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Special Meeting, Cabinet - Monday, 8th September, 2025 7.00 pm

September 8, 2025 View on council website  Watch video of meeting

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“Will Thanington get the new Park and Ride?”

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Summary

The Canterbury City Council Cabinet met on Monday to discuss and approve a consultation on the Draft Canterbury District Local Plan. The consultation, under Regulation 181 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, will focus on new and amended policies within the plan.

Local Plan Consultation

The Cabinet approved a recommendation to conduct a consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 on the Draft Canterbury District Local Plan – Focused Consultation, as detailed in the report.

The council is required to have an up-to-date local plan in place to meet housing needs and contribute to national targets. The current consultation is a focused one, seeking views on:

  • new draft site allocations policies
  • changes to some draft strategic site allocations
  • Gypsy and Traveller draft policies and allocations
  • implications of other relevant changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

The council previously consulted on the Draft Canterbury District Local Plan in March-June 2024, receiving almost 4,000 responses. These responses, along with input from previous consultations, will inform the development of the Local Plan.

One key change is an updated method for calculating Local Housing Needs (LHN). The LHN for the district now stands at 1,215 new homes per year, compared with 1,149 at the time of the last consultation. The adopted Local Plan from 2017 made provision for 800 new homes per year. This means additional sites will need to be allocated in the Local Plan.

The consultation includes a proposed allocation for a new Park and Ride facility at Thanington, which would replace the existing facility at Wincheap. The proposals would enable the re-provision of the existing sports pitches at Thanington within the Merton Park strategic development site, as part of the new Sports Hub facility.

The consultation is open between 9 September 2025 and 21 October 2025.

Announcements

Councillor Mel Dawkins announced that Riverfest would take place again on 21 September, facilitated by Canterbury City Council in partnership with local organisations.

Councillor Chris Cornell provided an update on anti-social behaviour issues in Herne Bay, including a public meeting at King's Hall convened by Councillor L Harvey.

Councillor Pip Hazelton reported that in May the council hosted a two-day visit from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, focusing on temporary accommodation and homelessness services.

Councillor Charlotte Cornell gave an update on prolonged water supply issues in Seasalter and Whitstable.

Councillor Alan Baldock announced progress on local government reorganisation and noted that consultation on the fair funding formula for local government was underway.

Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2025 were agreed as a true record.

  1. Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 requires local planning authorities to consult on the contents of their draft local plan with specific and general consultation bodies. ↩

Attendees

Profile image for Alan Baldock
Alan Baldock Leader of the Council and the Labour Group • Labour and Co-operative Party • Northgate
Peter Davies
Profile image for Mike Sole
Mike Sole Deputy Leader of the Council and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group & Cabinet Member for Finance • Liberal Democrats • Nailbourne
Profile image for Lee Castle
Lee Castle Cabinet Member for Property and IT • Liberal Democrats • Little Stour and Adisham
Profile image for Charlotte Cornell
Charlotte Cornell Cabinet Member for Council Services, Culture and Heritage • Labour and Co-operative Party • Seasalter
Profile image for Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Inclusion, Coastal Towns Champion • Labour and Co-operative Party • Gorrell
Profile image for Mel Dawkins
Mel Dawkins Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change • Labour and Co-operative Party • St Stephen's
Profile image for Pip Hazelton
Pip Hazelton Cabinet Member for Housing, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group • Labour and Co-operative Party • Westgate
Profile image for Connie Nolan
Connie Nolan Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Safety and Enforcement • Labour • Barton
Profile image for Alex Ricketts
Alex Ricketts Deputy Leader for the Liberal Democrat Group and Cabinet Member for Tourism, Transport, Oversight and Performance and Rural Champion • Liberal Democrats • Blean Forest
Leo Whitlock
Lauren Wheeler

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

Meeting Documents

Agenda

Agenda frontsheet 08th-Sep-2025 19.00 Cabinet.pdf

Reports Pack

Public reports pack 08th-Sep-2025 19.00 Cabinet.pdf

Additional Documents

Local Plan permission to consult report.pdf
Appendix A Draft Canterbury District Local Plan 2025 - Focused Consultation.pdf
Appendix B Equalities Impact Assessment.pdf
Minutes of Previous Meeting.pdf