Local Plan: housing target criticised by residents in Council meeting

Critics of the city council's vision for the Canterbury district queued up to attack the  authority.

Each was given a three-minute platform in the chamber to voice their opinions on the draft Local Plan - with the issue of 15,600 new homes dominating the  agenda. Most came from south Canterbury, where up to 4,000 homes are planned for farmland and open space.

Speaker Malcolm Harris told councillors:

"Not since the American Declaration of Independence has a single document galvanised so many people in a common purpose. We have got to rid ourselves of this absurd plan. There is no justification for this  increase in house building.

Clive Church, of the South Canterbury Alliance, said:

"This plan is wrong in principle and will be resisted at every stage of the  process."

Michael Butler, of Old Dover Road, fears for the future of the road network in the city if the homes are developed. He said:

"These houses will create complete gridlock in the Old and New Dover Roads. They will funnel into the partial ring road we have. This may well mean more traffic, more gridlock and a potential traffic disaster. The city of Canterbury is in peril."

Another speaker with concerns over the roads was Richard Cook, who estimates 15,000 new homes will bring 20,000 more cars.

Dick Eburne, a tireless campaigner from Herne Bay, asked:

"Where is the infrastructure for all these new homes? Let's get the draft plan out there for consultation so we can pull it to pieces."

Prof Richard Norman, a philosophy lecturer from St Michael's Place, adopted a more balanced approach, saying:

"There are a lot of good things in this draft plan such as limiting houses in multi-occupancy and the draft masterplan for the universities.  But there will be deep concerns about the ambitious target of 15,600 dwellings, which will have an impact on the environment and erode the green gaps."

The main proposals

• 4,000 homes in south Canterbury
• 1,000 homes in Sturry and Broad Oak
• 800 homes behind the existing Hersden estate
• 1,000 homes in Hillborough, Herne Bay
• 800 homes at Strode Farm, Herne Bay and a new relief road for Herne
• 600 homes in Greenhill
• 400 homes in Herne Bay Golf Club
• 400 homes off the Thanet Way at Whitstable and an extension to the Duncan Down public space
• The closure of Sturry level crossing and the building of a new road re-routing traffic
• An extension of the University of Kent campus to the north of the site to allow future expansion
• A possible new relief road linking Sturry Road with Littlebourne Road through the Howe Barracks land

HB Gazette 6th Jun 2013

Local Plan: criticised for being developer-led

Residents' groups have united in opposition to the garden city vision for Canterbury, which they claim is "seriously flawed".

They formed a non-political alliance at a joint meeting last week, where every individual group raised concerns about the process, scale and speed of proposed house-building, which includes 4,000 new homes in south Canterbury.

Speakers questioned the motivation for the plan, its excessive targets, its lack of infrastructure provision and the timing of both its publication and the consultation period. Chairman Clive Church said:

Clive Church

"We share a common belief that this plan is seriously flawed. It is so obviously developer-led and it ignores the genuine long-term economic and social needs of the district as a whole. We also have serious concerns about the democratic process here in Canterbury since it allows a small number of councillors, 90% of who live well outside the city, to foist a series of completely unacceptable proposals on the city without allowing sufficient time for proper consultation.

We have no doubt that every part of the city will be badly-affected by these plans. The full scale of the extra housing proposed for Canterbury has yet to be revealed. We also have very grave concerns about the extent of the major infrastructure construction that will be needed notably the provision of water and sewerage services. We are concerned as well about the extra traffic congestion and air pollution which would ensue.

Equally we doubt the availability of the jobs needed to support the increase in population. Hopes that these can be provided by a 'silicon valley' style complex are, in our view, quite unrealistic for an area that does not have science-led universities.

Over the next few weeks individual residents groups will be examining the proposals in greater detail and will convene meetings of their members, at which council officials will be invited to speak. The new alliance will meet again in mid-June to discuss the views from these sessions and plan the next steps in its campaign of vigorous opposition."

HB Gazette 23rd May 2013