Greatstone Coast Drive Beach Huts: Cost Doubles, Sea View Blocked

Work is finally in full swing on Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s £1.6 million “coastal destination” at Coast Drive, Greatstone. Contractors say the 93 pastel‑clad beach huts, visitor hub and re‑graded car park will be finished “in late October 2025”, complete with showers, a café kiosk and electric‑vehicle chargers.

But an April investigation by the Shepway Vox Team traced a tale of missed deadlines, spiralling costs and communication failures: a scheme approved in June 2021 for £893,000, promised for summer 2022, then repeatedly redesigned until the bill hit £1.593 million—plus a late £102,000 call‑off for a new power sub‑station. 

Councillors spar over progress

At last night’s full council meeting

Opposition member Cllr Paul Thomas asked how the new huts would mesh with the district’s existing 126 chalets, all fully let with a waiting list of more than 800 names. Portfolio‑holder Cllr Connor McConville replied that an “expression‑of‑interest” list for the Greatstone huts will open later this summer but will be capped at 200 places, with 85 per cent of leases reserved for district residents. Rents, he said, will be pitched “in line with best‑value benchmarks” of £920–£1,470 plus VAT a year elsewhere in the district.

Vista and access worries

Planning officers insist the huts are spaced “so that each one would benefit from a view of the coast”, yet the approved drawings leave the existing 1–1.5‑metre shingle sea‑defence bank untouched. Local reaction has been scathing:

• “Get yourself down to Greatstone car park… if you sit down in front of the huts there is no view, the shingle bank blocks it. And a visitor centre—for what? There’s nothing here.”

• “Two people sitting in the front row of huts will only see the shingle bank; those in the back row will enjoy little more than a narrow ribbon of shingle between the roofs in front. Wheel‑chair access is zero… The council is building Greatstone’s equivalent of the HS2 Batcave, trying to create some idyllic nature reserve out of a pig’s ear.”

Council engineers have agreed to revisit ground levels “where feasible”, although any re‑profiling would need Natural England’s consent because the bank forms part of an SSSI.

Timeline of mishaps

Community‑hub collateral damage

Shepway Vox also revealed that the council gave just six weeks’ notice of a summer‑long closure of the 250‑space Coast Drive car park, leaving the adjacent Hub on the Beach charity forecasting a £50,000 revenue hit and possible job losses. The council rejected pleas for a phased closure, citing health‑and‑safety rules. 

Will 93 new huts ease the squeeze?

Even after Greatstone opens, the district’s hut stock will rise by only 74 per cent, still short of the frozen waiting list. Internal papers show churn of “below five per cent” a year at Marine Walk, Folkestone, and Marine Parade, Hythe—meaning hundreds could remain queueing for another decade.

Cllr Thomas wants an annual dashboard on hut utilisation, rents and queue length “so residents can judge whether this investment is really paying off.” Supporters, meanwhile, point to long‑promised accessible loos, showers and EV chargers finally taking shape.

For now, diggers occupy the space where kitesurfers parked two summers ago. If this latest timetable holds, the first tenants could unlock hut doors by Easter 2026—though critics, citing four years of slippage, access doubts and a near‑doubled price‑tag, say they’ll believe it when they can actually see the sea.

The Shepway Vox Team

The Velvet Voices of Voxatiousness