Two former planning chiefs have blasted proposals to ban traffic from travelling directly between neighbourhoods - with one even branding them “authoritarian, Stasi-like and anti-democratic”.

Canterbury could be split into five parts with motorists unable to make simple trips across each area's border, as part of a vision the city council's vision for the area in 22 years' time.

Bosses believe the changes will fix the area's gridlock issues by instead funnelling cars onto a new bypass - which will act as a much larger outer ring-road - before re-entering their chosen zone.

Automatic number plate reading (ANPR) cameras will be in operation at entry and exit points, ensuring drivers are unable to sneak between neighbourhoods without facing a fine.

But the scheme has attracted a groundswell of local opposition, and now Mansell Jagger and Bob Britnell - who were both leading authority insiders - have weighed in.

Mr Britnell, who became the council's deputy head of the planning applications team in a career spanning more than 20 years, believes the move is an unnecessary "overreaction" to the area's traffic problems.

"Sticking up ANPR cameras to monitor and fine people? We’re not East Germany frankly," the 73-year-old said.

"I think it’s authoritarian, it’s Stasi-like, and it’s anti-democratic.

"I think it’s an overreaction. Drive into the city during any school holiday and you’ll have no problem at all.

“The city’s problems are at rush hour in the morning for half an hour, rush hour in the evening for half an hour and at school pick-up times.

“You should move to Essex and have a look at what real traffic is like."

The zoning proposal is part of the council's new draft Local Plan and modelled on a system used in the Belgian city of Ghent.

Roads linking the neighbourhoods will be closed, with drivers forced to either ditch their cars or use the bypass - stretching from Sturry to the A2 at Bridge - to dip in and out of the five neighbourhoods.

It will mean short, direct journeys across the city - whether to supermarkets, retail parks or GP surgeries - will be prohibited, in a bid to encourage walking, cycling and public transport use.

Papers produced by the local authority say it wants to enhance public transport infrastructure, with each of the zones equipped with its own Park and Ride site.

"I cannot see why a very small city like Canterbury would be going down this path,” argued Mr Britnell.

“Frankly, to make Park and Ride work, you need to have a road that you can just put the Park and Ride buses down, and we haven’t got that - the city is too small for that to work efficiently."

Official documents state the authority wants “to enable people to make active travel choices”, and emphasise new developments should have “easy and safe" pedestrian and cycle routes.

Mr Jagger - who was the council's director of planning between 1986 and 2000 - says the zoning plans are “unwarranted and unacceptable restrictions on the daily lives of city residents”.

Describing it as an "untested theoretical model", he added: “Canterbury is not and never can be a cycling city - it simply is not flat enough.

“For a sizeable proportion of the population, cycling is not an option."

Both of the former planning bosses believe it is unlikely the scheme will ever come to fruition in the form the council has proposed, with Mr Britnell branding it a “pipe dream”.

Responding to their criticisms, authority spokesman Leo Whitlock stresses "we worked with experts in County Hall at Maidstone and others" when drawing up the scheme.

"Our extensive 12-week consultation on the draft Local Plan and the transport proposals it contained closed last week and we are now in the process of analysing everyone's views," he said.

"We wanted to hear what people thought about our plans to finally tackle the legacy of decades and decades of congestion and air pollution.

"With their extensive experience, expertise and involvement over the years, our former colleagues will know we worked with experts in County Hall at Maidstone and others.

"Having had the time to reflect on these issues since leaving the council, we hope they took part in the consultation.

"We look forward to reading their alternative visions and how they would overcome the challenges of putting those visions into practice."