Canterbury City Council have issued a draft Canterbury District Local Plan to 2040 for consultation. The Canterbury & District Green Party have reviewed this draft plan and are disappointed that this is so similar to the Plan put forward by the previous Conservative administration. It really is a lost opportunity to make a meaningful change for the people of our District.
These are the key Takeaways from the Plan:.
- The Plan is to add 30% to CCC’s population – an increase to 220,000 people instead of the 170,000 anticipated by the 2018 census;
- The Plan permits way more houses than the demonstrated need;
- The housing mix is to the benefit of Property Developers, not local people - it builds the wrong houses, for the wrong people, in the wrong place;
- It fails to meet the needs of the elderly, renters and the less advantaged;
- It does nothing about sewage, either in the Stour Valley or on the North Coast;
- It is neither green nor sustainable;
- The capital plan is an enormous unfunded wish list, not a budget
Not everything about the Draft Plan is bad – for example, this Plan has ditched both the flawed traffic zoning system in Canterbury City centre, and the disastrous Eastern Link Road. Housing design standards are much improved. The emphasis on bus travel rather than road building is to be applauded, although the Plan is desperately short on detail in this area.
Here is a link to the Takeaways: Draft_Local_Plan_2040_Takeaways_Updated
So, what would the Green Party do that’s different? Here is a link to our ‘Green Plan’ for the Canterbury district – a sustainable plan that meets the needs of local people: Draft_Local_Plan_2040_Green_Plan_Updated
The public consultation is open until Monday 3rd June (5pm) and we urge everyone to give their feedback, here is a link to the consultation response questionnaire: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/interview/90237d61-ab28-4820-a95c-ed15c8de22b7