insideKENT Magazine Issue 30 - September 2014 | Page 14
NEWS
NO USE EMPTY AIDS CONVERSION OF FORMER SPY BASE
INTO NEW HOMES
No Use Empty (NUE), the empty homes scheme
run by Kent County Council (KCC), has started
development on a long-term empty building in
Folkestone that was once the home to Army
Intelligence during the First World War,
responsible for saving hundreds if not thousands
of lives.
The locations, 8 and 9 Marine Parade, in
Shepway District Council, were transformed into
the centre of army intelligence under the
command of Major Cecil Alymer Cameron, code
name ‘Evelyn’ but eventually fell into disrepair.
However, the NUE scheme, which provides
funding to bring long-term empty homes back
into use, is working with Lt. Col. Martin Neame
to convert the two buildings into 12 flats.
The buildings at 8 and 9 Marine Parade housed
a spy school that trained celebrated spies such
as Léon Trulin and Louise de Bettignies, code
name ‘Alice Dubois’, who were both instrumental
in passing intelligence to the British Army. In
order to bring this historic building back into use
NUE has issued an initial loan of £149,999, for
the conversion of 8 Marine Parade. After
completion, which will create six flats, the loan
will be repaid to NUE and then reissued in order
to deliver a further six flats to 9 Marine Parade.
refurbishment of the two dilapidated
buildings. Having seen them standing empty for
so long, it seemed appropriate to bring them
back into use and make them serviceable again. I
had no prior knowledge of the rich British Military
history of the site, but its story has added to the
importance of bringing it back into use.”
Lt.Col Neame, who has successfully worked
with NUE on a previous project, said: “I’m excited
to be working with NUE again on the Marine
Parade project, which will be a complete
Today all twelve authorities in Kent participate
in the scheme, and in 2011 it was extended
beyond the county with Bristol City Council and
the West of England partnership launching their
No Use Empty was launched by KCC in 2005,
initially in partnership with four local authorities
(Shepway, Dover, Thanet and Swale).
own empty homes initiative under the 'No Use
Empty' banner.
NUE was the first scheme to offer interest free
loans to owners of empty homes to fund the
necessary repairs and refurbishments to bring
the properties back into use. Owners can apply
for up to £25,000 per unit (repayable in 3 years),
with KCC issuing a total of £10.7 million in loans
since 2005. The loans granted by KCC have
leveraged an additional £14.3 million in private
funding, meaning that the total investment in
empty homes in Kent under NUE stands at £25
million. The scheme has created 3,320 new
homes to date.
HAYES SCHOOL’S WINNING BID
SEES £3,000 INTU BROMLEY GRANT GO
TO SPECIAL CARE BABY UNIT AT THE PRU
Students from Hayes School in Bromley have gifted £3,000 of pri