Water Supply & Sewage
The Draft Canterbury District Local Plan is unsound because it fails to meet key National
Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requirements on infrastructure, climate change, water
supply, and environmental protection. South East Water (SEW) has repeatedly stated that it
cannot accommodate additional growth beyond existing assumptions until at least 2036 -
2044, yet major development at Merton Park is proposed to begin occupation in 2030/31,
meaning homes would be delivered without a secure water supply. The Council has
disregarded SEW's advice, relying instead on speculative future infrastructure. The Plan is
also insufficiently ambitious on water efficiency, failing to mandate best-practice
consumption targets or robust developer requirements. Existing water shortages across
Kent, coupled with heatwave-related outages, further demonstrate unsoundness. In
addition, risks from surface water runoff, sinkholes, and pollution of chalk aquifers have not
been robustly assessed. Locating wastewater treatment within Source Protection Zones and
ongoing sewage discharges into the River Stour conflict with stated environmental
protections. Overall, the strategy for Merton Park is fundamentally flawed.
Read more in our representation for the Regulation 19 Consultation.