Plan for nearly 10,000 homes in Canterbury delayed

Canterbury City Council was originally planning to have its plan for housing up until 2040 finished by June 2025

Plans for almost 10,000 more homes in a Kent city have been pushed back by up to a year amid a government shakeup of house-building rules.

Canterbury City Council (CCC) was originally planning to have its plan for housing up until 2040 finished by June 2025, but has pushed it back to spring 2026.

In March, the local authority announced its plans to scrap the previous administration’s local plan.

The plans proposed splitting the city into zones, with driving across their borders banned.

The new local plan allocates sites for 9,346 homes to be built across the district until 2040.

Leader of the council Alan Baldock said the delay was due to a government "shake up of the whole planning system".

The Labour councillor added: “What we’ve decided to do and what the government allowed us to do was park the mandatory deadline."