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Ground Floor Business Premises, 21 Grace Hill, Folkestone, CT20 1HA

26/0398/FH/PAPA - from Shop/ Bank to dwellingsRefused
Outline / PiP

Refused on 8 May 2026

1 reason for refusal

Approximate site (title boundary)
Boundary © HM Land Registry, © Ordnance Survey · details

This information is subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 and is reproduced with the permission of HM Land Registry. The polygons (including the associated geometry, namely x, y co-ordinates) are subject to Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey AC0000851063. Conditions of use.

Proposal

Determination as to whether the prior approval of the Local Planning Authority is required under Class MA of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) for a change of use from commercial, business and service (Use Class E) to 1 residential flat (Class C3).

Received
13 March 2026
Ward
Folkestone Central
  1. Received13 Mar
  2. Validated13 Mar
  3. Consult.16 Apr
  4. Target
  5. Decided8 May

Decided in 56 days (council typically 49)

About this application

This is an outline application for a change of use at Ground Floor Business Premises, 21 Grace Hill, Folkestone, CT20 1HA. Folkestone and Hythe has handled 423 applications of this type. This one was decided in 56 days, 7 days longer than Folkestone and Hythe's typical decision time. The site is in the Folkestone conservation area, with 4 listed buildings nearby. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 114 applications across Folkestone Central. We hold 383 applications in total for the CT20 postcode area.

77% of outline applications at Folkestone and Hythe District Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 7 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.Planning something similar? See what gets approved on your street

Why it was refused

  1. The proposal would result in the loss of an active ground‑floor commercial use which contributes positively to the historic character and vitality of this part of the Conservation Area. The proposal would therefore fail to preserve the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and would cause less than substantial harm, with no public benefits identified to outweigh that harm. Accordingly, prior approval is refused, contrary to Class MA of the GPDO, section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and paragraphs 212, 213 and 214 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
CT20 1HA
Application type
PA - from Shop/ Bank to dwellings
Scale / size
Small
Parish
Folkestone

Planning application dates

Date validated
13 March 2026
Consultation expiry
16 April 2026
Consultation end
16 April 2026
Application expires
8 May 2026

Planning decision

Statutory period
56 days

Appeal history

6011807
Dismissed
Type: Planning AppealProcedure: Written RepresentationsDecision: 17 September 2026Dev Type: Change of useReason: refused

Additional information

Documents
9

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations that overlap or adjoin the site outline.

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders and brownfield registers. Ask the council if these matter.

Also checked, none recorded (5)

scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens and SSSIs.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Folkestone and Hythe

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