Student accommodation plans denied by council

Plans for a new student accommodation block in Canterbury have been rejected, after being described by councillors and residents as "overbearing" and "ugly".

The proposal for 402 rooms across blocks of two to six storeys on Sturry Road was first made to Canterbury City Council in 2023, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The site currently hosts a vacant and overgrown Invicta Motors car dealership, which submitted the application.

Ian Stockley, councillor for the Beltinge ward, told the council's planning committee: "It's massive, it's ugly, it's overbearing for its neighbours, it's not a great piece of architecture."

Fifty residents wrote in to object to the plans ahead of a council planning committee meeting on 13 October.

Matthew Wood, a director at DHA Planning, told the committee on behalf of Invicta Motors that the brownfield site had "excellent walking, cycling, and public transport connections" to Canterbury Christ Church University and the University for the Creative Arts.

Natasha Taylor, who lives near the site, said: "I do not object to the redevelopment of the former garage site in principle.

"My objection is to the scale, height, and massing of what is proposed immediately beside existing homes."

Harry McKenzie, councillor for the Sturry ward, added that it would be "completely out of standing with any other building on that part of the road".

"It's a mammoth, it's so big. It really does stick out like a sore thumb," he said.

A motion to approve the application was defeated with five votes against, one in favour and three abstentions.

A further one to reject it on the grounds of it being overbearing and not in keeping was passed.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Kent on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.