County council bosses want developers behind a 4,000-home ‘garden city’ on Canterbury’s outskirts to pump £51 million into new schools across the district.

Officers at the authority have set out a list of infrastructure projects it says should be funded by Corinthian, which wants to create Britain’s first “net zero carbon” community to the south of the city.

Revised plans for the development, which is called Mountfield Park, were submitted to Canterbury City Council in December after a High Court legal challenge forced the authority to quash its approval of the original application.

As part of the new planning process, Kent County Council (KCC) has set out how much it believes Corinthian should fork out in developer contributions - known as Section 106 agreements - to offset the effect of the housebuilding on the area, particularly on schools and roads.

The authority says £27.2 million - the equivalent of £6,800 per house - must be paid towards primary education in the area.

Developers have already incorporated two new primary schools into their masterplan to accommodate the significant additional need for school places.

KCC says a total of £5.3 million should be allocated towards new special school satellite provision, and £18.2 million for secondary education.

The cash will boost the provision of new pupil places at the Barton Manor School, which will launch in Spring Lane this September, and go towards funding a new secondary school in the district - potentially on the coast at Herne Bay or Whitstable.

KCC is currently searching for land that could accommodate a grammar or non-selective school in the area to take on youngsters who are being forced to commute to Canterbury and Thanet due to the dearth of places locally.

Away from education, the huge 550-acre development has sparked fears of traffic gridlock around the city due to the significant influx of new residents.

Many fear the snarled-up ring-road will be unable to cope with the increased pressure.

KCC, however, is calling for further information from Corinthian before it has its say on the proposed traffic mitigation.

“There are a number of issues and additional information requirements of the local highway authority before it is able to make any recommendation,” it says.

“The county council would therefore request the application is not determined until further discussion and evidence is provided to support the application.”

Residents have previously called for a redesign of the ‘danger’ junction outside the city’s Waitrose, and the Mountfield Park developers have looked at improving its safety.

The four-way convergence of St George’s Place, New Dover Road, and Upper and Lower Chantry Lane is one of the most-used junctions in Canterbury.

Two people lost their lives crossing St George’s Place in separate incidents in 2020, while near-misses with pedestrians misjudging the sequence of lights continue to be a regular occurrence.

KCC says it will now be reviewing the future plans for the junction.

While the county authority awaits further information before casting its opinion, Network Rail says it currently objects to the 4,000-home scheme.

It wants the developers to provide further evidence the thousands of new homes will not significantly impact the rail network.