Our pretty seaside town is ruined by abandoned buildings & closed beach – there’s so much potential but we feel isolated
RESIDENTS in a pretty seaside town say it’s being ruining by abandoned buildings and a closed beach.
St Mary’s Bay in Romney Marsh, Kent, attracts thousands of families and tourists every year.
But its sandy beach has been filled with “do not swim” signs for a year, adding to a growing sense of isolation felt among the coastal town’s residents.
Despite the wonderful view out to sea, two incomplete developments plague the aesthetics of the area.
Fury has grown over a half-built £20million seafront housing estate named The Sands – left abandoned by contractors.
The site has now become a haven for vandals and fly-tippers after the first residents moved in back in 2019.
More than four years later, locals say the estate has become a “disgrace” with contractors nowhere to be seen.
There’s also Pirate Springs, a former sheltered housing accommodation site which is now boarded up.
It includes a tennis court and astro turf now left to rot,
The picturesque beach has also now been hit with warnings from the Environmental Agency after intestinal enterococci, a bacteria found in faeces, was found in the water.
Local resident Mark Jones told Kent Online: “It has everything I need, but I do feel rather isolated here at times.
“It has such great potential here, but the empty spaces on our coast need to be used for something. They’re just a waste sitting derelict.”
Fellow local Peter Maddix complained the town has been “left in a state” due to the abandoned buildings.
The Sands development sits in a prime location, but supply issues delayed its completion and now incomplete buildings have been left untouched.
Around 85 homes had been planned, but Compass Builders fell into administration earlier this year, with residents fearing it will never be finished.
Residents say the development is an “absolute eyesore”, with some admitting to putting “blinkers on” to avoid having to look at it.
Likewise Pirate Springs currently sits empty, with tourists naturally gravitating away from the area.
Folkestone and Hythe District Council is understood to be “aware” of a planning application potentially being put forward for the site.
But residents feel the town needs a booster injection to ensure tourists don’t avoid the area for good.
There’s only a single pub, the Bailiffs Sergeant, and the Bay Cafe.
Local councillor Paul Thomas admitted it will be difficult to fill the abandoned buildings due to purse strings being so tight.
But he said the area has “such a lovely beach” and the council must do what it can to ensure “it does not get left behind”.
Folkestone and Hythe District Council has been contacted for comment.