Help bring Folkestone’s Gem back to life

Help to give Folkestone a Lift! We are so close to securing all the funding we need to repair Leas Lift, returning it to full working order with 21st-century facilities. We have just £150,000 left to raise – please help us to reach this target. • £10 could go towards new signage including symbol-based and dementia-friendly signage • £25 could support landscaping works to improve access to the Lift. • £50 could help fund repairs to the upper and lower lift stations. • £100 could repair and conserve 1 metre of the track. • £250 could train a volunteer. Your donation will take us one step further to re-opening the Leas Lift in spring 2025. If we cannot raise the final £150,000, this project will not go ahead and the Lift will remain closed and continue to deteriorate. Please help us to bring this much-loved Folkestone landmark back to life. Please, please help us to reach our goal. 2023 is an exciting year for the Folkestone Leas Lift Company CIO as we embark on our project, Restoring Folkestone’s Gem for the Community, bringing the much-loved Leas Lift back to life with 21st century facilities. We were delighted at the end of last year when our application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund was successful. Together with the Section 106 funding from the development of the seafront by the Folkestone Harbour and the generous contributions from our donors we have nearly sectured our target. In 2022 we began our fundraising to raise the remaining money needed (without which our National Lottery Heritage Fund grant will be withdrawn). We made positive progress across 2022 and 2023 will see our campaign continue to approach trusts and foundations, companies, individuals and our community. We set a target of raising £180,000 from local business, individuals and community and to date we have raised over £35,000 of our target. 2023 will see our final push, with the launch of various initiatives including our comedy night at the Leas Cliff Hall on the 27th May and our Crowd Funding appeal, all of which we hope you will support. In the meantime, if you would like to make a contribution or get involved in the project you can donate on this page or email hello@leaslift.co.uk Each and every donation will take us one step closer to our goal. Restoring Folkestone’s Gem for the Community will secure the future of one of only three remaining water-balanced lifts in the country - a rare and remarkable survival. Repairs and conservation works will be undertaken to make the Lift usable again and fully accessible to all. It will be a welcoming space for everyone irrespective of background, abilities and learning needs. There will be a wide range of exciting activities and enhanced visitor facilities including an extended café – building on its existing popularity. We hope you share our enthusiasm for this transformational project and give it your support.