Folkestone & Hythe District Council Performance: Waste, Housing, Planning—What to Know

Folkestone & Hythe’s Q1 performance, 2024/25 vs 2025/26: where the council’s flying, where it’s flagging, and where the lid’s still stuck on the recycling bin.

If local government had a league table, Folkestone & Hythe’s Quarter 1 form would put Planning in the Champions League, Waste on an inconsistent cup run, and Housing in a gruelling relegation battle. The council has also rearranged its dug-out: Waste and Street Cleansing now has its own Cabinet seat (hello, Cllr Jeremy Speakman), alongside new portfolios for Place Plan & the visitor economy (Cllr James Butcher) and Assets & Local Government Reorganisation (Cllr Connor McConville). Consider it a tactical reshuffle for a long season. 

Finance and Revenues: steady if unspectacular

The money-in fundamentals are holding their lines. Council Tax collected by the end of Q1 2025–26 was 28.32% (28.53% last year), still tracking to the year-end target; Business Rates sat at 33.84% (34.49% last year), also “on track”. Think of it as a sensible, low-risk midfield: nothing flashy, but it keeps possession. 

On benefits processing, new claims took 11.16 days (vs 11.1 last year), and 3.54 days from the date evidence was received (better than 3.75 last year). A new KPI shows changes of circumstance cleared in 3.50 days. Efficient, if not enthralling.

Information Governance: From detention to gold star

Last year’s Q1 saw FOI/EIR responses on time at 84%, SARs at 80%, and 92% of potential data breaches assessed within 72 hours. This year? FOI/EIR on-time rockets to 97%, SARs to 95%, and breaches assessed within 72 hours at a clean 100%. No reportable breaches to the ICO either. From “see me after class” to “top of the form”. 

One wobble: the share of complaints closed on time slipped to 92% this Q1 (down from 100% last year), just within 5% of target; the council also logged more complaints (60 vs 46). Not a crisis, but worth the headteacher’s raised eyebrow. 

Planning: still purring

If only everything ran like Development Management. In both years, 100% of majors hit agreed timescales; minors nudged 96% → 98%; “others” held at a silky 99%. Even purists would applaud those completion rates. (A new KPI tracks 31 new homes approved in the period—monitoring only, no target yet.) 

Waste and Street Scene: the tidy, the untidy and the untidier

Last year’s Q1 street cleanliness was almost postcard-worthy at 99.41% “clean and clear of litter.” This year’s score slumped to 88% (204 of 232 streets), missing the 95% target. That’s 28 streets that didn’t make the Instagram grid. 

Recycling remains the perennial “nearly” story. In 2024–25 Q1 the report pointed to ~49% (using latest available year-end data), close to the 50% target; in 2025–26 Q1 the latest figure available is 46% (Q4 last year), with the 50% target again framed as a year-end aim. It’s like taking out the bins but forgetting to separate the glass—good intent, mixed execution. 

Two bits of comfort: missed collections remain low (improving from 43.1 → 31.61 per 100,000 last year; 32.42 this year—still within target) and fly-tip removals are still cleared in 1 day on average. Silver linings, swiftly collected. 

Community Safety & Pubic Realm: fewer warnings more pool visits

Enforcement is generally calmer: Community Protection Warnings fell from 27 to 8; high-level enviro-crime FPNs dipped (9 → 6), and successful prosecutions remained at 100%. Not quite “crime solved,” but a quieter dashboard. 

Public-facing safety events are at 7 (down from 12) but still on course to hit the annual target of 10; “projects delivered” rose from 1 → 2. Meanwhile, Hythe Pool clocked 11,195 visits (up from 8,907). If only the streets were as spotless as the changing rooms. 

Food hygiene is a watch-item: the share of premises “broadly compliant” (3-star or better) was a perfect 100% last year’s Q1, but reads 91% this year—within 5% of the 95% target and notably lower than last year. Time to roll up sleeves.

Place, growth and parks: green flags fly but funding headwinds

On the economy side, there’s stuttering form. Rural England Prosperity Fund grants: 1 last year’s Q1, 0 this year (applications pending). UKSPF household support: 61 last year’s Q1, 0 this year (awaiting allocation). Two bright spots: market/town-centre pilot events (from 0 → 2) and a new KPI showing website dwell time at 75 seconds—above target.

Parks continue to do us proud. All four Green Flags (Coastal Park, Royal Military Canal, Kingsnorth Gardens, Radnor Park) are retained, and a new KPI clocks 100 volunteer hours toward a 500 target—community spirit in sturdy gardening gloves. 

Housing Pressures: the hard yards

Here’s where the tone turns sober. Last year’s Q1 showed rough sleepers averaging 17 (against a target of 6), B&B at 11, and Temporary Accommodation at 51. This year’s Q1: rough sleepers fall to 13 (still above the 10 target), but B&B jumps to 20 and Temporary Accommodation doubles to 101. Prevention/relief outcomes also slip from 46% → 33%. In footballing terms: fewer shots conceded outside the box, but far more corners to defend. 

The waiting list eased (1,382 → 1,172), but pressure on temporary placements is unmistakable. These numbers matter in real lives and real nights’ sleep. 

Counci housing and private sector standards: Green shoots at last

There is tangible progress on supply. Last year’s Q1 had 0 council home starts; this year’s Q1 shows 33 started, already exceeding the 20-home annual target. Affordable homes delivered rose from 4 → 20. A new cumulative KPI (since April 2024) counts 77 council homes started and 43 affordable homes delivered over the plan’s first 15 months. That’s not a press release—it’s bricks and mortar. 

The empty homes programme looks softer in-quarter (27 → 12), though still on track to a 50 annual target; private sector homes improved rose from 77 → 92. Quiet graft that raises standards for existing residents. 

On housing compliance, last year’s Q1 showed strong gas, fire, legionella and electrical certifications across communal blocks, and near-universal coverage in domestic EICRs, with a few access stragglers being chased by Legal. The “safety-basics” continue to look tight. 

Digital & Lifeline: Reliable Pipelines

“My Account” registrations stood at 75.98% of households by Q1 last year—ambitious at the time and a sign the digital front door is well used. Lifeline performance remains rock-steady: ~98% of calls answered within 60 seconds and ~99.7% within 180 seconds, year over year—reassuring for those who rely on it. 

What to watch next (and what to nudge)

• Street cleanliness: That 88% result needs more than a tidy-up. Residents notice litter; hearts and minds are won curbside. 

• Recycling: The 50% target is persistently nearly there. The council could either push participation harder or pilot nudge-y fixes (bin-top messaging, route audits, or focused feedback loops). 

• Temporary accommodation & B&B: The spike from 51 → 101 in TA, and 11 → 20 in B&B, is the flashing red light of this report. Any supply wins (new starts, acquisitions, lettings) must translate into fewer families in limbo. 

• Food hygiene compliance: 91% broadly compliant vs a 95% target and 100% last year’s Q1 deserves a swift clean-down and a plan. 

• Economic support delivery: Zero in-quarter UKSPF/REP fund outputs (pending allocations) will test patience on the High Street; the town-centre pilots and “Experience the Extraordinary” engagement are useful but won’t pay shop rents by themselves. 

Verdict

Folkestone & Hythe’s Q1 is a paradox in a hi-viz jacket: exemplary planning performance and notable progress on council house starts and affordable delivery, contrasted with litter and hygiene dips, and tough housing need dynamics that moved from “worrying” to “alarming”. The governance side—FOIs, SARs, data handling—has gone from amber to green, which speaks to a council that can fix process when it puts its mind to it.

Now comes the hard part: bringing that same relentlessness from the inbox to the street and from KPIs to kitchen tables—so fewer families are in temporary rooms, more bins are properly sorted, and more streets look Q1-ready for an actual postcard.

Because in local government, as any resident will tell you, success isn’t just percentages—it’s whether your street is clean, your question gets answered, and your family has a place to call home.

The Shepway Vox Team

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