More than 5,000 new homes to the north and east of Canterbury will create an “environmental catastrophe” on already-gridlock roads, it is feared.

Revised schemes have been submitted for two sprawling housing estates in Sturry and Broad Oak – providing a combined 1,106 homes – with 1,320 already planned or being built on three sites off Island Road in Hersden.

Campaigners say the road network – and particularly the Sturry level crossing – cannot cope with the scale of development, when also taking into consideration 2,860 homes earmarked or under construction in Herne Bay.

Local campaigner David Wadmore said: “There is massive local concern about these plans. The recent closure of Shalloak Road shows how fragile the local infrastructure already is.

“Apart from concerns that the already extremely polluted air in Sturry will only get worse, we are looking at an environmental travesty, if not catastrophe. Already we suffer from fumes in the village centre forcing us to keep windows close.”

For those living in the village and along the gridlocked A28, it is a grim prospect which some fear will not be significantly eased by a planned £30 million relief road and flyover linking Sturry Hill with the A28 Sturry Road near McDonald’s, bypassing the level crossing.

Revised outline planning applications for 650 homes in Sturry and 456 in Broad Oak have now been submitted to the city council, which residents have just a month to comment on.

Hundreds of homes will be occupied before the link road is complete, creating a sense of despair in Sturry.

The parish council and residents are urging the city council to give them more time to consider and investigate the implications of the latest revised plans, which include a new traffic layout on the approach to the crossing.

They also fear there is no overall joined-up approach to the cumulative impact of the planned housing in Sturry, Broad Oak and Hersden, as well as in Herne and Herne Bay.

In a strongly-worded letter to the city council, parish councillor Ann Davies says members are “horrified” the applications are due to be considered by the planning committee in June, with all comments having to be submitted by May 17.

“Why on earth is only a month being given for public consultation? This is not a couple of loft conversions,” she said.

“The consultation time includes part of the Easter holidays when people are away.

“Neither do we have an application from KCC Highways on its section of the link road which the delivery of both the Sturry and Broad Oak developments depends upon.”

Roshna Ahmad is a member of a village group helping to examine the planning implications with the parish council.

“It seems scandalous to us that this appears to be rushed through when there are so many grave reservations and a lack of an overview of the cumulative effect of all the developments,” she said.

“There are also many of us who have reservations about how effective this link road will be, which will simply pour traffic onto the already gridlocked A28 the other side of the crossing.”

Council spokesman Leo Whitlock says the authority always gives 30 days for comments to be made on applications of this type as this is a statutory requirement.

"In this case, however, we have added a further two days to take account of the bank holidays," he said.

"It is unlikely, but not impossible, this application will be considered by the committee on June 4 as there are a number of outstanding issues.

"Once they are resolved, we will need to report to the next available committee as the planning applications have been in for more than a year and have been the subject of a previous round of public consultation.

"We have offered the parish council the opportunity to make their comments by the later date of May 17 which would give them an extra 12 days to take account of the election at the start of next month."

Judicial review

A judicial review will be held to look at whether the city council flouted rules when approving controversial plans for hundreds of new homes near the A28.

Campaigners from the A28 Environmental Crisis Group launched a legal bid on the grounds the authority failed to properly carry out an environmental impact assessment on the old colliery site in Chislet.

They claim that when city planners looked at the impact of the 370-home scheme, they failed to take into account the 250-house Hoplands development which sits directly next to it.

Antonie van den Broek, who is leading the campaign, says the cumulative impact of the two sites on the environment and traffic levels is being ignored.

“Of course, 370 homes they will say is fine,” he said.

“But the combined number is 620 and the implications of that is severe.”

He says a High Court judge has ruled the Chislet case is arguable and a review will proceed in June.

A separate legal claim in relation to the Hoplands development – on which work has already started – has also been submitted and they are awaiting a decision on whether a judicial review will take place.

Critics say an increase in traffic will create higher levels of pollution and could have a catastrophic impact on the environment.

Fellow campaigner Michael Horner says they are not against development altogether, but that it needs to be done responsibly.

“The council needs to be careful about density,” he said. “Canterbury is a medieval city and its transport system is already under pressure.

“It won’t be able to cope with more development unless proper infrastructure is put in place.”

The group has launched a fundraising drive to raise £15,000 to help with legal costs and has made a plea for donations to help with their fight.

The city council says it will defend its decisions, saying two developments will “provide much-needed housing for the district and unlock investment in local roads”.

For more on the campaign visit a28environmentalcrisisgroup.com/

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