Historic Partnership Launches £5 Million Project to Transform Homeless Services in Folkestone
Press Release:
Rainbow Centre and Methodist Church to create an integrated community facility serving Folkestone’s most vulnerable residents
FOLKESTONE, KENT – [14th December 2025] – The Folkestone Rainbow Centre and Folkestone Methodist Church today 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.
For more information about supporting the project or to arrange interviews with project leaders, please contact Rev Adrian Roux, using our contact form.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Folkestone Rainbow Centre
The Folkestone Rainbow Centre is a Christian charity founded on July 18, 1985, as the Folkestone Family Care Centre when Christians from different church traditions decided to work together. Renamed in 1992, it provides support to individuals and families “in order that they may have a future with stability, dignity and hope.” Services include Shepway Foodbank, Pantry social supermarket, FoodStop mobile service, Homeless Support Service, Folkestone Churches Winter Shelter, Money First Aid debt support, and Family Contact Centre. The charity was named Kent’s overall Charity of the Year in 2022 and mobilises approximately 350 volunteers alongside 14 staff members. The organisation is based at 69 Sandgate Road, Folkestone.
Website: www.rainbow-centre.org
Charity number: 1096570
About Folkestone Methodist Church and South Kent Methodist Circuit
Folkestone Methodist Church traces its roots to 1866 with the establishment of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. Located at 155 Sandgate Road, it offers Sunday worship, community coffee mornings, and toddler groups. The church is part of the South Kent Methodist Circuit, formed in September 2011, which encompasses 15 chapels across nine churches serving communities from Folkestone to Tenterden, covering Romney Marsh and the Kent Downs. The circuit is led by Revd Adrian Roux (Superintendent Minister) and Revd Gill Songer.
Website: southkentmethodistcircuit.org.uk
Charity number: 1159742
The Building
The initial hope to redevelop the building, without demolishing it as the ‘greenest’ option, proved impossible. The design of the building was not able to house the multi-faceted approach and the many new aspects which the project was envisaging. The plan which is now seeking planning permission has had much care put into producing an energy efficient building, that will fit in well with the surrounding buildings.
Key Statistics
• Rainbow Centre celebrating 40th anniversary in 2025
• Folkestone homelessness doubled in past two years (115 households currently in temporary accommodation)
• Folkestone & Hythe district ranks 79th out of 317 local authorities nationally, and is the third most deprived district in Kent. The LSOA at the heart of Folkestone Harbour ward ranks 306 out of 33,755 neighbourhoods in England. These rankings have declined since 2015.
• Rainbow Centre mobilises 350 volunteers
• Methodist Church and Rainbow Centre partnership spans 15+ years through Winter Shelter and other collaborations
• Project target: £5 million