Responding to homelessness

Folkestone Methodist Church and the Folkestone Rainbow Centre have announced a transformational £5 million partnership project that will demolish the existing Methodist Church on Sandgate Road and construct a purpose-built facility integrating year-round homeless services, community programmes and worship space. The new building will provide a permanent home for the Rainbow Centre's expanding work while maintaining the Methodist congregation's spiritual and community mission.

The partnership, which has been developing over three years, responds to a growing crisis in Folkestone where homelessness has doubled in the past two years, with 115 households now in temporary accommodation. Building plans have been submitted to the planning department, with demolition hoped to begin soon after approval.

The new facility will house essential services including a food pantry, year-round emergency shelter, dental services, clothes washing facilities, haircuts, and hot meals for those experiencing homelessness. It will also provide community events, courses, and worship and spirituality programmes, creating a central hub that enhances life in Folkestone and beyond.

Dr Peter Le Feuvre, Chair of Trustees, Rainbow Centre, says, “The town, with its high level of homelessness and deprivation, has an urgent need for this centre. Working closely with our Methodist partners, we have the opportunity to integrate and expand our services under one roof, helping those faced with hardship to re-established a life of stability, dignity and hope.”

The project represents the deepening of a collaboration stretching back decades. The Methodist Church has long supported the Rainbow Centre's work. Both organisations are active in Churches Together in Folkestone and have worked together on the Folkestone Churches Winter Shelter since 2009, that collectively has mobilized over 200 volunteers annually.

For the Methodist congregation, the decision to demolish their historic building on Sandgate Road represents an act of faithful service, choosing mission impact over building preservation. The South Kent Methodist Circuit, which encompasses 15 chapels across nine churches in the Ashford and Folkestone districts, sees this project as embodying Methodist values of social holiness and practical care for those on the margins.

Revd Adrian Roux, Superintendent Minister, South Kent Methodist Circuit says, “The opposite of poverty is not prosperity. The opposite of poverty is community. It's in community that we're known and respected and loved. We’re creating a place, and a community, that will be filled with grace, justice and peace, through which lives can be transformed, and healing and hope be made real”.

The Rainbow Centre, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, was founded when Christians from different church traditions decided to work together to help people society often overlooks. Named Kent's overall Charity of the Year in 2022, it now mobilises 350 volunteers and operates services across multiple locations including six foodbank sites, a pantry social supermarket, and the Folkestone Churches Winter Shelter.

The project addresses critical gaps in Folkestone's provision at a time when the town faces acute challenges. Four Folkestone neighbourhoods rank in the top 10% most deprived areas nationally, with a child poverty rate of 19.1% and a ten-year life expectancy gap between different wards. While regeneration has transformed parts of Folkestone—earning it recognition as the Sunday Times "Best Place to Live in South East England" in 2024—the partnership ensures the town's transformation benefits its most vulnerable residents.

The £5 million project has secured some initial funding but requires significant additional support to reach completion. The organisations are inviting potential funders, local businesses, faith communities, and individuals to join them in creating this transformational facility.