Folkestone & Hythe council to vote on children’s play area for Bouverie Square town centre park

Councillors on the planning and licensing committee are due to consider plans for a new play zone in Folkestone town centre, part of the £20 million “A Brighter Future” regeneration scheme that will turn Bouverie Square into a public park.

Families using Folkestone & Hythe’s town centre could soon have a dedicated children’s play area in Bouverie Square — but the proposal hasn’t been rubber-stamped yet. The play zone is on the agenda for the council’s planning and licensing committee, meaning elected members still need to approve it before anything is built.

The play area sits within the broader “Folkestone – A Brighter Future” project, which will replace the current hard-surfaced grey space in Bouverie Square with a public park once bus stops are relocated along Shellons Street. The whole scheme is government-funded and expected to complete in summer 2026. Creative Folkestone, the arts and cultural development organisation, is named as the body delivering the play zone itself.

The council says the scheme will revitalise the town centre and create a “green heart” for Folkestone, with the town centre place plan having already identified Bouverie Square as somewhere that needed more green space and safe places for children to play. Planning officers previously assessed the wider development — which includes landscaping, playspace and public realm works — as consistent with the Folkestone Place Plan and recommended approval.

But not everyone is convinced. Residents have previously raised concerns that open public space in the town centre could attract anti-social behaviour. The relocation of bus stops away from the current bus station area also worries some regular bus users and traders near Bouverie Place and Shellons Street, both during construction and once the changes bed in.

The committee hasn’t voted yet, so this decision is not final.

Key information

• The public survey on the play area closed at 4.00 pm on Monday 28 April — paper copies were available on request from the council
• The planning and licensing committee was due to discuss the proposal the week after the council posted its announcement
• The wider £20 million town-centre scheme is expected to complete in summer 2026
• Residents can follow progress through Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s website and the “Folkestone – A Brighter Future” project pages