Concept plans posed by Canterbury City Council for a bypass to remove traffic from the ring roads around Canterbury have hit an uncertain roadblock last year after Kent County Council were “anti” plans for it.
However, they have now finally agreed and come to conclusion that Canterbury has developed to a point where it was a “sensible” idea in their view.
This now means that Canterbury City Council can go to government for further funding, as the project, according to local Councillior Simon Cook, will cost “tens of millions of pounds”.
Cook today described that the county council have always been “fairly anti” plans for an eastern bypass around Canterbury.
According to Cook, the eastern bypass would “start near Sturry park and ride and through the south of the city to the A2, to about Bridge – slightly north of it”.
Not only will the bypass reduce congestion in and around the city centre, it means that businesses will benefit from the reduced traffic on the ring road, air quality will be better in traffic jam hotspots and the quality of life for Canterbury residents will be improved too.
Cook also briefly outlined other plans for Canterbury included the development of 16,000 new homes, around Herne Bay and Whitstable. 4000 of these would be located in “urban Canterbury”.
Cook predicts that the bypass will be open around 2030. He added that the bypass is now “no longer a fantasy”, as they are now working with central government.
George Ward 