Folkestone and Hythe community action
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Folkestone and Hythe.
News
- Folkestone & Hythe District Council commit to a one-year glyphosate phase out period trialling alternatives. Nov, 2019...pan-uk.org/pesticide-free-towns-success-stories/, folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
Networks and sustainability initiatives
- Hythe Environmental Community Group, Hythe Community Hop Farm, hytheenvironmental.community
Biodiversity
- The Fifth Continent, Romney Marsh Landscape conservation scheme. link checked 17:04, 2 February 2022 (UTC)
Open spaces
East Cliff and Warren Country Park is formed of the East Cliffs of Folkestone, the sandy beaches of East Wear Bay and the land-slipped nature reserve land between the cliffs and the sea.
After the Country Park was set up, grazing animals were banned, this has allowed shrubs and trees to seed naturally across the site. Patches of wildflower meadow still exist and these are the favoured habitats of various rare insects. The Warren is an important habitat for many insects. Over 330 species of moth have been recorded visiting the site.
The White Cliffs Countryside Project, who are assisting by local volunteers to maintain the remaining areas of chalk grassland and meadow. They have created open grassy corridor habitats along the footpaths so that the wild flowers and insects can survive and access other parts of the important nature reserve.
The Saxon Shore Way and North Downs Way, (long distance trails lead through the park between Folkestone and Dover, via Capel-le-Ferne. Beside Wear Bay Road, on the northern fringes of the park, is Little Switzerland Camping Site; it is so named because of the mountainous-looking white cliffs nearby. The Tea Chalet is within the camp site.
Arts and culture
Creative Folkestone Quarterhouse (also known as Quarterhouse) is a performance and exhibition space in Folkestone, Kent, England. It is used for activities including theatre, dance, music, film, comedy, family shows, and live screenings from organisations including National Theatre and Royal Opera House. The venue is also home to numerous festivals, including Creative Folkestone Book Festival, Normal? Festival of the Brain, and SALT Festival of the Sea and Environment.
Community radio
Radio Folkestone, previously known as 105.9 Academy FM until 11 May 2024, is a community radio station serving the town of Folkestone in Kent, which launched on 31 March 2011.
The station broadcasts 24 hours a day on 105.9 FM. In spring 2015 OFCOM announced that rules relating to on-air advertising for community radio stations would change, which will enable the station to raise limited funds from this source.
Shoreline 100.2FM is the community radio station for Hythe and Romney Marsh and has been broadcasting since January 2020. Academy FM 105.9FM, the community radio station for Folkestone can also be received in parts of Hythe.
Community energy
- Sustainability Connections (Folkestone), About
Cycling
National Cycle Route 2 (or NCR 2) is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network, running from Dover to St Austell. When complete, the route will be 581 km (361 miles) long.
Dover to Hastings: The route follows the Chalk and Channel Way along the cliff tops to Folkestone and crosses Romney Marsh to Lydd. From Rye it follows the coast into Hastings.
Sustainable transport
Several long distance footpaths cross the District, including the Saxon Shore Way and the North Downs Way; shorter walks include the "Elham Valley Walk" and the "Royal Military Canal Path".
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the route runs significantly inland from the modern coastline.
Events
The Hythe Venetian Fete is a traditional "floating tableaux" (water carnival) that dates and derives back to the 1860s Hythe Cricket Week. It takes place on the third Wednesday in August, every two years, on the Royal Military Canal at Hythe in Kent, England.
The competitive fete is largely sponsored by local businesses and media (some of which have their own themed floats) and also features related entertainments, refreshments, band concerts, and fireworks throughout the evening illuminated variation.
About Folkestone and Hythe
Folkestone and Hythe is a local government district in Kent, England. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the coast of the English Channel. The district was formed in 1974 and was originally named Shepway after one of the ancient lathes of Kent, which had covered a similar area. The district was renamed in 2018. The council is based in Folkestone, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Hawkinge, Hythe, Lydd and New Romney, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
The North Downs hills extend into the north of the district, parts of which fall within the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of the Kent Downs. Much of the south of the district forms the low-lying Romney Marsh, an area of land partly reclaimed from the sea. The district contains the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal, the main interchange for road vehicles at the UK end of the Channel Tunnel.
The neighbouring districts (anti-clockwise from north-east) are Dover, Canterbury, Ashford and Rother. The latter is in East Sussex, the rest are in Kent. To the south-east is the sea.
Near you
Ashford - Canterbury - Dover