The Project

The Imperial Gardens project is a £120m investment designed to strengthen the local economy, benefit the local community, enhance the environment and provide much needed housing to the area while sustaining the future of the Hythe Imperial Hotel.

Delivering for Hythe

The aim is to utilise the land at Hythe golf course as a catalyst for delivering exciting new community leisure opportunities, new homes and enhancing the Hythe Imperial Hotel.

The key elements of the project

Imperial Gardens transforms a 40-acre site into a vibrant mixed-use destination that serves both residents and visitors. The scheme balances new housing with enhanced leisure facilities, creating a destination that strengthens Hythe's appeal and economic vitality.

Provide a new swimming pool and gym for community membership

Be sensitive to the Royal Military Canal, a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Improve local biodiversity

Create a new 9-hole par-3 golf course including learning facilities and an adventure golf course

Deliver approximately 291 new homes, of which 25% – around 73 in total – will be affordable housing

Provide additional bedrooms and serviced accommodation at the Hythe Imperial Hotel

Offer new spa and wellbeing facilities at the hotel

Generate dozens of new jobs

Provide additional open community space with improved pedestrian links from the town centre to the beach front and an integrated heritage trail

Create a new splash park, public toilets, changing rooms and showers for beach users

Deliver additional highways safety, heritage and environmental improvements

The proposals have been developed following detailed discussions with planning officers at Folkestone & Hythe District Council.

About us

The Imperial Gardens scheme is being proposed by GSE Group, which owns and manages the Hythe Imperial Hotel and the adjacent golf course. GSE Group is a Kent-based family-run business that is an established local employer and investor. Over the past 30 years, GSE has delivered many high-quality developments in the region, across commercial, leisure and residential sectors, including the Imperial Green development adjacent to the hotel, accessed off Twiss Road.

Sustaining a Hythe landmark

Hythe Imperial Hotel First opened in 1880, the hotel was purchased by GSE Group in 2007. Following more than £10m of investment, it has achieved 4-star status, features an AA Rosette restaurant and enjoys an average occupancy rate in excess of 89%. These proposals envisage a further £multi-million investment in the hotel.

Its existing leisure centre is open to guests and currently has around 1,300 local members, but it would benefit from further investment in:
• Additional bedrooms
• New serviced apartments
• New indoor and outdoor leisure facilities

Creating new jobs
The investment in new leisure facilities and accommodation at the hotel would safeguard the jobs of the 100 people currently employed at the hotel, and generate an estimated further 28 jobs split. The new golfing facilities will employ 16 people, 10 more than at present.

We’ve listened

The previous proposals were for the development of a 150-holiday chalet scheme across the whole of the golf course, which we have revised and replaced with a mixed residential and leisure development. The eastern half of the golf course will now accommodate a re-imagined golf offering while the western half closest to the Hythe Imperial Hotel and Imperial Green will be used for housing.

Importantly, Princes Parade will remain a public highway and not be closed to traffic as previously proposed, meaning the public highway will not be redirected adjacent to the canal.

The proposals are not connected to the adjacent Princes Parade proposals, which were approved by Folkestone & Hythe District Council in 2019 but not taken forward after reported costs rose from £16.5m to more than £45m.

Our aim is to submit a hybrid planning application with detailed elements for the hotel and leisure-related elements of the Imperial Gardens proposals and an outline proposal for the residential development.

An in-person consultation event will be held at the Hythe Imperial Hotel on Thursday, 27 November from 2pm to 7.30pm, to gather public feedback on the plans before an application is submitted.

The project has evolved

Since our previous public consultation in November 2023, the team has met with the local council, as well as the Environment Agency regarding flood risk; Natural England concerning ecology; Heritage England about the setting alongside the Royal Military Canal; Kent County Council Highways about road improvements; and the Professional Golfers’ Association to discuss the golf course. As a result, the project has evolved and been redesigned to better meet the needs of the local community as well as the changing residential and leisure market.

Heritage Gallery

Visual journey through Imperial Gardens