Dear Sir/Madam,
Draft Canterbury District Local Plan and new Call for Sites
Canterbury City Council’s Cabinet decided at the end of September to extend the current local plan timetable by around six to seven months so council officers could consider government changes to national planning policy which are coming down the track.
The deadline for a final draft has now moved from the one imposed by the last government of June 2025 to spring 2026.
This revised timetable is set out in the council’s Local Development Scheme (September 2024), which is available to view on our website (www.canterbury.gov.uk/planning-and-building/new-local-plan).
The council will use this time to:
- digest the feedback it received from the consultation and what it should do about it
- think carefully, in light of that feedback and numerous other technical considerations, about where in the district the bigger sites, known as strategic allocations, that are needed to deliver the government’s housing targets should go. It has to be remembered housing targets are likely to be mandatory and the government has suggested the district’s target needs to go up ever so slightly
- keep talking to stakeholders such as Kent County Council, National Highways, Natural England, the Environment Agency, other councils etc
- continue to assess any potential sites that may come forward
- make progress on the modelling needed to test the council’s transport strategy is robust
- ensure its net zero and biodiversity net gain policy ambitions remain as robust as humanly possible
The council had originally planned to release the feedback from the Regulation 18 consultation when it published the final draft local plan early next year.
However, now that publication is some time away, the consultation results can now be found on the council’s website (www.canterbury.gov.uk/planning-and-building/new-local-plan).
The information is displayed on the website in a rather functional way but all of the information is there and is secure.
New Call for Sites
Consultation feedback has made it clear that people would like to see more brownfield sites proposed for development in the local plan.
To ensure no stone is left unturned and before we make any final decisions, we are asking if there are any more potential brownfield sites that are suitable and available for development in the district.
The Call for Sites will run from 9am on 21 October until 5pm on 1 December 2024inclusive, and we welcome the submission of new sites, that have not been submitted to us previously.
All sites for any type of future use are welcome. However, we are particularly interested in increasing site options for:
- brownfield land that could be suitable and available for development for any future use (capable of accommodating a minimum of five dwellings or 500sqm floorspace)
- small and medium-sized sites (capable of accommodating a minimum of five dwellings up to around 100 dwellings)
- land that could be suitable for employment and commercial development (above 0.25ha or 500sqm floorspace)
- land that could be suitable for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation
- land that could be suitable for renewable energy schemes
To submit a new site, please use our online form, (available at www.canterbury.gov.uk/planning-and-building/new-local-plan)
Unfortunately, we cannot accept site submissions by email or in hard copy.
Before submitting a new site, please check our interactive map to see if it has previously been submitted – the map and further guidance can be found on our website, along with our privacy notice.
Please do not submit sites which have already been submitted to a previous Call for Sites or to a previous Regulation 18 Local Plan consultation. Duplicate sites will be rejected.
If you have previously submitted a site and you wish to make us aware of any changes to the submission, or if you wish for a site to be considered for a different land use to the original submission, please emailpolicy@canterbury.gov.uk, quoting the site reference.
If you have submitted additional information through our Regulation 18 consultations, you do not need to resubmit it.
Please email policy@canterbury.gov.uk if you need assistance or have any queries.
Yours sincerely,
The Policy Team
Canterbury City Council
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