Plans to build 17,000 extra homes in addition to the thousands already earmarked for construction will "utterly overwhelm" east Kent's sewage system, an MP has warned.

Rosie Duffield says the waste water problem which has continually blighted the coast in recent months will be exacerbated by Canterbury City Council's mammoth proposals for swathes of new homes.

But her fears have been branded "naive" by the leader of the authority, who says the necessary infrastructure will be put in place.

The city council is considering adding between 14,000 and 17,000 homes to its housing blueprint up until 2040.

It is a target which significantly dwarfs the government’s minimum requirement of 9,000, and is in addition to the 16,000 already set aside for construction by 2031.

As it stands, the proposals are only a 'preferred option' and other avenues may well be explored. But the council is hoping to allocate thousands of extra homes in order to fund two multi-million pound bypasses either side of Canterbury city centre.

Fearful of the impact on the district's sewage network in light of numerous recent waste water discharges by Southern Water, Labour MP Rosie Duffield has today written to bosses at the council.

She is calling for the authority to rethink its preferences for house-building, and explain what impact the new homes will have.

"It is clear following the multiple discharges of raw sewage into our coastal waters that the sewage system that serves the district is unfit for purpose,"the Canterbury and Whitstable MP says.

"The proposals to build 17,000 houses in the district – far more than the government requires – would utterly overwhelm the sewerage system, leading to far more of these appalling incidents.

"I believe that it is incumbent on the city council to set out clearly what the impact of the proposed housing numbers would mean for already clearly overstretched sewage system."

As well as problems with discharges into the sea, the catchment area of the River Stour is also suffering from high pollution levels.

Housing developments across east Kent have been put on hold to allow for the issue - which is impacting water quality at Stodmarsh nature reserve - to be resolved.

Ms Duffield's letter was addressed to the council's chief executive Colin Carmichael and leader Ben Fitter-Harding, who says the MP's statements are "naive".

"Any new housing isn't going to be built that is going to overwhelm the sewage system," Cllr Fitter-Harding said.

"Look at Mountfield Park, that has plans for on-site water treatment. So if we can do that for 4,000 homes and return cleaner water into the system, then I don't know why she would assume that we'd have 17,000 new houses with absolutely no new infrastructure.

"I completely appreciate her concerns regarding Southern Water - we absolutely share them, and the cross party motion we recently agreed upon calling for change shows that."

In her letter to the council bosses, Ms Duffield calls on the authority to reopen a consultation on the Local Plan to allow for residents to voice their opinions in wake of the recent sewage scandal.

But Cllr Fitter-Harding says the consultation was only the first stage of the process, showcasing different options being considered.

The council is yet to unveil its vision for the Local Plan, and when it does, residents will have a chance to have their say via another consultation.

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