Views wanted on the best ways of protecting district’s open spaces

Protecting valued open spaces into the future and creating new ones is at the heart of the draft Canterbury and District Local Plan To 2045.

At the same time as Canterbury City Council’s Cabinet is asked for permission to consult on that document at its meeting on Wednesday 19 October, it will also be asked to give its consent to consulting on the council’s draft Open Space Strategy which has been produced with the help of experts in the field.

The consultation will ask for people’s views on the council’s proposed direction of travel for the future provision of accessible, high-quality, sustainable open space across the district and whether its vision, aims and objectives are the right ones.

The strategy also sets out where we are now as a district when it comes to open space.

Cllr Ashley Clark, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Open Spaces, said: “Open spaces play an absolutely vital role across the district and make a massive contribution to people’s health and wellbeing, they boost biodiversity, they counter the effects of climate change, they add to our landscape, they help people and wildlife travel across our patch and they are a huge part of our cultural heritage.

“All of this means it’s vital to know and understand the current state of play and have a detailed plan for the future.

“We all have a role to play in protecting our open spaces so we really want to hear your views on our strategy and whether it is the right one.

“We also want your views on how we should implement it.”

The Cabinet will meet at 7pm on Wednesday 19 October at the Guildhall in St Peter’s Place, Canterbury.

If permission to consult is granted by the Cabinet, the draft Open Spaces Strategy will be discussed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as part of the consultation process on Thursday 10 November 2022.

Published: 11 October 2022