Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
For protected countryside site
Exclusive
Three hundred acres of highly protected countryside near Canterbury could change forever if an ambitious but controversial tourism development gets the go-ahead.
A detailed masterplan of the £250 million scheme is unveiled for the first time today (Thursday) for the land at Highland Court Farm in Bridge.
Within it are 300 luxury holiday homes, a 150-unit retirement village, a business centre, sports facilities and a restaurant and artisan market – all in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The scheme is a joint venture between the Whigham family, which owns the farmland, and developer Quinn Estates, with both believing the location is “ideal” for holiday industry use.
Also planned are new clubhouses and pitches for Canterbury football and rugby clubs and an equestrian, walking and cycling centre.
The masterplan is now being put out to public consultation.
Developer Mark Quinn claims it will provide “massive social, economic, and sporting benefits” while keeping the environment at the heart of the development.
He said: “I know some people will have concerns about it but I believe that Canterbury can have its cake and eat it, with tourism and economic growth, but with hardly any pain.”
Mr Quinn also predicts the scheme will create 1,500 jobs while “enhancing” the sensitive landscape location, encouraging more visitors.
But as well as being designated an AONB, the site is not earmarked in the Local Plan for development and Mr Quinn admits he faces a battle to convince town planners to give it the go-ahead.
He said: “We know a lot of work will be needed to create the evidence to support it, but we hope to submit a planning application by the end of the year.”
When the proposal was first The scheme has drawn criticism from the Kent branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England.
Hilary Newport, pictured, who is director of Protect Kent, said: “These proposals particularly concern us because of the scale of what is being proposed in the Kent Downs AONB.
“CPRE campaigns for a thriving, vibrant countryside, but this project represents an intense urbanisation of a protected area.
“The designation of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty does not mean that nothing can ever be built there.
“But to pass the threshold test for development the applicants have to demonstrate that it is in the national interest, that there are no alternative sites other than the AONB and that everything possible has been done to limit harm to the landscape.
“It is hard to see how these proposals pass any of those tests.”
made public in February this year, Gary Walters, managing director of the Highland Investments Company, which is behind the project, said: “We are very aware of the AONB status of the land, but its very special quality makes it desirable for tourism.
“We would manage with sensitivity and aim to enhance the local wildlife and environment so more people could enjoy it.
“Just because it’s an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, shouldn’t mean you can’t do anything with it.”
Canterbury Rugby Club says it is “outgrowing” its current site in Merton Lane North and the city’s football club has been without its own ground for two decades and currently plays in Deal.
Both have been in discussions with Mr Quinn and have signed up for the move.
Mr Quinn is also in discussions with Kent Wildlife Trust, Produced in Kent, Visit Kent and Canterbury College, and is working with luxury holiday home specialists Yoo and retirement home providers Pegasus Life.
He said: “I believe this is the perfect location to deliver an exemplar scheme that can bring significant benefits to the villages, local area and the city itself.
“The site is adjacent to a junction on the A2 and is massively under-used with in excess of 90% spare capacity.
“Through working with key stakeholders, we are placing the environment at the core of what we are doing and taking a heavily intensive commercial farm and turning it into land that makes a major contribution to local wildlife.”
The plans go on show at Bridge village hall today (Thursday) between 5.30pm and 7.30pm and at Bekesbourne village hall on Saturday, between 9am and 11am.