More than £4 million of taxpayers' money was “wasted” on a failed seafront development without a brick ever being laid, KentOnline can reveal.

Angry residents say “the whole district is paying the price” for the costs accrued on the doomed Princes Parade housing and leisure project in Hythe.

Our findings lift the lid on the staggering sums forked out by Folkestone & Hythe District Council (FHDC) on the controversial scheme before it was finally axed last year.

More than £2 million was spent on planning, management and consultancy fees, while close to £1.9 million was paid to a construction firm lined up to deliver the project.

Developing Princes Parade was first mooted by the council as long ago as 2012. But it faced fierce opposition from locals concerned about the loss of open space and the impact on nature.

Despite this, in 2017 a planning application was lodged and later approved for 150 new homes, a revamped promenade and a leisure centre to replace Hythe’s ageing swimming pool.

But it was dogged by delays, controversy and spiralling costs, ultimately leaving taxpayers with nothing to show for the money spent.

Costs to the council

The authority's £4.4 million bill includes £304,000 on legal costs fighting a failed bid by campaigners to have the planning permission examined by a Judicial Review.

On top of this, the council spent £300,000 installing hoardings around the site - and then another £100,000 removing them after the project was officially scrapped in 2024.

Almost half of the total costs - £1.88 million - was paid to BAM Construction, which was appointed in 2021 to build a new leisure centre and deliver infrastructure to support the new homes.

This included a “pre-contract fee, management costs and design services” totalling £494,873, and £154,709 on vegetation clearance.

With the plug pulled on the scheme, the leisure centre and infrastructure were never delivered, but preparatory work was carried out on the plot, including “badger sett construction and ecological fencing” at a cost of £126,748.

A further £2.33 million was paid out during the planning application stage, including £1.76m to project management and design firm Faithful and Gould, which was listed as the “lead consultant” on Prince’s Parade.

A political turning point

The FHDC scheme was narrowly approved by its own councillors in 2018.

The aim of the development was to deliver “quality housing” for the district and provide a new leisure centre so the council could sell Hythe’s pool.

But multiple concerns were raised about building on the “contaminated” former landfill site.

A council report published in 2023 said waste on the land included rusted metals, red bricks, concrete fragments, glass bottles, batteries and aerosol cans.

It also showed the site is an area of “moderate bomb risk potential” and further assessment was required before any “intrusive works” involving ground disturbance.

In 2021, almost 1,000 people turned out to protest against the development and the saga became a defining issue at the local elections two years later, which saw the Conservatives lose control of the council.

The Greens and Liberal Democrats took power – both parties having pledged to scrap the scheme if elected.

But the legacy of Princes Parade now hangs over the new administration, with bosses saying there is no funding left to build a new swimming pool.

With Folkestone Sports Centre closing in July 2024 and awaiting a reopening date, Hythe’s outdated pool deteriorating, and seawater quality declining at some beaches, concerns have been raised there could be nowhere left in the district to take a dip.

‘As long as I’m in charge, nothing will be built’

Current council leader Cllr Jim Martin (Green) came into power in 2023 - after the millions had been spent.

He says the previous Tory administration should not have pushed ahead with the development in the face of residents’ objections.

But he added: “At the time, the government was actively encouraging councils to borrow money - at low rates - to generate their own income.

“Looking at Princes Parade - a mile of seafront land backing onto the Royal Military Canal - anyone would have thought it was a prime development site.

“But the reality is, it couldn’t be developed.

“It’s been surveyed over and over and almost every time, something else nasty was found - heavy metals, hospital waste, all sorts.

“The contamination is too complex to resolve, and the tide itself threatens the site’s stability.”

Cllr Martin remains determined to stop the site being built on.

“As long as I am in charge, there will be no development at Princes Parade,” he said.

“Before I became leader, the money was all spent.

“The contract with BAM had been terminated, everything was already done. All I can do now is manage the write-off.”

‘Had they not interfered, we’d be a damn sight better off’

For David Monk, former FHDC leader, the Princes Parade project was a “brilliant” scheme blocked for political reasons.

The Conservative explains the two drivers behind the plan.

“First, Hythe’s swimming pool was on its last legs, and we needed a new one,” he said.

“Second, the government wanted councils to prioritise building on brownfield sites - and Princes Parade is brownfield land.”

The plan, Mr Monk says, would have transformed the area.

“We’d divert the road, create a beautiful promenade, build a leisure centre, fund it by selling land for quality housing, and sell the old pool site. It was a win-win,” he told KentOnline.

“It wasn’t just me pushing this - the whole council approved it. We got planning permission despite objections, and we spent thousands on expert reports to make sure we were doing things right.

“Had they not interfered, it would all be up and running now, and we’d all be a damn sight better off.”

Mr Monk also rejects Cllr Martin’s claims about contamination on the Princes Parade site and believes the development could have been completed.

“Total b****cks. We knew about it, we had experts in, and they said it could be done,” he added.

“Once it was up and running, the operators would have paid us money.

“So straight away, you’ve got the £300,000 a year we were spending on the Hythe pool disappearing, and you’ve got potentially £200,000 or £300,000 — maybe even £500,000 — coming in.

“That’s half a million a year saved and generated.”

He added: “It wasn’t me doing this on a whim. It was the council’s policy, approved democratically.

“But there was a small, ferocious group that went on and on and on. It didn’t matter what we did - they weren’t going to accept it because it wasn’t what they wanted.”

‘The whole district is paying the price’

KentOnline spoke to residents in Hythe about the costs uncovered using Freedom of Information Act requests.

The overwhelming response from residents was that it was the right decision to scrap the development.

But the amount of taxpayers’ money “wasted” has left them fearing for the future.

Paul Lomax, who has lived in Hythe for the past four years, says the Conservatives spent millions on something people did not want.

“They were punished at the ballot box for it,” he said.

“Princes Parade was a community space. Even though it wasn’t a formal park, people walked their dogs there daily. It mattered to people.

“Now, there’s a hole in the box - money that could have improved the town was wasted.

“If they’d spent it on a swimming pool or community facilities, people would have seen a real benefit.”

Chris Farrell, 64, who campaigned against the development for several years, says residents “have every right to be furious”.

“It’s their money that’s been wasted,” she said.

Ms Farrell says a leisure centre could have been built at Martello Lakes - a new-build estate between Hythe and Dymchurch - “for a fraction of the cost”.

“It could have been open by now,” she said.

“Instead, the whole district is paying the price.”

Nicki Stuart, who has lived in Hythe for 30 years, says the Princes Parade development was “doomed from the start”.

“The Tory-run council ignored expert advice about building on contaminated land,” she said

“Their cost estimates were laughably low, and that was before inflation and the Ukraine war drove costs even higher.

“This whole thing is a Tory crime scene. They’ve robbed the taxpayers, plain and simple.”

What happens next?

The Green-led council has pledged to “start again from scratch” with Princes Parade – but there is no clear plan for what comes next.

An online consultation on the future of the land ended last month, with face-to-face meetings set to take place in the coming weeks.

But the legacy of the failed scheme is likely to haunt the district for years to come.

“There’s land at Martello Lakes where we could build a pool tomorrow – if only we had the money,” Cllr Martin added.

BAM Construction was approached by KentOnline to speak about the impact of the project being axed but did not respond.