Exciting transformation of city’s iconic gateway to get underway

Exciting work to transform the area around Westgate Towers in Canterbury to reflect the city’s standing as an international visitor destination and World Heritage Site is about to get underway. 

The £1.5 million project, paid for as part of the council’s successful bid for £19.9m of government money, will see the area’s roads and pavements improved to better reflect its heritage and history, using high quality materials in keeping with the surroundings.

The overall aim is to reduce the dominance of the car in that part of the city, in order to create a community focused space that has the infrastructure to support future events.

The work will inevitably lead to some disruption in the area. 

The city council’s Head of Digital, Data and Improvement and lead for the project, Caroline Marlow, said: “This desperately-needed scheme is a complicated one and will be carried out in a very busy area of the city. 

“It will cause some inconvenience for which we apologise in advance but we hope it really will be worth it. 

“The Westgate Towers, and the roads through it and around it, have long been controversial but I can guarantee this is not a cunning plan to bring back the hated one-way system that caused a stink some years ago.” 

To minimise disruption and to protect those carrying out the work, it will be completed in phases.  

They are: 

• Phase one – work to be carried out to the roads and pavements between St Dunstan’s Street and Tower Way, on the northwest side of the road (the Guildhall side). This side of the road will be closed to traffic from St Peter’s roundabout but access will be maintained to Tower Way, St Peter’s Grove and Black Griffin Lane. Traffic coming from the other direction will be permitted to travel through the Westgate Towers and along St Peter’s Place to the St Peter’s roundabout. A pedestrian route past the work will be maintained at all times. 

• Phase two – work to be carried out to the road and pavement between St Dunstan’s Street and Tower Way, on the southeastern side of the road, outside the former Barretts showroom. This side of the road will be closed to through traffic from St Dunstan’s Street up to Tower Way. Traffic will be permitted to travel from the St Peter’s roundabout, along St Peter’s Place and around the side of the Westgate Towers. A pedestrian route past the work will be maintained at all times. As part of this phase, it will be necessary to close the exit of St Peter’s Street while the work across this junction is completed. Access up to the point of the closure will be available for deliveries to shops etc. A diversion route via The Friars will be signed for vehicles leaving St Peter’s Street. 

• Phase three – road resurfacing will be carried out in St Peter’s Place between the edge of the new Westgate Square (see picture above) and just past the junction of Tower Way. This work will be conducted at night under a road closure, with local access being maintained. The diversion route for the three main phases (1, 2 and 3) will be via St Dunstan’s Street, London Road and Rheims Way. Signs will be in place, depending on the direction of traffic being diverted.  

Ms Marlow said: “We think the whole project will take 12 months to complete but as the work progresses, we will try our level best to find ways to speed up the programme.” 

Phase one is due to start around 22 April and will take approximately five months. Phase two will take up the majority of the remainder of the time, with the phase three resurfacing work lasting only a few days.

You can find out more about the Connected Canterbury project by visiting canterbury.gov.uk/luf.

If you want to get in contact about any part of the project, please email connectedcanterbury@canterbury.gov.uk.

Published: 5 March 2025