Decision details

Update July 2015

Decision taken

Update June 2015

Proposed decision published for comment 24 June 2015

Update April 2015

Decision considered and endorsed by the April 2015 Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee

Decision deferred as issues brought to the attention of the Cabinet Member during the proposed decision publication period are resolved.

Update 17 February 2015:

Proposed decision to endorse the principles set out in the Canterbury Local Transport Plan published.

Update 4 February 2015:

The Canterbury Local Transport Strategy was considered and the principle endorsed by the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee in December 2014.  A formal decision will now be taken by the Cabinet Member which will set out the terms of the support for the strategy.

To agree various local transport strategies.

The strategies will ‘Help the ‘Kent Economy Grow’ and ‘Tackle Disadvantage’ by managing congestion in town centres, improving the reliability of journey times for commuters and visitors and managing freight journeys more successfully.  This will in turn enhance key sustainable transport links to employment, education and health care.

Impacts / Costs and risks of proposed decisions:

The transport strategies to be agreed all form part a key part of evidence base for the relevant Local Plan.  These plans will be subject to and examination in public by and independent planning inspector during 2015.  The appropriateness and deliverability of each strategy will be an important consideration in the inspector’s decision on the soundness of the Plan as a whole.

The delivery of each transport strategy will be heavily dependent on securing funding contributions from development through the section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) processes, as KCC’s Local Transport Plan funding allocation from Central Government is likely to be under sustained pressure from the foreseeable future.  KCC will not be the charging authority therefore it will be reliant on each local council as the planning authority to allocate sufficient CIL revenue to the priority transport infrastructure projects identified in the strategy.  The availability of CIL revenue will in turn be dictated by the phasing and extent of new development which will be influenced by a range of external factors.   

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport has agreed to:

1.    Endorse the principles of the Canterbury District Transport Strategy, namely:

a)    That the car will be the primary mode of travel for the foreseeable future.

b)     That significant investment in highway capacity will be funded largely by development. Where this is the case, Canterbury City Council and the developers must be legally bound to fund the necessary infrastructure at no cost to the public purse and before the development begins.

c)    That to ensure that new additional capacity is not simply backfilled with additional traffic; the balanced approach of the draft strategy will absorb the increase in the demand to travel by increasing walking, cycling, public transport and home working.

2.    Confirm that the County Council does not support reduction in City Centre parking and welcomes assurances received from the City Council that these will not be pursued without evidence of public support and adequate supply remaining.