The bathroom in one of the flats
Cllr Rebecca Shoob, Steve Grimshaw and Ryan Green inside the lounge of one of the flats
Torg Developments acquired the site in The Bayle, Folkestone, in November 2021, with planning permission granted by the district council in March 2022.
Later that year, NUE provided funding of £820,000 with another £90,000 from FHDC for the project, which has resulted in the building of four two-bedroom and two one-bedroom flats, together with a new community room on the ground floor.
They are currently being marketed at prices from £275.000 to £300,000.
The loans are due to be repaid by September 2025 at the latest, but before then if the sale of flats justifies it. The loan repayments are then “recycled” to support future housing schemes across the county.
Folkestone charity Sunflower House has an agreement with the Torg Developments Ltd to occupy the ground floor space for community activities.
One of its trustees, Jon O’Connor, joined KCC’s Strategic Programme Manager for No Use Empty, Steve Grimshaw for a tour of the building, together with FHDC’s Housing Strategy Manager Adrian Hammond and Cllr Rebecca Shoob, FHDC’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness.
They were shown round the flats by the directors of Torg Developments, Tommy Ould and Ryan Green.
Steve Grimshaw said: “The developers who acquired the site in November 2021 have created a property containing six apartments in a much sought after location and importantly have given something back to the local community by providing ground floor space with facilities which have separate access to the residential area.
“There was a history of planning applications being submitted and refused and the former Dance Easy studio remained closed and in a derelict state. Thanks to a joined-up approach from Kent County Council’s No Use Empty scheme and top up funds from Folkestone & Hythe District Council, another redundant building is brought back to life in the district.”
Since the launch of No Use Empty 18 years ago, the scheme has supported the provision of 1,424 homes across the county, with loans totalling nearly £60 million.
These have included a total of 251 housing units in the Folkestone and Hythe district, thanks to NUE loans of almost £12 million and top-up loans from FHDC of more than £2 million.
