Wincheap (the A28) is a key route into Canterbury bringing cars into the city centre from the south and west of Kent and beyond. Significant traffic jams regularly occur on this road as Canterbury is quite compact and there aren’t many alternative routes, so traffic tends to funnel through this area. The plethora of traffic lights at the A2/A28 junction, the single carriageway through Wincheap and under Canterbury East Railway bridge all contribute to the daily queues and high levels of pollution, especially at morning and evening rush hours. 

The Local Plan 2024 proposes additional houses at: 

• Merton Park, Langton Lane, Ridlands Farm and Langton Field - 2,254 houses

• Saxon Fields, Cockering Farm and Milton Manor - 1,036 houses

This means the number of households in the ward would increase by 3,290 making the total number of households 7,289, so almost doubling the number of households. This will significantly increase the traffic using Wincheap and the adjacent roads. It is estimated that at peak times there would be more than 9000 more journeys than at present (this does not include non-work journeys such as school runs, trips to the supermarket, leisure etc).

In addition, the A2 southbound slip road which was approved in January 2025 will bring more traffic into Canterbury via Wincheap.

It is difficult to see how this increase in the volume of traffic can be accommodated.

Here is short review of the transport recommendations in the Local Plan 2024 for the proposed Merton Park site and some of the problems/issues with proposals.

Upgrades to Hollow Lane, Lime Kiln Road, Stuppington Lane, South Canterbury Road and Nunnery Fields for ‘pedestrian and cycle connectivity’. 

Hollow Lane is very narrow especially at the junction with Wincheap. There is no room for a cycle lane.

Upgrading Lime Kiln Road and Oxford Rd path as a connection to Canterbury East station for cycling. 

Most people who travel to London use the high speed from Canterbury West so will add to the traffic on Wincheap as most people do not cycle). It will be too far to walk from the new houses.

For vehicle access:

• Primary vehicle access from Hollow Lane

This site will be about 200m from Wincheap Foundation Primary School.  

• Secondary vehicle access from Nackington Road

Changes to Hollow Lane including the creation of a one-way system between the junctions with Wincheap and Hollowmede. 

This will make it harder to drive through Wincheap for existing residents. 

Changes to Homersham to provide off street parking bays  

Changes to the A2 junction with Wincheap

It is possible that vehicle access to Stuppington Lane will be prevented (so only non-motorised vehicles will be allowed). 

  How many vehicles use Stuppington Lane?  Where will this traffic go?

Problems with the transport plans

Most roads do not have room for additional cycle paths to be carved out.

Why use Birch Road for pedestrians and cyclists as you then have to cross Hollow Lane?

Are people going to cycle up/down such steep gradients that will be in the new development?

How do you improve Wincheap roundabout for safe cycling?

Where on these roads can you provide bus priority measures (most are single lane).

At the end is says ‘provide a transport assessment’. Does this mean it hasn’t been done yet?

But it is unclear what would actually happen at the junctions with Wincheap to allow for the increased flow of traffic.

Pollution

Canterbury City Council have installed two sensors in Wincheap (one near the railway bridge and the other near Wincheap play area). They are part of Canterbury’s Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), which covers traffic congestion hotspots. These sensors measure toxic gases such as nitrogen dioxide which are produced from petrol and diesel engines and small particles PM 2.5 and PM 10 which come from brake and tyre dust. 

In the UK the legal limit for annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration is 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Data from 03.03.26 from the Wincheap sensor (near the railway bridge) for last  the 7 days show that levels were exceeded every day except March 2nd.  

https://www.kentair.org.uk/aq-sensors/canterbury-sensor-network

Roads

The Wincheap community relies on the heavily congested A28 for access to the city centre, supermarkets, the London-bound A2 and as a route to the A&E at William Harvey Hospital. With the addition of the A2 southbound slip road which has been approved, the number of cars will increase, putting this road under further strain. What was once a Roman road and which has Grade II listed buildings dating from the 15th-18th centuries, will become degraded by structural vibration, air pollution and material degradation. Historic or delicate façades such as the traditional Kentish mathematic tiles and stuccoed facades will be put at further risk from traffic pollutants and fine particulates.

The Draft Local Plan states that Merton Park is set “in a highly sustainable and accessible location and will deliver a suite of improvements to encourage active travel (walking, cycling and wheeling). These include upgrades to Hollow Lane, Lime Kiln Road, Stuppington Lane, South Canterbury Road and Nunnery Fields (Draft Local Plan, 3.19). It indicates that these upgrades might be the severing of Stuppington Lane to vehicular traffic, and repurposing for non-motorised vehicles and access, upgrades to Hollow Lane including the creation of a one-way between the junctions with Wincheap and Hollowmede, and upgrading Lime Kiln Road as a connection to Canterbury East station. 

While the Merton Park (MP) revised access strategy has merit certain elements need clarification.  Further detail is needed regarding internal vehicle movements and connectivity to the local road networks. The Merton Park development as it stands would increase traffic along Hollowmede impacting areas such as Oxford and Nunnery Road which are already busy at peak times.

Severing Stuppington Lane although laudable would only shift the traffic elsewhere. Stuppington Lane, is a single track-lane which suffers from the impact of Sat Navs directing cars from Stone Street to avoid traffic build up at Nackington Road. A traffic survey conducted during the week beginning the 26th January revealed that more traffic was using the lane as a short-cut into Canterbury than people were using it to go out of the city, with an average of 200 cars a day during the morning rush hour (7-9 am). Although residents would welcome a reduction of traffic in this area, the impact of this would be felt by other routes in and out of the city.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) recommends a default “Yes" to suitable planning applications for housing near well-connected train stations, increasing density around transport hubs. However, although Canterbury East has a line to London Victoria, commuters prefer the high-speed links from Canterbury West to St Pancras and anyone moving to Merton Park with the intention of commuting is more likely to travel across the city to the West station, adding to the already over-burdened ring road. 

Air pollution data indicates that the area closest to the orchards and fields of Wincheap has the highest level of PM10 Particulate matter in Canterbury. These residents deserve better and the council has a duty of care to its current residents as well as future ones.