Officers back 21 homes at Hoath despite 32 objections, and 9 at Bridge with no affordable homes, because the council has no five-year housing supply.

Council officers are recommending approval for 21 homes on farmland at Hoath and 9 homes on a former farmyard at Bridge. Both sites are outside the villages, in the countryside. Canterbury City Council’s Planning Committee decides them at 7pm on Tuesday 15 September at the Guildhall.

Both officer reports reach the same conclusion for the same reason. The council “cannot presently demonstrate an up-to-date five-year supply of housing”, and under the new national planning rules that tips the balance towards building.

Hoath is about five miles north-east of Canterbury, in Reculver ward. Bridge is about three miles south-east of the city.

Hoath: 21 homes at Church Farm, and one letter of support

The outline application, CA/25/01783, is from Cantium Land and Development Ltd. It covers a field on the northern edge of the village, opposite Hoath Primary School on School Lane.

The scheme includes:

  • 21 houses of two, three and four bedrooms, up to two storeys
  • 6 affordable homes, which is 30% and meets the council’s policy
  • public open space and a children’s play area fronting School Lane
  • a new zebra crossing on School Lane and a footpath widened to 2 metres
  • demolition of two farm buildings on the site

The council received 32 letters, all objecting, and one in support. Hoath Parish Council also objects. The objections include the loss of good farmland, the village’s lack of public transport, traffic on School Lane, wastewater pollution at Stodmarsh and the cumulative effect of other schemes around Hoath.

The report does not play down the harm. The council’s own heritage officers found the homes would harm the conservation area and the setting of the Grade II* listed Church of the Holy Cross, which likely has 14th-century origins and was largely restored in 1842. The field is Grade 2 “best and most versatile” agricultural land, which the 2017 Local Plan seeks to protect.

The draft Local Plan already allocates the field, but for about 17 homes, not 21. Objectors and the parish council both raised that increase.

Officers still conclude that “the harms do not substantially outweigh the benefits”. They point to the affordable homes, the play space, the crossing and the draft allocation. The developer would also pay £29,325.08 towards open space elsewhere, including £21,279.89 for Broomfield BMX track.

Bridge: 9 homes at Great Pett Farm, with no affordable housing

The full application, CA/23/01371, is from Woodchurch Property (BK) Ltd. It was registered in July 2023 and originally proposed 13 homes.

The site is a former farmyard off Pett Hill. The built-up edge of Bridge is about 90 metres south of its entrance. It lies in the Kent Downs National Landscape and the Bourne conservation area, next to the Grade II listed Great Pett Farmhouse.

Four points in the report stand out:

  • No affordable homes and no payment towards them. A viability appraisal said the scheme could not afford it. An independent peer review agreed, even after cutting the assumed developer profit from 20% to 17.5%.
  • The homes are large. The mix is one three-bedroom, six four-bedroom and two five-bedroom houses.
  • A locally listed barn has collapsed. Officers say its roof was removed between 2013 and 2017, and “it is unclear therefore as to why or how the building has degraded”. A new house, Plot 8, would take its footprint.
  • The draft Local Plan’s aim to “sensitively integrate” the barn is, in the report’s words, “no longer possible”.

There were 12 representations. Bridge Parish Council objects and asks for affordable housing, a wider carriageway and speed limits. Officers find limited harm to the heritage assets and “limited-moderate” harm to the landscape, and recommend approval.

The Bridge report’s principle section describes the site as “well-related to the existing village of Hoath”. That appears to be text carried over from the Hoath report.

Also on the agenda: two bungalows on Puckle Lane

The third item is CA/23/00178: two detached bungalows replacing one at Augusten, 5 Puckle Lane, in the Nunnery Fields conservation area in Canterbury. It was registered in February 2023. It reaches committee at the request of a former councillor, over worries about overdevelopment and materials. Two neighbours and the Canterbury Design and Heritage Forum object. Officers recommend approval.

Comparison of the three applications at Canterbury City Council's Planning Committee on 15 September 2026: Church Farm Hoath, 21 homes, 6 affordable, 32 objections; Great Pett Farm Bridge, 9 homes, no affordable, 12 representations; 5 Puckle Lane Canterbury, 2 bungalows replacing 1, 2 objections. All three recommended for approval.

Why the housing supply matters here

The officers apply policy S5 of the National Planning Policy Framework published in August 2026. As quoted in both reports, it says some development outside settlements should be approved “unless the benefits of doing so would be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects”.

That includes housing where a council “cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites”. The site must also be well related to a settlement and of a scale local infrastructure can take.

Canterbury is in that position. So the test is not whether the harm is real, which the Hoath report accepts, but whether it substantially outweighs the benefits. That is a high bar for objectors to clear.

What it means for you

  • The deadline to speak has passed. Requests had to reach Democratic Services by 12.30pm on 14 September, per the agenda.
  • You can watch. The agenda page carries a YouTube live stream link for the meeting.
  • Councillors can disagree with officers. A recommendation is not a decision. If the committee refuses, it has to give planning reasons.
  • Hoath is outline only. If approved, the look of the houses, landscaping and scale still come back as a later “reserved matters” application, which can be commented on.
  • The same test can apply elsewhere. While the supply shortfall lasts, other draft Local Plan sites outside settlements could be judged the same way.

Our Canterbury planning applications page explains how to find and comment on applications.

Sources