Boasting a long promenade and golden sands, it is easy to see why St Mary's Bay on Romney Marsh attracts thousands of visitors every year.

But with abandoned buildings littering the seafront and Kent’s only “do not swim” warning currently in place, there are growing fears the beach could soon be overlooked, as Ollie Leonard discovered…

“It has everything I need, but I do feel rather isolated here at times," says resident Mark Jones, who lives directly opposite one of two neglected sites on the seafront.

"We have a cracking beach and lovely places to walk, but do suffer from being Dymchurch and New Romney’s poorer relation.

"It has such great potential here, but the empty spaces on our coast need to be used for something. They're just a waste sitting derelict.”

During my visit, the village itself did have a feeling of emptiness and incompletion.

As I walked around in my search to find a place for lunch, I could only find a corner shop, a pub and cafe.

The only pub in the village is called the Bailiffs Sergeant and has a rating of five on TripAdvisor.

The Bay Cafe was my chosen spot to grab a bite to eat, and I was shocked when I was told they only had sausage sandwiches left available.

But the cafe has a TripAdvisor score of 4.5 and is highly thought of in the local community.

As I headed towards the seafront, The Sands - a half-built multimillion-pound housing estate off Dymchurch Road - had an incredibly eerie feel to it.

So too did Pirate Springs, a boarded-up former sheltered housing accommodation site featuring a derelict tennis court and astroturf pitch.

But, as I wandered along the promenade, I could see what Mr Jones meant about the village’s great potential.

It is without a doubt one of the more beautiful stretches of coastline in the county and, on a chilly Monday morning, I saw many people walking their dogs and taking in the fresh sea air.

That’s despite the year-long “do not swim” warning introduced by the Environment Agency after monitoring revealed heightened traces of intestinal enterococci, found in faecal matter.

The advice was first issued in February and more permanent signs were recently installed on the promenade to highlight the issue.

But Peter Maddix, who lives in Dymchurch Road, says it does not stop people going in the water.

“In the summer we still get quite a few people coming down to have a swim in the sea despite the advice not to go in,” he said.

“But I have not been for a swim since I heard about it and I won’t until it has been given the all-clear.

“Personally, I do think St Mary’s Bay needs to be gentrified. And I’d like to see the abandoned buildings at The Sands completed as it can't be left in the state it is in at the moment.”

The controversial 85-home development was expected to welcome its first residents in the summer of 2019 but supply issues delayed the build.

More than four years on, contractors are nowhere to be seen and the prime site now sits silent, with the uncompleted buildings left open to the elements.

Compass Builders Ltd, which bought the plot in 2018, fell into administration earlier this year, leaving a huge question mark over the future of the project.

John Foley, who moved to St Mary’s Bay more than 13 years ago, says the abandoned buildings “are an absolute eyesore”.

“They should never have been built in the first place,” he said.

“But I love it down here to be honest. Everyone is so friendly – no one who walks past and does not say hello to you.

“Obviously, it would be better if these abandoned buildings were not here. But I am chuffed with where I live.”

Mr Jones, who has lived in Jesson Close for 16 years, says he puts his “blinkers on” to avoid even looking at The Sands, which has been built on a former car park.

And he thinks Pirate Springs, which has sat abandoned off Coast Drive for years, would be “perfect” for residents and tourists to use.

It was a home for children with learning and behavioural difficulties in the 1980s but, like The Sands, now sits abandoned.

Mr Jones said: “It had a fantastic five-a-side pitch and now it has just been left to rot.

“It is criminal the empty buildings are not being used and that must change to help bring more tourism to the village.

“There just isn’t much down here now so people naturally gravitate towards Dymchurch."

While the future of Pirate Springs remains unclear, Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) says it is “aware of a potential planning application coming forward” for The Sands plot.

Between both sites sits CABÜ by the Sea, an “intimate” holiday retreat featuring timber cabins and a heated pool which opened in 2019.

Like other businesses in the village, it enjoys strong reviews on TripAdvisor, with a rating of 4.5.

Director JP Ledwidge says “there have been plenty of challenges” since the site opened.

“The Sands and former Pirate Springs are not the best neighbours to have,” he said.

“And since the no-swim rule in February, we have had to welcome our guests and let them know straight away they should not go in the sea.

“However, we have remained a popular destination and we have been fully booked for the last six months.

“We have had to navigate many challenges, but we always get great feedback from our guests.

“I do have hope that there is a bright future for this stretch of the coast.”

Despite CABÜ’s success, Cllr Paul Thomas (Ind), who represents the New Romney Ward, feels the village as a whole deserves more support.

Earlier this year, FHDC was awarded £19.8 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund to improve Folkestone town centre.

“Since we lost the parking on The Sands site, the influx of people coming here has decreased,” Cllr Thomas said.

“With money being as tight as it is, it's very difficult to get someone to fill the abandoned buildings without financial support.

“St Mary’s Bay has such a lovely beach but we need to make sure it does not get left behind.”