Villagers walk in protest over 2,000-homes plan

Protesters gathered near Canterbury on Saturday to voice their opposition to plans for 2,000 new homes on a greenfield site owned by the University of Kent.

Canterbury City Council's new draft local plan proposes building the estate on a site between the villages of Tyler Hill, Blean and Rough Common.

Save the Blean organiser, Julia Kirby-Smith, told the BBC it was "hard to understand how you could double the population of three separate villages" in the "rural landscape".

The council said the plan was currently out for public consultation. The University of Kent has been contacted by the BBC for comment.

On Saturday, campaigners carrying placards walked through fields earmarked for the development within the Blean woodland.

The cash-strapped university put forward the land for potential development after announcing cuts to courses and jobs.

The local plan proposes a “highly sustainable, freestanding settlement” of new homes, as well as a new primary school and a replacement for the existing Blean Primary School.

One of the protesters told the BBC: "We do need more houses, absolutely, but not on a site like this. A site like this is not sustainable."

The draft local plan public consultation closes on 3 June, with the council set to revisit some of the proposals after reviewing the feedback.

A spokesperson for the council said three public information sessions would also be held across the district.

The university has previously said the plan would help it generate more funding to invest in education and would enable Canterbury to address a "critical need" for more housing stock.

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