Folkestone Ltd.

The seaside town was once ‘incredibly grim’ but now attracts visitors from across the world

Folkestone in Kent has traditionally been overshadowed by its bustling neighbour, Dover. Like many renowned seaside resorts across the UK, Folkestone thrived from the Edwardian era through to the 1950s and early 60s, as Brits flocked there before jetting off abroad became the norm.

However, more recently, the town has experienced a downturn, with its ferry port closing in the early 2000s and the Channel Tunnel becoming the main route for travel between the UK and France. But one resident has made it his business to turn the town’s fortunes around.

Business tycoon Sir Roger De Haan, 75, who grew up in Folkestone and lived there until his teenage years, later sold his parents’ holiday business, Saga, and began pouring £100million into rejuvenating his hometown. “When I grew up in Folkestone as a teenager, there was nothing to do,” Sir Roger told the Express at the end of 2025.

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“It was incredibly grim. Now, there’s an awful lot for kids to do, for families to do. Like many seaside towns in Britain, Folkestone went into decline, and I watched that happen. There used to be hundreds of hotels, and now there are a tiny number.

“I love the place. I grew up here. I worked in Folkestone. Saga’s headquarters were always in Folkestone. I had my kids in Folkestone. I’ve always lived in Folkestone, or the surrounding area. I do have an emotional attachment to it.”

The philanthropist paints a picture of how, when he began investing money into the area, much of it was a neglected “slum”, as a new town centre had pushed aside the old parts, which “declined more rapidly than everywhere else”.

Sir Roger’s father Sidney “predicted that tourists, once they discovered overseas holidays, would turn their back on Folkestone,” the entrepreneur recalls. “I think he would be really happy that, Folkestone, in a way, has been reinvented, and people have rediscovered it, and are returning in large numbers.”

Today, the resort’s Creative Quarter stands as a testament to its transformation into a fashionable tourist hotspot, home to 80 independent traders. It has drawn visitors from as far as east Asia, as well as numerous Londoners who have relocated permanently to the coast for a slower, more tranquil lifestyle.

Sir Roger recounts: “When I started this project, almost all of them [the shops] were empty. Some were boarded up, and most of them they didn’t even bother to board up.” He purchased around 90 “slum buildings”, and granted a 125-year lease for the properties to his arts charity for “a peppercorn rent”.

“Because of this formula,” he explains, “it should still be successful in 100 years’ time, because it hasn’t got a commercial landlord. It’s got a charity landlord who doesn’t have to pay anything for the rent.”

Additionally, Folkestone has benefited from significant investment in its educational provision and sporting amenities. The transformation is far from over, as the next contentious phase to redevelop the harbour – featuring tower blocks containing 1,000 homes and 10,000 square metres of commercial space – received approval in June.

Artist’s renderings of the sleek apartments planned around the harbour resemble something more commonly found in Dubai, Monte Carlo or perhaps trendy Brighton, further along the south coast.

And this has left some residents feeling uncomfortable. When Mike O’Donoughue, 67, who runs Plectrums and Paints in the Creative Quarter, first set foot in Folkestone two decades ago, the neighbourhood was “derelict”, though he now worries about the potential drawbacks of the town’s transformation.

“Brighton is scary, and I don’t think we really want to be heading that way here,” he says. “I think they could be a bit more lenient on the parking [in Folkestone] especially at weekends.”

Sir Roger reassures those concerned that he has no intention of transforming Folkestone into Brighton. He adds: “Folkestone has its own personality that’s unique. We’ve got the white cliffs. You can see France, you can see France quite often. It’s surrounded with lovely countryside. It’s a great place to live. It’s a great place to work. And, no, we’re not trying to turn it into some other place.”

Mr O’Donoughue also notes that some locals “feel like they’re being ousted, slightly”. He recalls how, 15 years ago, properties and flats were cheap. “And now it seems they’re in line with most other places along the coast,” the local added.

Data from Rightmove shows Folkestone house prices averaged £320,757 over the past year, significantly above the UK average property price of £265,000 recorded in June.

“One of the challenges with regeneration is that rents go up and house prices go up,” Sir Roger says. “But they needed to go up a bit because the housing stock in Folkestone was getting very, very rundown. And one of the reasons people weren’t investing in their rundown house… is when you’ve done up your house, you need to know it’s worth what you paid for it and how much you spent in doing it up.”

Steve Smith, 69, a church organist from the nearby village of Smeeth, observes: “There’s money, and there’s the millionaire’s flats along the front. But then you can see just looking around the place that there’s still huge poverty as well.”

His wife, Gianna Marchesi, 69, who works as a school caretaker, laments the disappearance of the resort’s traditional attractions. “It was actually quite fun, occasionally, to come down and enjoy it with the children, or without the children,” she reflects. “And the market on a Sunday was quite fun.”

Brian Frost, 64, a Folkestone native, shared his perspective. “It’s not what it was like when I was a kid,” he told the Express beside his beloved red 1990s Peugeot. He notes the town is now dominated by cafés, nail bars, hairdressers and betting shops.

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Under the change Britons will provide four fingerprints and a facial biometric scan to a machine during their first arrival

British travellers visiting Europe are being warned to prepare for the possibility of even longer queues from today. The rollout of the EU’s new border check tech aims to eventually speed up entry, but its expansion this month presents a risk of greater delays, according to travel association ABTA.

Under the automated Entry/Exit System (EES), Britons will provide four fingerprints and a facial biometric scan to a machine during their first arrival, followed by one scan on each subsequent arrival and departure. “As more places introduce the system, and more passengers are processed through it, there is a greater risk that people will face queues and delays,” ABTA warns.

“It’s important travellers are prepared for this as they prepare to go through passport control.” The EU set a January 10 deadline for its member states to roll out the EES at half of their border crossings.

Manual passport stamping will continue until 9 April, meaning double red tape. “We are also urging border authorities to do all they can to minimise delays. They have contingency measures at their disposal – such as standing down the system or limiting checks – and we want them to be utilised to help manage the flow of people,” ABTA says.

The Entry Exit System (EES) requires non-EU citizens to register at the EU border by scanning their passport and having their fingerprints and photograph taken. The rollout began last October and mean British passport-holders need to register on their first visit to a country where EES checks are operating. Registration is valid for a rolling three-year period or until the passport expires.

The new system will be phased in over six months, meaning different ports may have varying requirements until April 2026. By January 10 half of all checkpoints should be in operation.

On exit, and for subsequent visits to a participating country, travellers will only need to scan their passport and provide either fingerprints or a photograph at the border.

EES will be a requirement when entering Schengen area countries including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. EES will not be required when travelling to Ireland and Cyprus.

For travellers using the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or Eurostar at St Pancras International, the process will take place at the border before they leave the UK.

The government has supported these juxtaposed ports (Eurostar, St Pancras; Eurotunnel, Folkestone; and the Port of Dover) with £10.5m of funding for border infrastructure to make the change as smooth as possible for travellers. While EES is an EU system, the government has been working closely with the travel industry, ports and transport operators to help raise public awareness and understanding of the border changes.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, said: “We recognise that EES checks will be a significant change for British travellers, which is why we have worked closely with our European partners to ensure the rollout goes as smoothly as possible.

“The UK and EU have a shared objective of securing our borders and these modernisation measures will help us protect our citizens and prevent illegal migration.”

Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation, Keir Mather, said: “We’ve backed our ports and operators with £10.5 million to help them get ready for the EU’s new Entry/Exit System, ensuring they have the infrastructure and systems in place to manage the changes.

“Our priority is to minimise disruption for travellers and hauliers, particularly at our busiest border crossings. We’ll continue working closely with European partners and local resilience forums to keep traffic flowing and journeys smooth.”

Travellers do not need to take any action before travelling and the process is free. Registration will take place upon arrival at the EU border and may take slightly longer than previous border checks.

Whilst the checks should only take 1-2 minutes for each person, they may lead to longer wait times at border control upon arrival in the Schengen area. At the juxtaposed ports, where registration will be completed in the UK prior to departure, there may be longer waits at busy times. Eurotunnel, Eurostar and the Port of Dover have plans in place to minimise disruption as much as possible.

Children under 12 will not be fingerprinted but under the new EU rules, all travellers, including babies, will be photographed and have digital records created.

The UK Government has rolled out its own Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, which is a digital permission to travel for visitors who do not need a visa for short stays, or do not have another valid UK immigration status prior to travelling to the UK.

Eurostar services resumed after a power outage in the Channel Tunnel caused all trains heading to mainland Europe to be cancelled

Eurostar travellers have been cautioned that disruption may continue, despite services restarting following a power failure in the Channel Tunnel. Thousands of passengers endured lengthy delays after the rail operator scrapped all London to Europe journeys on Tuesday when an overhead power supply fault and a broken-down LeShuttle train blocked all routes.

Limited services recommenced on the single operational line on Tuesday evening, with Eurostar reporting “further issues with rail infrastructure overnight”. A statement on the Eurostar website read: “We plan to run all of our services today, however due to knock-on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations.”

The first Wednesday departure from St Pancras to Paris’ Gare du Nord station, timetabled for 6.01am, was axed, though all remaining services appeared as scheduled on the firm’s website. A statement released by Eurostar on Tuesday evening, encouraging passengers to rebook for a different day where possible, read: “Although outside of our control, we apologise for the disruption today and will continue to keep customers updated with the latest information and support them with rescheduling their bookings.”

LeShuttle services were similarly disrupted by the electrical fault. Having warned of six-hour holdups at the Folkestone terminal on Tuesday, the company reported these had reduced to just 30 minutes by Wednesday morning. However, six-hour queues persisted in Calais, with passengers urged to check in at their scheduled times.

The Channel Tunnel carries both Eurostar services and LeShuttle vehicle-carrying trains linking Britain and France. Getlink, which runs the Channel Tunnel, confirmed that “an incident related to the power supply to trains occurred last night in part of the Channel Tunnel, affecting train and shuttle traffic”.

On Tuesday, Eurostar personnel at St Pancras station in central London were spotted distributing water bottles to those waiting behind cordons who were caught up in the disruption. Vehicles attempting to cross the Eurotunnel created tailbacks on routes approaching the Folkestone terminal.

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LeShuttle traveller Tim Brown revealed he had been stranded in his vehicle on the train at the Calais terminal for over three hours with “no access to food or water”.

Mr Brown, who was attempting to return to Britain after celebrating Christmas in Germany, was journeying with his dogs Rilo and Vinnie who he said are “hating life” trapped on the train.

“The fact that nobody has come around offering everybody a bottle of water is what has shocked me the most,” he said. “I know things happen, but surely that would be an easy way to help.”