A brief history of the Mountfield Park (South Canterbury) housing development

Unveiled in 2015, Mountfield Park will be the city’s single largest housing development ever. The city will expand to four times the size of its original area. Occupying some 560 acres of what is currently green space, Mountfield will stretch from Canterbury’s existing southern confines to the existing A2 interchange with Bridge.

Dubbed a “garden city” by the developers, Corinthian, Mountfield will offer 4000 homes, shops and schools. Highways England have insisted that major changes take place to A2 interchanges to the south of the city, with the construction of new roundabouts near Bridge village.

Mountfield will change Canterbury – and it will change the villages that lies immediately south of Mountfied: Patrixbourne, Bekesbourne and, especially, Bridge.

 

Urban sprawl – Mountfield Park will encroach on the northern confines of Bridge village

Opposition to Mountfield came from several quarters. A number of residents associations were formed or reactivated in order to oppose the development. Many of these associations are members of the Alliance of Canterbury Residents Associations (ACRA), a group that has previously drawn attention to flawed participation procedures of Canterbury City Council as reported by the Kentish Gazette.

Arguments against Mountfield included the absence of meaningful public participation (as defined in the UNECE Aarhus Convention to which the UK is a signatory); the fact the plan violated the principle of subsidiarity; the erosion of habitat for biodiversity and nature, including great crested newts, bats, badgers and breeding birds and reptiles; the stress on road and rail transport; and increased carbon dioxide emissions without mitigation. Two members of ConserveBridge who submitted objections received identical one page standard letters from Canterbury City Council. Emily Shirley and Michael Rundell are leading a campaign against the development based on the traffic and air pollution implications. Click here to see the details of their campaign. They have already got as far as a court hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice scheduled for 2nd May 2017.

There is no evidence that this or any other submission led to a material change in the design of the scheme. The design of the development was not grassroots, or even driven by Canterbury City Council. It was driven by central government housing quotas and designed by developers and architects from outside Canterbury. Corinthian are based in Fawkham, west Kent, while architects David Lock Associates are from Milton Keynes.

For further information please contact our resources and timeline pages