A massive housing and commercial development to the north of Canterbury is proposed in the latest Canterbury Local Plan. Twice the size of the walled city of Canterbury, it would engulf the villages of Tyler Hill, Rough Common and Blean, almost tripling their combined population and bringing an estimated 4,000 extra cars onto already busy local roads and services.
But the ramifications of such a scheme would be felt by communities far further afield, changing forever the area between Canterbury and Whitstable that is so important to the identity of our part of Kent. We are urging everyone to have a look at the Local Plan and to respond to the Consultation that is under way now, with your views.
The development would be built entirely on agricultural land which is also of significant environmental importance. Our glorious Sarre Penn valley and the copses, fields, ancient pathways and monuments around it would become absorbed into a vast new estate, pressing against our ancient woodlands and creating a suburban conurbation stretching from Canterbury almost to Whitstable. The area provides a home to several birds on the RSPB most endangered (red) list, two endangered species of bat and the very rare Great Crested Newt, as well as over 60 species of other birds and animals. For these and other reasons, Blean is identified as a ‘Biodiversity Opportunity Area’ in the Kent Wildlife Strategy, which surely makes it an area that we should work hard to preserve and protect.
The Whitstable road would come under particular pressure from the development, with two separate entrances to the new estates proposed at already busy traffic points: the current site of the Blean primary school (which would be demolished and resituated) and the pathway to the Crab and Winkle Way opposite Kent College, just down from the turning into Rough Common Road. Those who use these roads will know how busy and jammed they already can be; those who live along their lengths are only too aware how dangerous it feels to cross them even now, particularly with young children in tow. There are, of course, implications for other infrastructure too: the provision of local and regional medical services, education and waste management would all be affected.
The Save The Blean local action group has come together to fight for our area and comprises people from the villages, Canterbury, Whitstable and far further afield, who believe that such a vast development over such a special and untouched environment would be truly devastating. To find out more, visit www.savetheblean.org where there is a link to the Local Plan, with information about responding to the Consultation. The website also has a wealth of information about our Blean, its history and its wildlife, as well as further details about the proposed development and its impact. There is a mailing list you can sign up to via the footer of the website and the campaign also has a Facebook page so you can follow Save The Blean there too.
Please, if you can, come and explore this wonderful area, which is especially lovely at the moment, with the arrival of migrant birds, the emerging of hibernating creatures and the blossoms in the hedgerows and woods buzzing with pollinators. A guided, family friendly walk, open to everyone, will take place this Saturday, April 20th, meeting at 11am at St Cosmus and St Damian Church, Tyler Hill Road, CT2 9HU. All the information you need is available on the website and you will be very warmly welcomed.
Save The Blean is an action group made up of local residents, students, conservationists, farmers and members of the Canterbury community. We are non party-political and separate from the local Parish Councils.
Links to our website: www.savetheblean.org
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1131073134585951
Email address: info@savetheblean.org
Consultation – How to Respond: https://www.savetheblean.org/consultation/
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