Our Proposals

Churchill Living is bringing forward proposals to regenerate the vacant former Aldi supermarket on Hythe High Street, delivering a new retirement living community alongside new retail provision.

The redevelopment will make efficient use of a vacant and brownfield town centre site in a highly sustainable location, meeting the need for specialist older persons housing whilst reintroducing activity and vitality to this key part of the High Street.

Churchill’s emerging vision for the site includes:

A high-quality independent retirement living community of 32x one and two bedroom retirement apartments alongside a guest suite and two standalone retirement cottages.
New retail units providing 165 sqm of commercial floorspace, fronting Hythe High Street and the Town Square.
Replacing the vacant former Aldi building with a high quality development, and greatly improving the setting of the Town Square in Hythe Town Centre.
Generating additional footfall in the town centre and help to deliver uplifts in local expenditure at local shops and businesses in Hythe.

A new Churchill Living lodge

Churchill’s proposed development would provide a high-quality independent retirement living community comprising 32 one and two bedroom retirement apartments, alongside two standalone retirement cottages. Vehicular access for retirement living residents will be from Mount Street.

Residents will benefit from a communal Owner’s Lounge and coffee bar to promote social interaction and provide a space for events and gatherings. There is a guest suite for when friends and family want to come and stay.

All developments by Churchill Retirement Living provide high quality landscaping designed for the visual enjoyment of residents over 60 years of age. Planting is considered for longevity, colour all year, seasonal change, maintenance and local native biodiversity. Churchill Living have won awards for excellence for their landscaped gardens.

The proposal also includes an internal mobility scooter store for up to 10 mobility scooters.

Parking

The proposal includes 11 unallocated parking spaces for the apartments and 2 dedicated parking spaces for the retirement cottages, with an internal mobility scooter store.

The typical age profile of those currently living at a Churchill Retirement community is an 80-year-old widow. Generally, 50% of residents also come from within a 5-mile radius of the location.

Given the above, residents of Churchill communities tend to not have cars. It is also generally found that those who do initially have cars tend to give them up soon after moving into a lodge as they no longer need it given the sustainable location.

As retirement living is a very different operational use than residential or care home developments, Churchill has developed an evidence base across several existing Churchill developments. This concludes that Churchill’s existing sites typically have a parking demand of 0.28 spaces per apartment. This scheme is proposing a parking ratio of 0.34 spaces per apartment, which is higher than the identified demand.

Need for Retirement Living

People are living longer lives and the proportion of older people in the population is increasing. Across England, the 2021 Census showed around 18% of people were aged 65 years and over. This is a higher percentage than ever before.

Offering older people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them live independently for longer, feel more connected to their communities and help reduce costs to the social care and health systems.

The 2021 Census shows that between 2011 and 2021 there has been an increase of 22.7% in people aged 65 and over in Folkstone and Hythe. The 2022 sub national population projections show that between 2022 and 2047 the greatest population increase in Folkstone and Hythe is predicted in those aged 80 and over.

The Council’s Strategic Housing Market Assessment (December 2016) identifies a need for between 2,412 and 1,279 units of older persons accommodation in the district until 2037.

Public consultation boards

Quality Design

Churchill Retirement Living recognise that the site is an important location within a key part of Hythe Town Centre.

The current building of the former Aldi supermarket is a large and dated building. The redevelopment of the site presents the opportunity to provide a betterment to Hythe town centre.

The key design strategy is to break the overall mass of the building into distinct design elements, creating traditional shop fronts, and the appearance of different buildings rather than a single large block. This helps to integrate the development more comfortably into the surrounding streetscape.

Importantly, Churchill’s design reduces the overall height of the building when compared to the supermarket building. The proposed architecture draws directly from local vernacular features, and includes a mixture of materials and design features, providing a building of suitable scale and appearance.

Before & After comparison from Town Square

Before & After comparison from Bank Street (North)

Before & After comparison from Bank Street (South)

Before & After comparison from rear

A strong record of delivery

Churchill have a strong track-record in delivering the sites on which they secure planning permissions and prides itself in delivering high quality developments that are robustly designed, costed and deliverable once planning permission has been obtained.

Two recently completed schemes in Lymington and Drayton demonstrate this dependability, and that we build what we get planning permission for and deliver on our promises.