Even as I type these words, I know the backlash is coming. But here goes nothing: I actually quite like the latest plans for Folkestone harbour, which have in most quarters been met with a mixture of revulsion and ridicule.

Do I love everything about the designs? No. Do I think that the building of hundreds of new homes and space for independent businesses to thrive will be a good thing for my hometown? Yes, very much so.

After attending last week’s exhibition at the Customs House, I came away muttering to myself a phrase you sometimes encounter in the sporting context: ‘trust the process’. There’s simply no way for a regeneration project of this scope to please everybody in every way. But knowing how successful the efforts of Sir Roger de Haan and his team have been in reversing the fortunes of Folkestone since the turn of the millennium, I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt in the latest stage in the journey.

Critics take issue with how the buildings look. But name me one piece of significant new architecture, even those that with time become much-loved, which was met with universal approval when first unveiled.

Critics say they worry about where people will park. But why is it that our towns and cities need to be built with motorists as a priority, when we could create spaces for people and encourage much greater use of public transport and active travel.

Critics argue the development is too dense, with too many people living cheek-by-jowl in overlooked apartments. But I’d argue it is better for people who wish to live in lively urban areas to do so in places where shops, food and drink business, open spaces like the beach and the Lower Leas Coastal Park are all right on their doorstep.

Critics bemoan the fact these new homes won’t come cheap, pricing out locals. But house prices have already risen dramatically in Folkestone, this is the price that comes from a town’s success, when it becomes a great place to live which attracts outsiders who want to share its many positives.

My concern is not for the plans themselves, which I think are the natural culmination of a decades-long process of breathing new life into a seafront which, not so long ago, was derelict, depressing and depopulated. My biggest fear is that corners will be cut in design and materials, in providing the excellent public spaces which will be essential in making the scheme a success not just for its residents but for the town as a whole.

But if the promises made by the developers are met, then I predict that in another 20 years’ time we’ll all benefit from a thriving new neighbourhood which will be a fitting next chapter in the story of Folkestone’s 21st century renaissance.