Folkestone harbour renovation update April 2017

While the heavy machinery and activity connected to the dredging and level raising has caught our attention at Folkestone harbour, the works to repair and renovate the viaduct have been progressing.  This area of work focusses on preserving the structure and connecting the former railway station and viaduct to the town.

It will create new access to Folkestone Harbour Arm by using the viaduct that carried trains across the harbour as a pedestrian walkway.  The aim is to provide a direct route between the town and the Harbour Arm, via the former railway station platforms, and will ultimately link with a boardwalk along the beachfront towards the Leas Coastal Park. This will improve connectivity around the harbour itself and help enhance access between the Coastal Park, the Stade and beach areas, the Creative Quarter and other parts of the town centre, anticipating the wider opportunities that the seafront development will bring.

During the coming months the area will be landscaped and new railings will be added. A staircase and lift will be constructed to provide access between the viaduct and Harbour Square, adjacent to the fountains. Care is being taken to respect the listed status of the structure and to preserve and enhance its heritage value, whilst introducing a function that is relevant to the area’s future.

The work is an important step towards the transformation of one of Folkestone’s most iconic sites, which will help redefine the relationship between the town and the sea. To date this has included the opening of Rocksalt, a signature restaurant overlooking the inner harbour, the creation of interactive fountains in a new public square and the Harbour Arm itself.  

Folkestone harbour Railway station . 2017 Disused and Abandoned April 2017

We took a trip to see how the huge development was progressing at Folkestone harbour railway station

Who remembers the good old days a good Sunday Market and a pound to spend in Rotunda funfair ?

And then some seafood. 

Well them days are gone . But now things are starting to look up as a Victorian-style benefactor in the shape of billionaire Sir Roger De Haan, whose charitable trust has helped regenerate the whole town, including a £7m facelift of the Creative Quarter.

Houses planned to be built on Folkestone seafront

A £5m cash injection from Kent’s economic and business champions the South East Local Enterprise Partnership has helped get this seafront project going, but it is otherwise funded purely from the pockets of Sir Roger, who made his fortune through the sale of the Saga group in 2004.Just over two years ago, outline planning consent was granted for up to a thousand residential units, including beach houses, apartments and town houses, with a range of commercial spaces and leisure facilities designed to serve a new community.The scale of the project is huge, with the refurbished Harbour Arm - re-opened last year 

WELL LETS SEE HOW MPS TAKE

The Abandoned Folkestone Harbour Branch Line, Kent

https://framemeplease19.wixsite.com/trackbedwalker

 The branch line is now officially closed, and has been since 2014. Passenger trains stopped running on this line in 2001 and then to freight and steam trains in 2009. Up until now, the line is starting to be dismantled as Network Rail concluded it is not going to be worth spending millions to get the line up and running again. The old branch line from the South Eastern Main Line at Folkestone Junction served the port of Folkestone and provided a rail connection for boat trains from London which connected with the ferry services to Calais and Boulogne in France.


 At the start of the video, we see the remains of Warren Road Level Crossing, originally an MCB-CCTV level crossing type. Originally, before wigwags came along, this crossing was an MWG type crossing (Manually Worked Gates) with white swing gates and a red circle in the middle. Luckily, Google Maps still have images of the crossing in 2009 when it had NRS Halogen Bulb Wigwags, very old GWE Barriers with Halogen Barrier Boom Lights and intermittent bells. These were taken out between 2012 and 2014, with a fence put in place. All that remains now are red Trespass notices and beware of the live rail, despite the railway being abandoned with no trains for 5 years

https://framemeplease19.wixsite.com/trackbedwalker

Following the line south along the A260, we eventually pass a foot crossing. Pedestrians can still cross here but either side of the pathway are the same fences seen at the Warren Road crossing. The road slowly goes downwards and the railway crosses the harbour. A very unique railway swing bridge is placed right beside the old Folkestone Harbour Station and Level Crossing. It looks to be in the process of being restored as its a grade 2 listed building. Some of the photos here do not belong to me (i.e. ones from Google Maps). These images can be found on the Google Maps street view on Warren Road in Folkestone in May 2009. The remains of the Folkestone Harbour Station and Level Crossing can be seen in a different video taken at night to make it more ere, abandoned and old!
were just cutting the video for the station update 

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This is a video showing a drive down the abandoned (or more appropriately called "to be dismantled") Folkestone Harbour Branch line from the former Warren Road MCB-CCTV Level Crossing to the end of the branch line at Folkestone Harbour Railway Station. It was recorded in April 2017.

Folkestone Seafront redevelopment is now in full progress. End of March report

The next stage of the eagerly awaited Folkestone Seafront redevelopment will see the harbour station renovated. work is now pushing ahead at full steam ..

with no sign of a train in site !!!!!

Work is already being carried out to restore and repair the historic and listed harbour viaduct and swing bridge and the harbour station

The viaduct, which once carried trains into the harbour, will become a new pedestrian walkway for people to walk along the old platforms, down the tracks and onto the Harbour Arm pier.

another development will see the arrival of These  historic carriages, which have sat on the Wearside seafront for decades, will house a restaurant at Folkestone harbour’s historic railway station.

could there also be weddings held at the venue

Harbour to be sealed off as bomb is dug up at Folkestone harbour redevelopment.

Harbour to be sealed off as bomb is dug up at Folkestone seafront

 

Will this hold up the eagerly awaited Folkestone Seafront redevelopment will see the harbour station renovated. work is now pushing ahead at full steam ..

with no sign of a train in site !!!!!

Work is already being carried out to restore and repair the historic and listed harbour viaduct and swing bridge and the harbour station

The viaduct, which once carried trains into the harbour, will become a new pedestrian walkway for people to walk along the old platforms, down the tracks and onto the Harbour Arm pier.

another development will see the arrival of

 These  historic carriages, which have sat on the Wearside seafront for decades, will house a restaurant at Folkestone harbour’s historic railway station.

Parts of Folkestone Seafront redevelopment to be completed by late summer

Parts of a harbour's long term redevelopment will be finished by late this summerFolkestone Harbour is undergoing mass construction with a plan to transform the area with up to 1,000 homes and 10,000 sq metres of commercial space.

Designs released by Folkestone Harbour Company, which owns the land and is overseeing the multi-million pound project, show what the restored harbour station will look like.Today it looks like this 

The new plans form part of the town’s seafront regeneration and when it is completed, the work to the station will connect the town centre, Creative Quarter and the hugely popular Harbour Arm.Work is already being carried out to restore and repair the historic and listed harbour viaduct and swing bridge and the harbour station work is in full progree

The viaduct, which once carried trains into the harbour, will become a new pedestrian walkway for people to walk along the old platforms, down the tracks and onto the Harbour
Work can be seen all across the harbour and there are plans for refreshment outlets to set up within the station when work is completed. The viaduct which used to see trains transporting passengers to ferries has been renovated and will also open in the coming months with a fresh lick of paint. The viaduct will have stairs leading to it and a lift. There will be gates on-site to shut it off, weather permitting. It will provide a vital link from The Stade across to the seafront and Harbour Arm