Confirmation of Canterbury City Council Local Plan Review Regulation 18 Consultation Awaited.

Canterbury City Council have published a revised Regulation 18 version of their Local Plan. If formally agreed at the Cabinet meeting on Monday evening, a twelve week consultation will follow.

Having previously gone out to consultation on the new draft local plan to 2045 in October 2022, the change in political control of the council after the May 2023 local elections resulted in the new administration immediately announcing an all party review of the plan. The results of that review sees some significant changes from that previously consulted upon. The review has sought to addresses some of the concerns voiced locally about the need for the scale of development proposed in the plan and the more radical transport related proposals it also contained.

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The first significant change is that the plan period is reduced from 2045 to 2040/41, which allows a reduction in the number of new homes the plan needs to provide for by 4,149, reducing from 13,495 to 9346 across the plan period, resulting in a reduction in the yearly requirement from 1,252 down to 1,149.

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In terms of allocations, the majority previously proposed are relatively unchanged, however, one casualty of the review is the proposed new settlement at Cooting Farm near Adisham which has been removed.? Also removed is the proposal for an Eastern Bypass for the city linking the A28 to the A2, together with the housing allocations in and around the Littlebourne Road area that would have enabled this. Also removed are the controversial proposals for a Canterbury Circulation Plan that sought to reduce the amount of traffic crossing the city.

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In its place the council’s claims for the new plan are that it will do more to tackle climate change and boost biodiversity, improve public transport and promote cycling and walking. In addition, the plan identifies the infrastructure, schools, open space and highway improvements required to successfully deliver the plan.

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Although these changes are not unexpected the plan contains one new proposal of some significance. A proposal is included for a new free-standing settlement including a requirement for approximately 2000 houses, a community hub and commercial floorspace on land to the north of the University of Kent near to Blean.

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It is anticipated that the Council’s Cabinet will endorse the recommendation to go out to Regulation 18 Consultation for the plan at their meeting on 11th March, and if they do, the consultation will then run for 12 weeks, taking place between March and June. ?

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At the same time the council will be consulting upon a draft Sustainable Design Guide that will provide further guidance on the form new development proposed by the plan will be expected to achieve. ?Also being consulted upon is a draft Transport Strategy that seeks to deliver the improvements to public transport and to encourage cycling and walking as an alternative to car travel.

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Finally, whilst there is still some way to go, the council is aiming for the plan to be at Examination in the second half of 2025 and for the plan to be adopted in early 2026.

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As ever we will continue to monitor the progress of the plan and provide our clients with assistance and advice throughout the consultation process. We would also be interested to hear from anyone else who thinks we may be able to assist them with their response to the local plan consultation. If so please contact our planning team for further assistance. Steven Davies , Elizabeth Welch and Isabelle Adaway .

https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/main-item/revised-draft-local-plan-ditches-zones-and-bypasses-proposals/