@everyone
Hi dear members, this is the first time and most probably the last I will tag you all in a post as I feel now I need your support or to sound you out for your concerns, thoughts, and feelings on the way this group needs to move forward with.
If you are genuinely like me and are concerned about what is or is not happening with our Leas promenade, given the growing and fast spreading trees and hedges blocking precious sea views.
If, like me you are concerned about the risks of having such tall trees weighing tons hanging precariously on the Leas cliff summit and threatening to fall in a landslide of sand like we have witnessed on the Road of Remembrance.
If, like me, you are concerned that we are more likely than ever to endure more landslides in the future that involve these trees and threaten not only the cliff face but our vital pathways that we have so few of now, down to the Lower Leas Coastal Gardens.
If, like me, you are concerned that the benefits of retaining these trees for aesthetic reasons or for the benefit of nature and wildlife cannot be placed above that of the protection of precious human life and property.
Then, if you are like me, then I need you to respond to this post before I can take the next step with pursuing the council with our Tree & Slope Safety Policy 2025 we wish to submit to FHDC.
I cannot keep saying us and we when I feel it is very much me and I when dealing with the council. I need your backing now.
Thanks to Michael Stewart for all your support.
FHDC Overview and Scrutiny Committee
committee@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
Title: Protecting People and The Leas
A Call for Folkestone & Hythe Council to Adopt the Tree and Slope Safety Policy 2025
Submitted by: Stephen West, Protect and Preserve Folkestone Leas
Date: November 2025
The Situation
The Leas, one of Folkestone’s most beautiful public spaces, is now at risk. Landslips have closed paths, damaged slopes, and endangered visitors. Many residents feel excluded from decisions that directly affect their safety and the landscape they love.
The Council’s current 2020 tree policy, while environmentally minded, is outdated. It does not reflect today’s reality: heavier rainfall, deeper soil saturation, and visible slope movement.
What Must Change
We support a new 2025 policy that:
Places public safety first in all decisions.
Makes every risk assessment public.
Allows immediate action when trees contribute to slope instability.
Establishes an independent Tree and Slope Safety Panel.
Ensures all felled trees are replaced in safer off-slope areas.
Our Call to Action
We, the undersigned, call on Folkestone & Hythe District Council to:
Replace the 2020 Tree Policy with the Tree and Slope Safety Policy 2025.
Publish all geotechnical and arboricultural data for The Leas.
Prioritise slope repair and tree-risk mitigation before further erosion occurs.
Involve the public through open, factual communication.
It's over to you now to respond on our Facebook page, please, and give us the support we now need to take our views to the Local Authority Folkestone & Hythe District Council. We will then issue a press release to local online news media channels and social media community Pages & Groups.
Time is running out, we need to Protect & Preserve The Folkestone Leas whilst we are still able to make a difference and influence this authority before it is swept aside and becomes part of a much larger Unitary Authority in 2028.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/746105824775303/posts/852047840847767