Canterbury News
The latest Canterbury news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Sturry Road Bus Lane Gets £1m From Canterbury's Levy Pot
Canterbury's first strategic levy spend: £1.82m across six projects, £1m of it for a longer Sturry Road bus lane. Cabinet decides on Monday 5 October.
More stories
Herne Bay
Herne Bay King's Hall Toilets to Move 350m Along Seafront
The King's Hall public toilets would move 350m east to the beach huts on East Cliff, adding an accessible toilet and baby change. Cabinet votes 5 Oct.
Crime
Canterbury Shoplifting Up 64% in Two Years, Violence Down
Shoplifting within a mile of central Canterbury hit 1,132 in the year to July, up 64% on two years earlier. Violence fell 14%. Whitstable's spike is easing.
Planning
Eight Bells Canterbury: Plan to Turn the Pub Into a Shop
The London Road pub, shut since its landlady retired in 2025, could become a shop. Comments on the change of use close on Friday 9 October 2026.
Transport
Pean Hill Gas Leak: A290 Shut, SGN Gives No Reopening Time
The A290 at Pean Hill is closed between Fox's Cross Road and Pye Alley Lane for an emergency gas repair. SGN cannot yet say when it will reopen.
Heritage
Hales Place Chapel Opens to 183 Visitors as Friends Return
Canterbury's nine-foot Grade II chapel on Tenterden Drive drew 183 visitors on 20 September as a new Friends group launched to restore its interior.
Business
New Canterbury Businesses: 37 Firms Registered in a Month
Five food and takeaway firms, two salons and a new theatre company lead 37 Canterbury district registrations since 21 August, plus three closures.
Food hygiene
Canterbury Food Hygiene: Late August Ratings Add Two 2s
Ratings below 5 reach the register weeks late. August's full list now has two 2s, at a Herne Bay grill and a Whitstable Tesco cafe, plus eight 3s.
Council
Canterbury Licensing Policy: 110 Pages Cut to 23
The council's draft drops its core hours policy and all eight appendices, and 281 of its 306 sentences match Dover's. Consultation closes 17 November.
Herne Bay
Herne Bay East Cliff Mural Tagged Within a Fortnight
The £12,000 artwork was finished on 7 September and tagged by the weekend of 20 September. Cleaning it off cost taxpayers a few hundred pounds.
Church of England
Archbishop of Canterbury Resignation Petition Tops 8,500
The petition calling for Sarah Mullally to resign went from 3,000 to 8,557 names in four days. It was started in December, before she legally became Archbishop.
Planning
Canterbury Neighbourhood Plans: Only Bridge Has One
One adopted, two waiting on an examiner, three stalled and one abandoned: the record behind Canterbury's new neighbourhood planning toolkit.
Council finance
Canterbury Community Infrastructure Levy: £3.37m Unspent
Canterbury City Council's own accounts show it has never spent the infrastructure share of its building levy. The pot reached £3,370,289 by March 2026.
Community
Lord Mayor's Awards: Canterbury Nominations Close 30 Oct
Nominations for the 2026 Lord Mayor's Awards are open until 30 October. Anyone who lives, works, studies or volunteers in the district can be put forward.
Whitstable
Whitstable Harbour Quay Rebuild Starts: 85m of 1962 Wall
Work has started on 85 metres of Whitstable Harbour's east quay, where the 1962 steel piles have corroded through. The Environment Agency is paying £1,597,000.
House prices
Canterbury House Prices July 2026: Up £9,640 to £337,454
Canterbury's average home reached £337,454 in July, up £9,640 in a year and third fastest in Kent. Semis rose 4 per cent, flats gained £54 in twelve months.
Council
Chestfield and Swalecliffe: Parish Set to Triple to 8,369
Chestfield's electorate would go from 2,766 to 8,369 in a merger with Swalecliffe its parish council did not ask for. Stage 2 dates are not yet set.
Church of England
Archbishop of Canterbury Withdraws Interfaith Award
Lambeth Palace withdrew the Hubert Walter Award from a Pakistani imam six days after presenting it. The official list of 27 recipients still names him.
Jobs
Canterbury Claimant Count Up 15 in August, Under-25s Up 40
3,200 people in the Canterbury district claimed in August, up 15 on a revised July. Under-25 claimants rose 40 to 785, joint highest since September 2021.
Environment
Canterbury Biodiversity Grants: £5,500 for Kingston's Adders
Four district groups share £9,264, led by £5,500 for adder habitat at Kingston. Herne Bay scouts and two house martin projects are also funded.
Planning
Hoath 21 Homes and Bridge 9 Homes Recommended for Approval
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.
Herne Bay
King's Hall Herne Bay: 1980s Toilet Blocks Cleared to Go
The 1980s toilet lobbies hiding the King's Hall's 1904 front can be demolished, after a 7 September ruling. What the £2m Herne Bay revamp does, and when.
Canterbury
Five New Canterbury Blue Plaques Approved: Who Gets One
Canterbury approved five blue plaques on 1 and 3 September: a rebel whose head went on the Westgate, a medieval financier, the home of the Canterbury Scene.
Council
Canterbury City Status Plan Adds Up to 20p a Week to Bills
Charter Trustees would protect Canterbury's city status and Lord Mayor for 4p to 20p a week on council tax. Herne Bay gains a town council. Vote 16 September.
Canterbury
Canterbury Mobile Signal Boost: Four Small Cells, O2 Only
Four 4G and 5G small cells are live at Clocktower Square and Whitefriars in Canterbury. Only O2 customers benefit, and no coverage figures are published.
Whitstable
Whitstable RNLI: Two Volunteers Qualify on £500,000 Tractor
Emily Francis and Liam Masters have passed out as launch vehicle operators at Whitstable RNLI, driving the tractor that puts the lifeboat into the sea.
Canterbury
Bayeux Tapestry Tickets: Canterbury Demands Priority Booking
Every ticket to December has gone; the next release is 21 October. Canterbury's council wants the priority booking Hastings residents were given.
Canterbury
Canterbury Nursery Ofsted: Turned Round in 100 Days
Jo Jo's on Nunnery Fields had two urgent improvement grades in January. Inspectors returned 100 days later and found none. Four district report cards in full.
Whitstable
Whitstable Roadworks: Harbour Street One Way Flips 21 Sept
Sea Street shuts and Harbour Street runs one way northbound from 21 September to 9 October for sewer repairs. Every changed street, turn ban and bus stop.
Council
Canterbury BBQ and Fire Ban Plan: Deadline 11 September
The council wants power to ban barbecues, open fires and fire pits in public spaces. The consultation runs nine days and closes at 9am on Friday 11 September. What is proposed and how to respond.
Herne Bay
Herne Bay Wins £270,000 for Three Play Area Rebuilds
Government money will rebuild the Central Parade seafront, Collins Road and Honeysuckle Way play areas. Herne Bay was picked on child poverty and playground shortage. Tenders go out this autumn.
Transport
Canterbury Bus Fares Change on 20 September: Full List
A Canterbury day ticket will cost £6.60 and singles rise by up to 20p from Sunday 20 September. Routes 9, 43, 44 and a new 989 change the same day. Every published price, in full.
Business
Visit Kent: Canterbury company wound up on 25 August
Visit Kent Limited, which traded from Best Lane in Canterbury, went into liquidation on 25 August 2026. It is the second Visit Kent company wound up in a year.
Food hygiene
Canterbury hygiene ratings: all 30 in August scored 5
All 30 Canterbury district food hygiene inspections rated in August 2026 scored the top mark of 5, from Whitstable Harbour huts to a Herne village pub.
Planning
Whitstable Lidl Plan Draws 91 Objections, Decision 20 Oct
Lidl wants a 2,184 sq m store and 127 parking spaces on protected open space off Thanet Way. Its own figures say Aldi loses most, not the town centre.
Canterbury
Bemix in Administration: 73 Staff at Canterbury Charity
Administrators were appointed to Bemix on 14 August. The Canterbury learning disability charity spent £194k more than it earned in its last filed year.
Whitstable
Toby Carvery Signs Approved at Long Reach Tavern, Whitstable
Canterbury granted seven Toby Carvery signs at the Thanet Way restaurant on 6 August. The register shows no change of use was needed, and nobody objected.
Canterbury City Council
Canterbury Council Ended 2025/26 £16,000 From Budget
Canterbury's general fund landed within £16,000 of budget, and next year's plan needs no reserve top-up, the first since 2020. Scrutiny hears it on 2 September.
Council
Canterbury Council Abolition Paused: What Still Stands
The plan to abolish Canterbury City Council on 1 April 2028 was paused on 7 September 2026. Here is what ministers had decided, and what is now back in doubt.
Council
Herne Bay and Tankerton Dog Beach Ban Ends 30 September
Dogs are barred from both beaches until 30 September under an order that expires next May. Every lead-only and dog-free site listed, plus how to respond by 1 October.
House prices
Canterbury House Prices Fell £5,665 in June to £338,030
Canterbury's average home fell to £338,030 in June, a £5,665 drop and the steepest anywhere in Kent. Prices by type, and how May was revised down by £2,979.
Jobs
Canterbury Claimant Count Up 100 in July, the Most in Kent
3,250 people in the Canterbury district claimed unemployment benefits in July, up 100 on June and the largest rise in Kent. Half of that increase was under-25s.
Sport
Whitstable Yacht Club Topper Sailor Takes 6th in the World
Ralph Hadley finished 6th of 134 at the Topper World Championships in Brittany, then 9th in the Gold Fleet at the Nationals. Three Whitstable sailors competed.
Schools
Canterbury Schools Ofsted: Adisham Graded Exceptional
Adisham CofE Primary was graded Exceptional for inclusion, the district's only top mark. Five Canterbury schools now have report cards: every area graded.
Chestfield
Dogs Trust Canterbury seeks foster carers, all costs paid
The Chestfield centre helped 408 dogs find homes last year and wants foster homes for dogs who struggle in kennels. Dogs Trust covers food, bedding and vet bills.
Canterbury
Canterbury canvass letters: which one needs a reply
The council is contacting every household by 1 December. One letter must be answered even if nothing has changed, the other only if your details are wrong.
Herne Bay
Herne Bay Memorial Park play area closes 24 August
Work on a £300,000 fully accessible playground starts on Monday 24 August, closing the King's Road play area until early October. What is being built and why.
Business
The Plough Swalecliffe: pub company enters liquidation
The company running The Plough on St John's Road went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 29 July, a year after it was set up. What creditors can do next.
Food hygiene
Canterbury district food hygiene ratings, July 2026: 33 top scores and a clean sweep for the city centre, with one Herne Bay butcher below the top mark
34 Canterbury district food hygiene inspections were rated in July 2026. 33 scored the top mark of 5, from Burgate restaurants to the Herne Bay pier huts. Broadway Butchers in Herne Bay was the only business rated below the top, with a 3.
Business
Company behind Chimera Climbing Canterbury goes into liquidation, third of the group's Kent climbing companies to wind up in a month
South East Climbing - Canterbury Limited, which ran the Chimera bouldering centre on Wincheap Industrial Estate, entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 29 July. The centre is still advertised as open, now under a community interest company.