A seaside village once served as a tucked away treasure trove of antique stores surrounded by a mixed array of modest and colourful homes.

Reporter Millie Bowles looks at how expensive luxury modern houses, trendy cafes and bars sprung up when dealers shut up shop and took their wares elsewhere.

Two miles west of Folkestone, the arguably more affluent village of Sandgate has become a hot spot for bold glass-fronted properties, many built within cliffs and graced with sea views.

And while some, of course, enjoy the aesthetic – no doubt the money their owners pump into the community too – others feel the large square buildings dominate and spoil the scenery.

Stephen Pollard lives in one of these aforementioned homes which, he says, he planned on retiring to, but circumstances changed and it’s now on the market for £1.15m.

He told KentOnline: “Sandgate has the communications, the rail, the road and it's also very close to the continent. It has a wonderful seafront and it's an area that a lot of people don't know about.

“I don't think it's all DFLs [Down from Londoners].

“There are no doubt a lot of DFLs, but, I mean, people have always moved down to the coast from London, usually to either bring a family up or retire, and I think it's a good mixture all the way through.”

Despite its modern visard, the 70-year-old’s house actually dates back to the 1980s, but he completely gutted the place and built a wrap-around glass balcony with sea views, large windows and a clean white paint job.

Mr Pollard - who lives on the border of Sandgate and Hythe - also buys and sells property, and believes people with money to spend have “woken up” to the village.

“I think a lot of people have woken up to the fact that it's actually a very easy place to live and that it was, certainly a few years ago, very much underpriced, property-wise.

“The railway and motorway back in the 80s, motorway and the railway has increased the appeal to no end.

“I think it's one of the best areas in Kent to live in.

“You're south-facing, you've got the sea, some great walks, some open spaces between Hythe and Sandgate.

“So a lovely place to live. There's also very nice people in the area, and it's relatively soft and easy to live here.”

The community of Sandgate is a mixed one.

In the recent past, it was very much a place where residents would recognise each other in the street, then stop and chat.

Now it is made up those who have lived there a long time, but also DFLs with young families, those who have chosen the area to retire, and many more demographics.

Mr Pollard, who owned a second-hand furniture shop in the High Street, explained: “It was just antiques in the High Street but that has died a death with the fashion for more modern furniture and brown furniture going out.

“So it's more cafes and bars and things like that now.

“It's still a lovely place to walk around and a few interesting shops with curios and things.”

It’s not just the types of shops that have changed in Sandgate High Street - it’s the architecture too.

In the 1970s, many older properties were demolished and replaced with flats or more modern buildings.

This has facilitated the rise in modern mansion homes, experts from the Sandgate Society Archive say.

Committee member John Barratt said: “The process, unfortunately, has been going on for a very long time – it's been going on since the war, really.

“The 70s was a time when people wanted modern buildings. So that's why things were knocked down. They were also rotting away.

“As a result, it is very hard to oppose these new developments because the precedents are already set.

“People say ‘Well we've got this horrible looking flat along the seafront, why can't I have a nice big square architecturally designed building?’

“The Sandgate Society does put in complaints about it and tries to stop these things from happening but there's only so much that we can do and if it’s a well-known architect or someone who's going to splash a lot of money in the area they get priority.”

The Society drew up a design statement for developers, adopted by Folkestone and Hythe District Council, describing the sort of properties it believes fit in with the village’s aesthetic.

It states: “There is a widespread and growing local concern at the increasing threat to the highly attractive and historic built environment of Sandgate by unsympathetic new development in recent years.”

It identifies “negative” buildings as those of “modern form and massing, or buildings which have been so altered as to have lost any resemblance to their originally intended or traditional appearance”.

Most of these buildings are built up on the cliffs overlooking the village.

Mr Barratt continued: “Some of them look reasonable enough, but it's become overdeveloped up there and again we have the same problem we have these very large, square buildings starting to dominate the view.

“Unfortunately, Sandgate is just a victim like every other seaside town down the years.

“It’s a victim of progress and council short-sightedness.”

He does recognise, however, that his village has it better than places nearby such as Folkestone and Margate.

“It's out of the way in that respect.

“People drive through it to go to places, it's not somewhere to stay - it's not a resort as it used to be.

“Sandgate hasn't got any run-down, deprived areas like the bigger towns have.”

On Rightmove, there is an abundance of luxury properties commanding eye-watering sums for sale in the area.

The most expensive? An empty plot of land.

For just under a cool £2 million, you could own a 0.3-acre site where contractors could build an impressive four-bed modern ‘eco’ home for you.

CGIs show the finished product with multiple balconies, double glass doors and a flat ‘living’ roof.

The estate agents say that once created, it will be “one of the most spectacular coastal homes in the South East”.

The next is a black property with a £1.75 million price tag, followed by a four-bed with a glass extension and panoramic views for £1.5 million.

And while the Sandgate Society may be outspoken about such homes, many businesses like the people in them.

With millions to spend on a house comes some cash to splash in the local area - you would think.

John Lane, who owns Orchard Lane Coffee House in High Street, said: “I think Sandgate's always been quite an affluent area.

“There's always been quite a lot of money here.”

He opened his trendy cafe seven years ago before the height of the luxury homes boom.

“I think it's good for business,” he continued.

“There are a lot more people around now than there were before.

“A lot of people travel down to the area as well.

“I do find some people come down here and check Sandgate out before they buy.

“We’ve noticed a massive change since we came here.

“When we first opened, we were pushing a speciality coffee and plant-based food, which was new to this area.

“I would say over the last six months to a year there have been more properties opening up, more shops and even more people coming down here.

“It's becoming quite a destination.”