Say NO to Canterbury plans to turn orchards into car parks
Published: 04-02-2010
THURSDAY 11TH FEBRUARY - SAY NO TO PROPOSED HARBLEDOWN PARK & RIDE
Gemma Watts, Publicity Officer, Protect Kent
4 February 2010
A local campaign against the inclusion of Harbledown as a suggested site for a new Park and Ride scheme in Canterbury, will be launched at the site entrance in Faulkners Lane, Harbledown at 2.30pm on Thursday 11th February.
There will be an unveiling of a banner at the entrance to the site and opportunity to speak to Protect Kent’s Senior Planner Brian Lloyd and Janet Larkinson, Chairman of Harbledown and Rough Common Parish Council.
Canterbury City Council is currently considering, as part of the consultation stage for its proposed Core Strategy, whether or not additional Park and Ride provision is needed in Canterbury, and where it might go.
Protect Kent is supporting Harbledown and Rough Common Parish Council and urging local residents to respond to the Core Strategy consultation by objecting in the strongest terms to the proposed Harbledown site. When agreed, the Core Strategy will set the development strategy for the city for the next twenty years.
In addition to a potential new site at Harbledown, the council is also seeking views on three other options: an enlarged site at Wincheap, a new site at Cockering Farm or no new facility at all. The closing date for comments on the Core Strategy is Friday 5th March.
From the extensive background studies already undertaken it is clear that the council is intent on making new provision, and it has already stated its preference for a new site on land off Faulkners Lane, Harbledown. The Council say that the site could provide 600 car parking spaces.
Protect Kent and Harbledown and Rough Common Parish Council are horrified that the Council are seriously contemplating the development of this protected greenfield site and have joined forces to campaign against its inclusion in the Core Strategy.
Janet Larkinson, Chairman of the Parish Council said:
“This proposed site is protected as an Area of High Landscape Value; it is grade one quality agricultural land; and it is part of a larger area of countryside which has a diverse wildlife interest. It can only be accessed via narrow country lanes, and depending on the direction of approach it will mean traffic passing either directly in front of a junior school or right by Bigbury Iron Age Fort, a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The council’s own appraisal of Harbledown in 2007 concluded that the key characteristic of the village is its unspoilt rural setting, which this site is an important part of. Views from the village, particularly from the National Trust`s Golden Hill will be devastated by the development of the site.”
She continued:
“A previous proposal for a golf driving range on the site was rejected by the council on the grounds of traffic generation, but a Park and Ride site by its very nature will generate many hundreds of trips every day.”
Protect Kent shares the Parish Council’s concerns. Senior Planner, Brian Lloyd said:
“We remain to be convinced that there is a need for additional Park and Ride to serve Canterbury, and to be shown that it is the best way to address congestion issues in the city.”
He continued:
“Even if a case for it can be made, it seems perverse to tarmac over acres of attractive countryside, either at Harbledown or Cockering Farm, when additional provision can be made on council-owned brownfield land at Wincheap.
The council’s own consultants have concluded that Wincheap is a very good location for additional Park and Ride, given the proposed new slip roads onto the A2. Common sense must surely prevail.”
Protect Kent is urging everyone to take action and come along to join our campaign in Harbledown on Thursday 11th February at 2.30pm.
To get to the site follow Faulkners Lane out of Harbledown, past the Vernon Holme School (Kent College Infant and Junior School). The site is located on the left hand side of Faulkners Lane, to the rear of the school, just before it crosses the A2.
-ENDS-
For more information, contact:
Brian Lloyd
Senior Planner
Protect Kent
3 Evegate Park Barn
Station Road, Smeeth
Ashford, Kent
TN25 6SX
Tel: 01303 815184
Or
Janet Larkinson
Chairman of Harbledown and Rough Common Parish Council
Tel: 01227 453065
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. With good local support, Thursday 11th February should be a great press photo opportunity. Brian Lloytd and Janet Larkinson will both be available for interview on the day from 2.30pm onwards. Press are asked to come to the site entrance.
2. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk
3. Protect Kent (The Kent Branch of CPRE) is one of the charity’s largest county groups, with more than 3,000 supporters, 12 district groups and two special-interest groups, which focus on transport and environment.
4. Protect Kent (The Kent Branch of CPRE) exists to promote the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country.
5. Registered office: 3 Evegate Park Barn, Station Road, Smeeth, Ashford, Kent, TN25 6SX. Phone: 01303 815180, fax: 01303 815189, www.protectkent.org.uk or www.cprekent.org.uk, email: info@cprekent.org.uk.
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England number 4335730, registered charity number 109201