Councillor approval sought for final draft of district’s Local Plan

After five consultations, more than 9,300 representations and 56,000 individual comments, Canterbury City Council today (Wednesday 25 February) published the final draft of its Local Plan. 

Following the focused consultation carried out in the autumn, the draft: 

• removes development at the Land at Rattington Street in Chartham and Land East of Chestfield sites 
• changes the proposed development in Beacon Road, Herne Bay, to keep a significant area of open space 
• includes a new policy requirement for a minimum of 10% social rent housing as part of the overall 30% affordable provision on greenfield sites 

The Cabinet will make a decision on Park and Ride provision in the Wincheap area at its meeting on Monday 16 March. 

The plan is designed to deliver: 

• 1,215 homes a year over its lifetime including those desperately needed for families, couples starting out, people living on their own and elderly people 
• 10% of homes being available for social rent on eligible schemes, robust measures to ensure the provision of 2,329 homes at affordable rents and 721 homes for older people 
• 132% more homes from brownfield sites than previous drafts (706 in 2022 compared to 1,640 in this draft) 
• the protection of the rural character of the countryside which has now been strongly defined 
• community facilities including 169 hectares of open spaces and sports pitches 
• a bus-led transport strategy that promotes walking and cycling   
• 20% biodiversity net gain compared to a national standard of 10% on major development sites plus the protection and recovery of habitats  
• net zero carbon ready standards for new builds and a Sustainable Design Guide to help developers design homes that help to tackle the climate emergency 
• space for the creation of 4,785 jobs, a focus on skills and the boosting the education sector 
• a real focus on the city centre and town centres to bolster retail, increase tourism and promote regeneration that link directly to the recently-approved town centre strategies 
• the regeneration of Wincheap 
• the preservation and enhancement of heritage assets 
• strengthened policies around the timing and phasing of infrastructure needed to deliver new homes, including for water and sewerage 
• a stepped trajectory, which was called for by a number of residents’ and amenity groups, where fewer houses are built at the start of the plan but delivery picks up in later years 

The plan will also bring a whole host of improvements to the district’s infrastructure such as three new Park and Ride or Bus facilities as well as expanded sites, new schools, including two secondary schools with sixth forms on the coast and special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision, health facilities, sports facilities and a new reservoir at Broad Oak. 

While the current planning system cannot force developers to provide infrastructure before houses are built, the plan strengthens the council’s Infrastructure Delivery Policy to promote robust but constructive early discussions with providers. 

Leader of the Council, Cllr Alan Baldock, said: “After the much-maligned plan put forward by the previous council in 2022, which said we needed to stop cars coming into the city centre by turning Canterbury into a series of zones and banning people from driving between them, a plan that proposed a bypass that cut through Old Park and also said we should build 3,000 houses in Adisham’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the public demanded we sit up and listen. 

“And listen we have. The zones have gone. The bypass will be replaced with buses. 

“Plans for thousands of homes in Adisham, at the land north of the University of Kent and near Hollow Lane have been deleted along with the land east of Chestfield and Rattington Street in Chartham. 

“Instead, we have dramatically increased the number of homes to be built on brownfield sites, have boosted the number of homes destined for people who are struggling to make ends meet and put in place a raft of environmental protections. 

“This plan works to bolster the economy, preserve the district’s history and protects its environment.” 

Local Plans must be reviewed every five years and cover a minimum 15-year period. The district’s housing target is set by central government. 

Cllr Baldock said: “Having a home is a basic human need and that is what this plan is unashamedly designed to deliver. 

“Not having a Local Plan does not mean the building stops – quite the opposite, in fact. It creates a wild west where developers that can show the plans for their land complies with national policy get the green light to build and we have very little say over the infrastructure they deliver. 

“Building becomes piecemeal – ad hoc and a bit of a mess. 

“The charge often faced by councils when developing a Local Plan is the homes being built will not be for locals. 

“It is true that some people will come from outside of the district to live in those homes but they bring with them their money, their expertise and life experiences which can only benefit the place where we live and lead to the creation of jobs and prosperity. Huge swathes of people living in the district originated from somewhere else.” 

The draft Local Plan will be discussed by councillors on the Overview Committee at its meeting on Thursday 5 March where the public can register to speak. 

Officers will then seek approval to put it out to a special kind of consultation under what is known as Regulation 19, see below, from the Cabinet and then Full Council on Wednesday 18 March. 

From there it will be submitted to a government-appointed planning inspector who will hold a public inquiry into the plan, known as an Examination In Public, later this year. 

All of the meetings will take place at the Guildhall, St Peter’s Place, Canterbury. 

Overview Committee on Thursday 5 March starts at 7pm. 

Cabinet will meet at 6pm on Wednesday 18 March. Full Council will take place no earlier than 7.30pm or at the rising of Cabinet. 

You can read the evidence documents and topic papers.

What is a Regulation 19 consultation?

Officers will be asking Cabinet then Full Council to approve an eight-week consultation on the final draft Local Plan under Regulation 19, known as Reg 19, of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. 

A Reg 19 consultation is the last stage of public consultation before a council submits its draft Local Plan to the Secretary of State and he or she appoints a planning inspector to take it to its next stage. 

It is a different consultation exercise to those previously held. It asks for comments on very specific areas. 

If Cabinet and Full Council give their approval, we will publish detailed guidance on the best way of taking part. 

But, in summary, Reg 19 asks for representations on the soundness and legal compliance of the draft Local Plan. 

They are the sole tests the planning inspector will use to examine the plan and reach a conclusion on whether or not it can be adopted. 

Soundness is explained in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) at paragraph 36. 

To be sound, a Local Plan has to be: 

• positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, seeks to meet the area’s objectively-assessed needs and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development  
• justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives and based on proportionate evidence  
• effective – deliverable over the plan period and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic matters that have been dealt with rather than deferred, as evidenced by the statement of common ground   
• consistent with national policy – enabling the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the NPPF and other statements of national planning policy, where relevant

Legal requirements include procedural issues such as: 

• conformity with the Local Development Scheme and Statement of Community Involvement 
• processes related to the Sustainability Appraisal including Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Habitats Regulations Assessment 

The Duty to Cooperate is also currently a legal test. 

However, the government has confirmed its intention to remove this through new regulations to be laid early this year. 

The 9,300 representations and 56,000 individual representations made in the previous five consultations will all be passed to the planning inspector, along with all representations received as part of the Regulation 19 consultation. 

Published: 25 February 2026