Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Plan to transform old pit village with homes and shop
Ambitious plans to “reverse the fortunes” of an ailing former colliery village have been formally submitted to the council.
Developers believe proposals for a leafy housing community complete with a supermarket and a medical centre will breathe new life into Hersden.
Images previously released to the Gazette depict spacious family homes with ample gardens bordering a tree-lined boulevard that is currently the busy A28.
Quinn Estates has said its scheme would expand on the existing housing estate on the opposite side, to create a “sustainable village” with bright economic prospects.
Crucially, its Hoplands Farm development would also offer business space and an extension to Canterbury College, offering construction-industry apprenticeships.
Canterbury City Council has confirmed an application has been received, with details due for publication on the authority’s website imminently.
Mark Quinn, owner of Quinn Estates, told the Gazette: “We want to create a sustainable Hersden. We want to change its fortunes.
“We’re offering high- quality housing and a community which will bring jobs and a bright future.”
A separate scheme from developer Persimmon, earmarked for the north of Hersden, would result in a further 400 homes and a new 1,500-capacity ground for Canterbury City Football club.
Persimmon has yet to submit its application as its site forms part of the council’s Local Plan – the local authority’s blueprint for future development across the district.
Quinn Estate’s Hoplands proposals are not featured in the plan.
Mr Quinn is convinced his development, if granted permission, would make a radical difference for the village.
As well as the homes, he offers a supermarket “three times the size of the Sainsbury’s at St Dunstan’s”.
He says he has been in talks with a local convenience store owner to take on the site.
The medical centre would be larger than a conventional GPS’ surgery, while Quinn Estates is in discussions with potential occupants of the 15,000 square feet of business space.
“It’s viable because we’re next to the A28,” Mr Quinn has said.
“No one will put these facilities anywhere else. This is why I think this scheme deserves planning permission, because of what we are doing for the village.”
The Hersden stretch of the A28 would have £1 million spent on improvements to slow traffic, Mr Quinn said.
And Quinn Estates will also match any offer Persimmon makes towards funding a Sturry by-pass, which is scheduled to form part of the Local Plan.
The Hoplands Farm site does not feature in the Local Plan, and Mr Quinn admitted he would face a battle with the council to persuade it of the scheme’s benefits.
“We want to create a community in which families want to live, which brings prosperity to Hersden,” he said.
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