Canterbury City Council to publish new documents online on/around Fri 1 March. Special meeting on Mon 11 March for councillors to formally vote to put plan out to consultation.

Over £2,500 has been raised by the large number of local residents opposed to the wine factory Chapel Down are proposing to build within the protected Kent Downs National Landscape. We are campaigning against the council's decision to award planning permission a second time (legal action last year forced CCC to quash their decision on heritage grounds).

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been renamed as National Landscapes – in a bid to bring them in line with the importance our National Parks enjoy.

CPRE story on National Development Management Policies (NDMPs) - which allow the Secretary of State to override development plans approved by local communities, without necessarily needing to consult. A commons vote removed Lord's amendments to provide access to nature to new homes, take UK net zero targets into account and to require "sufficient social rent housing".

Kentish Gazette, Fri 6 October 2023

The council had voted to increase the number of councillors from 39 to 49. It would have cost more, but reduced ward sizes. Until 2015 the council had 50 councillors.

A council working group continues to redraft the plan; there's no exact date yet for when it will be published. It will prioritise public transport. Only once the new (draft) plan is ready will we know if the proposed developments near Adisham, Aylesham and Womenswold are still included.

Kentish Gazette, Thu 21 September 2023

This is the story originally reported in Private Eye about Adisham's former local councillor Louise Jones-Roberts, who owns Milton Manor in Thanington.

This year was the first River Festival, organised by the council in conjunction with numerous local environmental groups. Download the Wild Stour leaflet or pickup a copy from the Beaney in Canterbury.

This is a proposal on loosening planning restrictions in National Parks including giving landowners the freedom to convert a barn or other agricultural buildings into housing without planning permission. The report quotes concerned National Park CEOs in the Yorkshire Dales and Dartmoor.