Canterbury Council Reveals Development Details

Canterbury City Council's chief executive has finally revealed details regarding a much-anticipated leisure and housing complex.

Known as The Riverside, the project will feature a Curzon cinema, restaurants, shops, student accommodation and a new public square.

All 189 homes on the site will be affordable, with 40% being council houses and the remainder allocated to a shared ownership scheme.

Construction work is due to start in the summer, with final contracts between the city council and developers due to be exchanged in the coming weeks.

The site will be split into three components - residential, student and commercial.

A council spokesman said: "The Riverside will create scores of jobs and enhance the entertainment that is on offer in a 21st century and forward-thinking city, at the same time as regenerating a key area."

"The city has been crying out for this style of cinema for a very long time and residents are tired of driving to Westwood Cross or Ashford for this type of experience."

"The opportunity to deliver a raft of affordable homes was too good to turn down and we have been working extremely hard in the background to make it happen."

"This project will also unlock a raft of benefits including drawing people along Northgate and boosting the businesses there, improving pedestrian and cycle links into the city from the east, creating new areas of publicly accessible open space and improving landscaping along and access to the River Stour."

"The council will also benefit from more business rates revenue, an uplift in the value of nearby council land, infrastructure improvements funded by the developer through the planning process, car park revenue and the reimbursement of the demolition costs incurred so far."