Abandoned £20m half-built estate is 'dumping ground' after being 'left to rot'
A half-built seafront housing estate has become a "disgusting dumping ground" occupied only by pigeons, rabbits and vandals, despite its huge £20million price tag.
The Sands, a new-build estate in St Mary's Bay on Romney Marsh, was expected to welcome its first residents in the summer of 2019 but supply issues delayed the build. More than four years on, contractors are nowhere to be seen and the prime site now sits silent, with the incomplete buildings left open to the elements.
Bob Thomson, who lives a few doors down from the abandoned estate says the whole 85-home development needs pulling down. He said: "It would cost more to put right due to the state it is in. You can see the pigeons living in the buildings with all the broken windows. We used to have security guards living in static caravans to stop people entering the site, but since work stopped anyone can wander on there. Loads of people have been fly-tipping. I think it's a disgrace."
In 2016, plans submitted by Stanford-based developer FDC Homes Ltd were approved by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) for 59 houses and 26 apartments. The site was later sold to Compass Builders Ltd and work commenced in early 2018, but a national shortage of plasterboard delayed the expected launch the following summer.
Neighbours say construction did continue on the site but came to a halt in early 2022, with many building materials left abandoned around the plot. Compass Builders Ltd then fell into administration earlier this year, leaving a huge question mark over the future of the development.
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Neighbour Mark Jones is fed up with the mess (KMG / SWNS)Mark Jones, who lives directly opposite the estate, says he puts his 'blinkers' on to avoid even looking at the smashed-up four-acre plot. He said: "Before the development was even proposed it was a waste ground, so we need to have something there. But what's happened since is not acceptable. My main issue is I don't know where we go from here. How long are we going to have to sit with this?
"It has been turned into a dumping ground; god knows what kind of thing people have been putting there. Nothing has happened for about 18 months now. If they aren't going to do anything with the houses I would quite happily see it knocked down and turned into a park."
The neglect of the estate is clear to see with half-broken fencing around the empty homes making it easy for anyone to wander onto the land and cause damage. Rabbits can be seen bouncing through the overgrown grass, while hundreds of pigeons have made a base for themselves in defaced premises.
Residents living close by say they hear an occasional warning message played through some speakers when people enter the estate. But they claim security or police never turn up to investigate the trespassing.
John Underwood, who lives in nearby added: "It is disgusting the site has been left like this. It's a disgrace - I've only lived here for a year, but it has been like that the whole time I've been here. It needs to be knocked down and demolished for something for the community. We have not been updated or told anything, so we have all just been going off rumours.
"The whole place is destroyed. It's so easy to get on the site you can just walk into the empty buildings. The flats are too close, too tall and they never should have been built in the first place."
The estate has been abandoned (KMG / SWNS)In 2019, several of the new-build homes were up for sale on Rightmove, with prices ranging from £130,000 for a one-bed apartment to £490,000 for a four-bed town house. The advert promised "quality finishes throughout, contemporary kitchens and bathrooms, parking to all units as well as special care and attention to every aspect of the development".
Hythe-based estate agent C R Child & Partners was promoting the development at the time, and said it had received interest from nearby families alongside prospective buyers looking for a second home. But Labour councillor Tony Cooper who represents the Romney Marsh ward on FHDC, says he is now "strongly advising" people to stay away from the site and call the police if they see anyone trespassing.
"The council's hands are unfortunately tied at the moment until the administrator makes a decision on what to do with the site," he said. "I understand the frustrations of residents and I am frustrated myself. Unfortunately the council does not have the money to sort the problem out at this moment in time."
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up The Mirror's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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