Quinn Estates is holding two local consultations on the proposed development at Highland Court. The development is planned to include 300 holiday homes, a 150 unit retirement village and a business park and innovation centre, as well as sports facilities. If approved it will significantly extend the village envelope to the south. The consultations are Thursday, 28 September, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, Bridge Village Hall; and Saturday, 30 September, 9:00 – 11:00 am, Bekesbourne Village Hall. Come and make your views known.

The Bridge Neighbourhood Plan is nearing completion. At the Neighbourhood Plan Committee  meeting of 17 August it was announced that Pett Farm has been inserted into the Plan for light industrial units while house building in the Green Gap (site 2) has been deleted. However, it is proposed to build eight affordable houses on the Brickfields. A new Cantley proposal has been received for building near the A2, but plans for this were not circulated to members of the public. The Parish Council will shortly meet with developer Mark Quinn to discuss Highland Court and other issues. ConserveBridge calls for full transparency on Parish Council deliberations with Cantley and Mr Quinn. We note again that the government-appointed Housing Inspector struck out the Brickfields from the recently-adopted Canterbury District Local Plan, and we reiterate our complete opposition to all new build on this site, which is an integral part of the AONB.  

The judicial review of the Mountfield housing development took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on 25 and 26 July. The case was brought by Emily Shirley and Michael Rundell, represented by Mr Robert McCracken QC. The development was challenged on air quality grounds. Judgement will be handed down between now and September. See ‘Clearing the air:Mountfield’s day in court’

Plans for the continuing suburbanisation of Canterbury and its surrounding environs continue, with the announcement of plans for a new suburb to the west of Sturry and south of Broad Oak. 700 new homes are planned along with an ambitious bypass to ease the city’s growing traffic congestion. The site will occupy 140 acres of farmland and woodland.

At its meeting held on 13 July, and after several years of deliberations, Canterbury City Council formally approved the Canterbury District Local Plan, as well as the report of the government appointed Housing Inspector, Mr Moore. Two votes were held:

1. Vote to accept the Inspector’s report: 34 for, 0 against with 2 abstentions
2. Vote to accept to adopt the Local Plan: 32 for, 1 against with 3 abstentions.

This is mixed news. The Green Gap now has formal standing and the proposed development of 40 homes on the Brickfields has been rejected by the Inspector. However, the Mountfield development has now been approved. A few councillors stated that they did not approve the plan because of Mountfield, but it was claimed that the alternative would be a lot worse, leaving the city open to exploitative developers if the Plan was not adopted.

Developer Mark Quinn is reported to have offered to build the shell of a new five storey hospital. But there is a catch: the offer is tied to Canterbury City Council approval for the building of 2000 new homes. The proposal has been greeted cautiously by the Council and by Rosie Duffield MP. More news here.

ConserveBridge has obtained a copy of a proposal from Cantley to build new houses between the doctors’ surgery and the A2 in Bridge. It is not clear at this stage whether this proposal will be incorporated into the Bridge Neighbourhood Plan. You can see the proposal here.

Canterbury City Council has announced that the Canterbury District Local Plan has been approved by the Inspector, Mr Moore, with some modifications. The council will consider his report on 13 July. If approved, it will provide the legal basis under which the council decides planning applications up to 2031. There is welcome news for Bridge. The Inspector confirmed that new housing on the Brickfields could not be accommodated “without material harm to the AONB landscape”, and he affirms that “In the context of the South Canterbury SSA the new Green Gap between Canterbury and the village of Bridge has been justified”. Unfortunately, the deletions have been confirmed of the Green Gap between Canterbury and the University, and of the Green Space allocation at West Beach, Whitstable. You can find the Inspector’s report here.

A number of factors explain the unexpected defeat of the incumbent Canterbury and Whitstable MP, Sir Julian Brazier, by Labour’s Rosie Duffield in the General Election. One local issue appears to be especially important, and that is Sir Julian’s support for Mountfield and his unwillingness to support the proposed judicial review of this redevelopment. ConserveBridge will be writing to Rosie Duffield to congratulate her on winning the seat, and to seek her views on the Mountfield development.  

Canterbury City FC have announced plans to build a £2 million stadium in Bridge. If approved, the stadium at Highland Court would form part of a large scale development including 300 holiday homes, a retirement village and a new ground for Canterbury City Rugby Club. The development would increase the urbanisation of Bridge and extend the village envelope to the south.