Folkestone Harbour Company commissioned Foster and Partners to produce a masterplan for Folkestone which was published in April 2006. The plans described the rebuilding of the harbour as a marina, a "Green Wave" along the sea front linking countryside west and east of the town, new housing, shops, a performance area and small university campus. The plans also took in land that was previously the Rotunda Amusement Park. Progress in developing the area was inhibited by the 2008 recession and by new guidelines governing flood protection. Outline planning permission was granted in 2015 for mixed development based on a Masterplan prepared by Sir Terry Farrell and which met with widespread approval during consultation. Extensive work to prepare the site and construct flood defences. Meanwhile, the Harbour Arm, formerly used solely for port activities, has been extensively restored and developed as a recreational space and promenade to which the public has access, including bars and restaurants, with entertainment at weekends and on some evenings. The former railway station and harbour viaduct are being reconstructed as a public walkway and promenade, following the full closure of the branch railway in 2014. An alternative plan put forward by the Remembrance Line Association, based on retaining the harbour railway and its station as a major heritage/tourist operation and 'Leaving for War' museum given the significance of the Folkestone Harbour Branch in both world wars which is important to the Allied and Commonwealth nations. The programme that is being implemented includes measures that record the role of the harbour and the wider town in both World Wars, and that recognise the wider context of Folkestone's maritime history.
