NEW TOWN TO JOIN ADISHAM AND AYLESHAM!!
The initial consultation on the draft plan has ended. Thanks so much to everyone who responded. Keep an eye on this site for updates.
Latest News
Canterbury City Council (CCC) propose building 3,200 NEW HOUSES between Adisham and Aylesham, on the north side of the B2046 between the A2 and Wingham. This new town was a most unwelcome surprise in the draft Canterbury Local Plan.
Conserve Adisham’s Rural Environment (CARE) is an action group based in the parish of Adisham. Read further to find out about more.
Latest: The survey to respond to the Draft Canterbury Local Plan closed on Monday 16th January 2023. The council will now analyse the responses and start preparing a revised draft. This is likely to be finished by mid-May.
Read CARE's consultation response (PDF, 70MB)
CPRE Kent response (PDF)
Sustainable Adisham response (PDF)
National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) Consultation, 2023:
Joint CARE / WOAW response (PDF)
Government consultation website
CPA advice
Conserve Adisham’s Rural Environment (CARE) is an action group based in the parish of Adisham. Read further to find out about more.
Latest: The survey to respond to the Draft Canterbury Local Plan closed on Monday 16th January 2023. The council will now analyse the responses and start preparing a revised draft. This is likely to be finished by mid-May.
Read CARE's consultation response (PDF, 70MB)
CPRE Kent response (PDF)
Sustainable Adisham response (PDF)
National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) Consultation, 2023:
Joint CARE / WOAW response (PDF)
Government consultation website
CPA advice
About CARE and the Campaign
CARE (Conserve Adisham’s Rural Environment) is an action group based in the Parish of Adisham, active when there is a major threat to the countryside of our parish and to the rural character of our village.
We will campaign for the removal of the notorious 3,200 house ‘Community Garden Scheme’ (R1) from the draft Canterbury Local Plan. Our neighbouring parishes are also strongly opposed to the new town scheme and Adisham PC is coordinating the efforts of local parish councils. We will also support our neighbour Womenswold in its opposition to the 420-house (CCC says this is the ‘minimum’ number) estate to be shoe-horned into their parish (R20).
CARE will:
We will campaign for the removal of the notorious 3,200 house ‘Community Garden Scheme’ (R1) from the draft Canterbury Local Plan. Our neighbouring parishes are also strongly opposed to the new town scheme and Adisham PC is coordinating the efforts of local parish councils. We will also support our neighbour Womenswold in its opposition to the 420-house (CCC says this is the ‘minimum’ number) estate to be shoe-horned into their parish (R20).
CARE will:
- Respond to the consultation.
- Encourage individuals to respond in their own words.
- Make a well-argued, rational case to the crucial Examination In Public (EiP) in late 2023 where CCC’s plan will be assessed for ‘soundness’ by an independent inspector appointed by the Secretary of State.
- Raise money to employ a specialist consultant/advocate to put our case to the inquiry and to cross examine CCC’s witnesses.
- Campaign throughout this period to persuade the public of our case and attempt to persuade CCC to drop its Adisham new town proposal (R1 in the plan) and the estate at Womenswold (R20).
Adisham woods update - March 2023
CARE joined Watch Over Adisham's Woods (WOAW) and Adisham PC in supporting Canterbury City Council (CCC) against the appeals of five Tower Woods developers.
Six developers were issued with enforcement notices by CCC to remove their unlawful buildings, shipping containers, drives & hard-standing etc by end June. Five of the developers appealed against this.
CARE made submissions to the Planning Inspectorate asking them to refuse all five appeals. If anyone doubts the damage caused by the developers, please read the five inspections reports of CCC's Enforcement Officers.
Six developers were issued with enforcement notices by CCC to remove their unlawful buildings, shipping containers, drives & hard-standing etc by end June. Five of the developers appealed against this.
CARE made submissions to the Planning Inspectorate asking them to refuse all five appeals. If anyone doubts the damage caused by the developers, please read the five inspections reports of CCC's Enforcement Officers.
LOCAL Draft plan consultation
Although the first consultation closed in January and it is now too late to take part, if the proposal still is in the revised plan, we will all need to respond again.
How to respond:
* Go onto the Canterbury City Council website and click on the mention of the local plan. This will take you to the plan.
*Then read these pages in the plan itself: pages 124-127, 140-145 & 163-171 (directly relevant to Adisham & Womenswold).
*Then follow the links to the consultation questionnaire. There is more than one way, within the CCC website, to reach the online questionnaire. This includes a big red flash: Give us your views on the draft local plan
*Once you are inside the questionnaire, please go to Chapter 5 - Rural Areas.
* Then go to the following and respond! You might find it helpful to open a word doc, draft your response there and then paste it into the actual consultation questionnaire:
R1 (Adisham new town, in the plan called 'community garden scheme');
R20 (the huge estate planned for our neighbour Womenswold, called 'Aylesham South' in the plan; R22 (ribbon-development on the field side of Station Road, the opposite side to the railway, termed 'Land west of Cooting Lane and south of Station Road'.
Do remember to select 'STRONGLY DISAGREE' against each of R1, R20 and R22!
If you are not ready or want to sleep on it, you can save your response for the day and the system will send you an email with a link (from invitation@online1.snapsurveys.com). So next day, you can click on the link and it will open at your draft response. Then, when finished, go to the end of 'Chapter 5' and you will see the submit button. When you have pressed that, the message should come up as 'SUCCESS!' At that point, your response cannot be pulled back.
So, if it is your view that the solution to R1 is to rub Adisham New Town out of the plan, just say that. When it asks for evidence, just give the reasons why you do not like R1. Please remember to click the 'strongly disagree' button for each of R1, R20 & R22.
(There may be other areas of the plan you may want to comment on.)
How to respond:
* Go onto the Canterbury City Council website and click on the mention of the local plan. This will take you to the plan.
*Then read these pages in the plan itself: pages 124-127, 140-145 & 163-171 (directly relevant to Adisham & Womenswold).
*Then follow the links to the consultation questionnaire. There is more than one way, within the CCC website, to reach the online questionnaire. This includes a big red flash: Give us your views on the draft local plan
*Once you are inside the questionnaire, please go to Chapter 5 - Rural Areas.
* Then go to the following and respond! You might find it helpful to open a word doc, draft your response there and then paste it into the actual consultation questionnaire:
R1 (Adisham new town, in the plan called 'community garden scheme');
R20 (the huge estate planned for our neighbour Womenswold, called 'Aylesham South' in the plan; R22 (ribbon-development on the field side of Station Road, the opposite side to the railway, termed 'Land west of Cooting Lane and south of Station Road'.
Do remember to select 'STRONGLY DISAGREE' against each of R1, R20 and R22!
If you are not ready or want to sleep on it, you can save your response for the day and the system will send you an email with a link (from invitation@online1.snapsurveys.com). So next day, you can click on the link and it will open at your draft response. Then, when finished, go to the end of 'Chapter 5' and you will see the submit button. When you have pressed that, the message should come up as 'SUCCESS!' At that point, your response cannot be pulled back.
So, if it is your view that the solution to R1 is to rub Adisham New Town out of the plan, just say that. When it asks for evidence, just give the reasons why you do not like R1. Please remember to click the 'strongly disagree' button for each of R1, R20 & R22.
(There may be other areas of the plan you may want to comment on.)
Articles
Michael Gove's planned changes to the planning system, alongside the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
Don't Let Our Countryside be Spoilt by Housing
Cooting Wildlife photos
village and 'r1' photo gallery
images by William Turrell
CPRE Public Meeting slides
CPRE Kent: 93 years of Protecting our Countryside
Presentation to CARE, dated 16th November 2022 by Hilary Newport, Director of CPRE Kent Click on DOWNLOAD to download the slides (in PDF format) to your computer so that you may view them.
Useful Links
Community Planning Alliance:
Website | Facebook group | Map of campaign groups
CPRE Kent:
Website | Facebook
Watch Over Adisham's Woods:
Website | Facebook group
Barham Downs Action Group:
Facebook group
Friends of Betteshanger:
Facebook group
Aylesham Parish Xmas newsletter (features the developments):
PDF version
Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood
Facebook group
Woodland Trust:
Facebook group
SOS Whitstable (water quality campaign group):
Facebook page
Stop the destruction of Kent:
Facebook group
"UK's old trees critical to climate change fight"
BBC News report (20 Dec 2022)
Website | Facebook group | Map of campaign groups
CPRE Kent:
Website | Facebook
Watch Over Adisham's Woods:
Website | Facebook group
Barham Downs Action Group:
Facebook group
Friends of Betteshanger:
Facebook group
Aylesham Parish Xmas newsletter (features the developments):
PDF version
Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood
Facebook group
Woodland Trust:
Facebook group
SOS Whitstable (water quality campaign group):
Facebook page
Stop the destruction of Kent:
Facebook group
"UK's old trees critical to climate change fight"
BBC News report (20 Dec 2022)