Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
NEW VISION
Developers rethink design of city’s biggest-ever housing scheme
Architects’ images published for the first time today (Thursday) give a further impression of the vast “garden suburb” of 4,000 homes earmarked for the city’s outskirts.
Dubbed Mountfield Park, the scheme in south Canterbury would see the city expand by an area four times the size of the historic centre.
Developer Corinthian is this week releasing tweaks to its masterplan, which will be available for public viewing tomorrow (Friday).
We can today report that changes to the proposals include reduced building heights and the scrapping of plans to turn Dover Street into a bus route.
Fresh graphics released to the Gazette this week show new housing set to be built in “residential clusters”, echoing traditional farmyard courts.
Corinthian is publishing revisions to its scheme following a public consultation period which closed in May.
Managing director John Trotter said: “We have carefully read all the comments submitted during the consultation and discussed the issues with officers at the council and Kent County Council.
“We have now responded to all of the matters raised by the statutory consultees, and we have been happy to make adjustments to the proposals where appropriate to ensure we are putting forward the best possible scheme for the city and its residents.”
Mountfield Park forms Canterbury’s biggest planning application of all time.
Its masterplan shows a huge residential scheme on 560 acres of green space – stretching from Canterbury’s southern edge to the village of Bridge.
Corinthian is seeking outline planning consent for its overall scheme of 4,000 homes, shops, office space, sports pitches and two primary schools.
According to a statement from the developer, changes to its original application now include “a number of highway interventions, including the withdrawal of the proposal to use Dover Street as a bus route and further measures to enhance provision for pedestrians and cyclists”.
Within the application, Corinthian is also seeking detailed approval for its first phase of 140 homes, which is also set for minor changes.
Mr Trotter said: “We received some very positive feedback on the quality of the design proposals for Phase 1a, but we also had a number of comments about the design details, in particular relating to the roof profiles and building heights, which led us to examine ways in which we could improve the scheme further.
“We have also produced new visualisations, which we hope will make clear the character and qualities of the scheme we intend to deliver.”
The resubmitted tweaks will be subject to a 21-day period of consultation by the council, giving members of the public until September 16 to have their say.
All documentation can be viewed at Canterbury City Council’s offices on Military Road or on their website from tomorrow.
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