Plans are in to build a 125-home estate on the site of Canterbury City Council’s former headquarters – with the authority set to pocket millions from the sale if permission is granted.
The Military Road offices were vacated last year after being deemed too large and expensive to run, with staff relocating to newly refurbished premises in Rose Lane and Whitefriars.
In October 2023, council chiefs revealed a “prospective purchaser” was in place – and now the authority has teamed up with developer Stonebond Properties in what a council spokesperson described as “an important next step in the sale”.
The seven-acre brownfield plot remains under offer, but planning approval would pave the way for the sale to be completed.
Stonebond says the scheme will deliver a “strong, vibrant and healthy” community, with homes ranging from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses.
But only 38 of the 125 homes will be classed as affordable, while previous versions of the proposals had also included a care home.
Documents submitted with the application acknowledge that “affordability is an issue in the Canterbury district”.
The city’s Labour-led administration has been vocal about its ambition to increase social housing, and previously explored building a 100% affordable estate on the site.
However, those plans were shelved due to financial constraints.
Cllr Pip Hazelton, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Because a lot of our stock is ageing, we have to find the money to improve the condition of our properties, which takes a lot of investment.
“Some properties, even when we invest in them, will never meet the decent standards which the government is rightly expecting us to provide, as well as more homes for our council tenants.
“It’s a very complex financial model to work out at what scale and at what point in our financial cycles we can invest and borrow money in order to repay.
“It’s a real challenge, but we’re really positive about it – we’ve got drive and direction, and I think it’s completely a legitimate question to ask.”
Cllr Hazelton explained that when Labour took control of the council two years ago, it had considered using the Military Road site for entirely social housing.
But the housing revenue account (HRA) – which funds social housing – was in too fragile a state to support such a scheme at the time.
She added that “years of underinvestment from central government and decisions locally” mean tough decisions have to be made to stay “fiscally responsible”.
Under the current system, the HRA must borrow or seek grants to invest in new properties, then service the debt through rental income.
The council says it welcomes new government proposals to invest £39 billion in housing over the next decade, but concedes this support has come too late for the Military Road plot, which it says is “ready and needs to provide income now”.
While the authority has not revealed how much the land could be worth with planning permission in place, it is expected to fetch several million pounds.
The application is likely to be decided by the council’s planning committee in the coming months.
A spokesperson for CCC said: “The planning application from Stonebond is an important next step in the sale of our former offices in Military Road.
“This is a sign that serious progress is being made and also reaffirms our commitment to bringing forward brownfield sites as a priority.”
A spokesperson for Stonebond told KentOnline: “We’re pleased to have exchanged contracts and submitted a proposal to transform the former council offices into 125 high-quality new homes, including 30% affordable homes in line with local policy requirements.”
Completion of the land sale is dependent on planning approval being granted.
The council had previously intended to construct a new £12 million office on the Wincheap industrial estate, but the plans were scrapped during the pandemic due to financial uncertainty.
Military Road had served as the council’s base since 1981, but changing working habits, soaring energy costs, and the building’s condition prompted the authority to relocate.
