Seaside town being ruined by ‘disastrous’ plans for holiday park as locals insist we don’t want Center Parcs next door
LOCALS fear plans for a Center Parcs type holiday home will be "disastrous" for their seaside town.
The Kent based GSE Group are behind plans to transform Hythe Golf Club into a collection of two- and three-storey chalets.
The plans show the collection of chalets and a lake with people in boats and swimming in the water.
But now locals have complained that the loss of the historic golf course will be bad for the area.
Frank Cordell has been a member at Hythe Golf Club for the past nine years and told it would be a “disaster” if they were to lose it.
He said: “It would be absolutely disastrous if we lost our golf course,” he said.
“I have been a member there for nine years. I use the Hythe Imperial Hotel quite regularly and, frankly, if this goes ahead I will stop coming here.”
He added: “I use the golf course twice a week. If it goes I will not be able to play anymore.
“It is ridiculous that they are saying not many people use the golf course. That’s just not true.
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“Plenty of people use and enjoy the site and I don’t think we need a lake in its place.”
Matthew Jones, chair of the New Folkestone Society and Hythe resident, said the plans were “full of contradictions”.
He said: "The information presented looks pretty but it's very vague and does not provide much actual detail.
“They talk about the heritage of the Royal Military Canal but they show the Princes Parade road is going to be moved.
"I am concerned if the road is moved from the seafront closer to the canal it will affect the peace and tranquillity that the canal currently enjoys.”
Mr Jones said the building on the course needs to be “as low density as possible”.
He added: "The golf course helps keep the view of Hythe from a distance very green. As soon as you start building on it you start putting up obstructions to the views.
“The buildings look as if they could be two or three storeys high. We need to know how many buildings they actually plan on putting on the site.
“I do like the idea of bringing tourists to Hythe. It will help our town financially, no doubt about that.”
Paul Lomax, who also attended the consultation, is concerned about the scale of the development.
He said: “I am concerned about how large the development will be.
“It seems the vision is for it to look like a mini Center Parcs, with a lake instead of a dome, but for sale to second home buyers.”
Robert Fletcher supports the new scheme. He said: “I love everything about it. Not only is this something that will be economically important for Hythe, it will be something for the locals to use as well.”
Development director for GSE Property Group, Luke Mullaney, said: “As can be expected, there was a wide range of feedback on the night, and we are glad that people had the opportunity to engage with us in a way that can help positively shape the proposals going forward.
“The event proved to be incredibly popular and as such we appreciate there were a number of people who were not able to complete feedback forms on the night.
“We would encourage those people to head to the consultation website, where feedback forms can still be submitted until November 17.”
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He added: “Following this, we will conduct a full review of the feedback we have received and work towards hosting a second public consultation early in the new year where we will be able to provide a much higher level of detail on the proposals.
“Once again, we thank everyone who took the time to come along and engage with us at this early stage and hope to see them again in the new year.”