Owners of beach Folkestone ?

[dougshingle]

Hi all,
I see that there are several members on the forum from kent, would anyone know who owns the beach from folkestone to Hythe and folkestone to abbots cliffe?
As they are not shown as crown foreshore.
Interested to find out if permission was available from owners.

thankyou doug

[Fairview]

Hi Doug, in the absence of any other replies I'd hazard a guess that some of it at least is owned by the individual houses that the beach fronts, in Sandgate anyway. The castle has a sign up to that effect. I did see someone detecting the other day along the Seabrook section.

[Addicted to bleeps]

Hi, Doug!

I'm from Folkestone and detect down on the beaches a lot. Never been to where you've described (not as much activity) so can't help you.

I've seen other detectorists down there, though. I was out on my canoe in the summer, and met an old fella called John, and another called Tony on another day. They seem to do quite well down there, and I don't get the impression they are ever asked/bothered about being there?

Both have been on those beaches for many, many years.

I had some nice luck down on the beach after that huge storm we had a few weeks ago. I'd happily meet up if you wanted to go out after another one?

[16khz]

Hi

I see this is quite an old thread, but found it by a google search. I'm just about to start detecting again and fancied Folkestone beach as it's nice and sandy, so easy to dig.

Taking a quick look at the Crown Estate Foreshore map, it looks good from that point of view:

https://crownestate.maps.arcgis.com/app ... a5aa1660db

There's just a couple of purple blobs on one end. I think the tricky bit is sometimes the local councils have their own restrictions. I live quite near Kingsdown and wanted to detect the beach, but as you enter, there's a sign saying it's a site of significant historical interest and you're forbidden to take anything away with you, so that's a clue.

I was wondering...... Of course, you will want to get permission if you can, but if no sign is displayed, can you get into trouble for it? It's true with parking...... Obviously, if you enter a gated area that's also a bit of a clue you should ask permission.

Some time ago, I wanted to detect Sandwich beach, which is nice and sandy. I managed to find the owners, but the email stream back and forth was so long and tedious that I gave up. A no-no also was they said there was a fair amount of WW2 ordnance at one end. Hmmmm it's a minefield (literally).

Armed with the new info from the Crown Estate, I'll pop down soon and give it a go. Maybe you could have a fund raiser for my bail?

Cheers

Steve

[16khz]

Oops! I thought the above link would take you to the page I was viewing, but it just takes you to the site, so here's attached is a pic. It seems just a little of Folkestone beach is Crown Estate, but for certainty, I might travel just a little further to Sandgate beach which seems pretty clear.

FolkestoneBeaches.jpg

[fred]

Hi all,
I see that there are several members on the forum from kent, would anyone know who owns the beach from folkestone to Hythe and folkestone to abbots cliffe?
As they are not shown as crown foreshore.
Interested to find out if permission was available from owners.

thankyou doug

As far as I am aware all of the beaches are managed by the local council although some rights may be held by Radnor Estates and the De Haan Trust (who took over lots of land and rights in the harbour area and beyond). A ban on detecting on land owned or controlled Shepway District Council was implemented about 20 years ago, mostly to try and stop detectorists from digging up pipe bombs on Hawkinge Airfield. The Council said at the time that they hadn't intended for beaches to be included, but the wording of the ban doesn't actually make this clear. If you try and get formal permission it will be refused you because it is their policy to always refuse permission for detecting except under archaeological supervision. The ban has definitely not been enforced on beaches and it is like a rally on the sandy beach of an evening during the summer but probably better just to get on with it rather than getting a refusal after which you definitely wouldn't be able to detect.

[sweepstick47]

Hi

I see this is quite an old thread, but found it by a google search. I'm just about to start detecting again and fancied Folkestone beach as it's nice and sandy, so easy to dig.

Taking a quick look at the Crown Estate Foreshore map, it looks good from that point of view:

https://crownestate.maps.arcgis.com/app ... a5aa1660db

There's just a couple of purple blobs on one end. I think the tricky bit is sometimes the local councils have their own restrictions. I live quite near Kingsdown and wanted to detect the beach, but as you enter, there's a sign saying it's a site of significant historical interest and you're forbidden to take anything away with you, so that's a clue.

I was wondering...... Of course, you will want to get permission if you can, but if no sign is displayed, can you get into trouble for it? It's true with parking...... Obviously, if you enter a gated area that's also a bit of a clue you should ask permission.

Some time ago, I wanted to detect Sandwich beach, which is nice and sandy. I managed to find the owners, but the email stream back and forth was so long and tedious that I gave up. A no-no also was they said there was a fair amount of WW2 ordnance at one end. Hmmmm it's a minefield (literally).

Armed with the new info from the Crown Estate, I'll pop down soon and give it a go. Maybe you could have a fund raiser for my bail?

Cheers Steve

Yes, it's an old thread but in view of the above, it seems a timely reminder to reiterate that an extraordinary amount of WWI and WWII ordnance has over time found it's way onto the beaches along our shoreline. Some of which will be as a result of 'Sea Dumping' action taken during the post war years but an indeterminate amount will also have resulted from 'losses' during hostilities at sea some of which can be expected to show up on or in our beaches from time so
so sensible precautions should be foremost in our minds when detecting and locating anything not readily identifiable (bearing in mind items deposited in the sea/sand over time, rarely maintain their original appearance)! The Police of course should be your first point of contact in the event a suspicious item of ordnance is located - (this of course, applies equally to our inshore field sites too).
Stay safe everyone wherever you happen to be detecting
Cheers Eric

[16khz]

Hi Eric

Good point. I'm don't think any of us want to be blown up, of course. I did a bit more digging (pun intended) and it seems that Folkestone Beach might be completely out. I went onto the council's web site and it seems they routinely refuse the whole of Shepway:

https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/dow ... ing-policy

Oh well......

Cheers

Steve

[fred]

Hi Eric

Good point. I'm don't think any of us want to be blown up, of course. I did a bit more digging (pun intended) and it seems that Folkestone Beach might be completely out. I went onto the council's web site and it seems they routinely refuse the whole of Shepway:

https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/dow ... ing-policy

Oh well......

Cheers

Steve

See my post above.

[KevinB]

The ban has definitely not been enforced on beaches and it is like a rally on the sandy beach of an evening during the summer but probably better just to get on with it rather than getting a refusal after which you definitely wouldn't be able to detect.

Sounds like a modicum of common sense is needed as with most things!..Don`t worry Fred I will not be stepping on your toes. After this years finds in Hampshire and West Sussex my appetite for beach detecting has gone backwards at bit!!....

[fred]

Sounds like a modicum of common sense is needed as with most things!..Don`t worry Fred I will not be stepping on your toes. After this years finds in Hampshire and West Sussex my appetite for beach detecting has gone backwards at bit!!....

Not in the least bit worried as I'm nowhere near as competitive as I used to be. These days I actually enjoy chatting with fellow detectorists as much as I do detecting.

[HairySporran]

From Folkestone to Abbot's Cliff (known as the Warren) metal detecting is banned as it's a SSSI.

[fred]

From Folkestone to Abbot's Cliff (known as the Warren) metal detecting is banned as it's a SSSI.

I think that you will find that the SSSI doesn't extend onto the foreshore.

[HairySporran]

Just going by the MAGIC map which shows it extending to the low tide mark. A couple of detectorists I know that live in Folkestone have said detecting is not permitted.

[16khz]

I did a bit more poking around today and tried to check the Dover District Council web site, but there's no clear info at all.

The only couple of things I could find is that detecting and digging parkland is banned, which I kind of expected and metal detecting is in a list of licenses DDC DON'T supply. Whether this means it's banned or it's just a service they don't offer, I have no idea.
Anyway I filled in their contact form and asked if I need permission for the beaches and got a surprisingly quick reply, They gave me the number of "Beaches Coast Protection". I rang and left a message. They called back and told me I should email "property services" which I've done
and will report back if/when they reply. If no reply, I'll try and get their number and give them a bell.

There are more questions than answers.........

Phew!

Cheers

Steve