh and woods in Elham.

Land/Property owned or leased by Dept of Environment in Folkestone & Hythe District 

There are two water utility companies which serve our district, Affinity Water and Southern Water. Affinity Water lease the airspace above the Saga Building in Bouverie Square Folkestone, according to the land registry, they own property on Romney Marsh, Hythe & Folkestone

Land/Property owned or leased by Affinity water in Folkestone & Hythe District

Southern Water, who have polluted our beaches own land and property across the whole district.

Land or property owned by Southern Water in Folkestone & Hythe District 

Then there is the Church. The largest church land/property owner is the Diocese of Canterbury, who own most of the churches, but land as well.

Land & Property owned or leased by Diocese of Canterbury in Folkestone & Hythe District

And of course the Ministry of Defence own and lease property/land in Lydd, Folkestone & elsewhere in the district

Land owned or leased by Ministry of Defence in Folkestone & Hythe District

The greatest physical and mental health resource yet created is everywhere about us: nature. Yet the feudal structures of land ownership and access mean that little of it is available for residents of our district to enjoy. We are living with the impacts of a pre-democratic system of exclusion; a legacy of centuries of game laws, enclosure acts, stoppage notices and the hostile architecture it left behind. Spiked fences, barbed wire, angry signs, cameras, walls, gamekeepers and gates: all mar our experience of the countryside in our district and the more positive, inclusive culture it could yet create.

We will bring you part III of the land ownership blog in the coming weeks. It will include land ownership -outright or leased by National Highways, British Telecom, Roger De Haan Charitable Trust etc.

The Shepway Vox Team

Dissent is NOT a Crime