A controversial bid to stop people travelling between neighbourhoods has been branded "a draconian ban on free movement" as the plan goes out to consultation.

Canterbury City Council unveiled its radical vision for the district last week, with it proposing to divide the city up into five areas, and build 13,000 extra properties by 2045.

Under the proposals, motorists will be unable to make simple journeys between the zones, and will face fines enforced using number-plate recognition cameras if they break the rules.

They will instead have to drive onto a new bypass - essentially a much larger outer ring-road - before re-entering their chosen neighbourhood.

But during a meeting of the authority's cabinet yesterday, Lib Dem councillor Nick Eden-Green argued: "We have a bypass where the route hasn’t been finalised.

"We’ve no real idea of what it’s going to cost, around about £100 million probably.

“The government certainly is not going to stump up the money and we can’t either.”

The project which is of part of the council's draft Local Plan will mean direct trips to supermarkets, retail parks or GP surgeries will be prohibited, in a bid to encourage walking, cycling and public transport use.

Minor roads and rat-runs linking each of the zones will be closed, with drivers forced to either ditch their cars or use the bypass to dip in and out of the five neighbourhoods.

Labour leader Cllr Dave Wilson was also concerned about how the road building would be funded, “as there is no guarantee of the estimated costs on the Eastern Bypass being accurate because the route is unclear”.

“We are concerned about how some of the proposed major road building is to be funded, by yet more borrowing to plug the gap until developers have met their housing targets," he added.

"The risk attached to that approach should not be acceptable.

"We need incentives to help people change how they travel, not a draconian ban on free movement which could not be more contrary to the British way of life"

However, council leader Ben Fitter-Harding spoke of the necessity for the plan, which has been modelled on a system used in the Belgian city of Ghent.

“It’s always worth remembering that doing nothing is not an option,” the senior Conservative explained.

“The road changes will not happen tomorrow, and nor would we want them to. They are about 15 to 20 years in the making.”

The draft Local Plan also proposes the creation of six new primary schools, two secondaries and associated sixth forms, sports pitches and two country parks.

Funding for much of it is not finalised, and the city council will have to seek it from developers and public bodies, such as Homes England and the government.

Almost a quarter of the 13,000 new homes proposed before 2045 would be built at Cooting Farm in Adisham - a development that would see the small village swell in size and merge with neighbouring Aylesham.

This part of the draft Local Plan was also attacked by opposition councillors, with one calling it a "fantasy project".

After it was revealed the Hawarden farming family, who own about half of the site, have no desire to sell the plot, Lib Dem councillor Mike Sole concluded the scheme “is not deliverable”.

“The family who farm the majority of this land contacted me the day these plans were published,” the Nailbourne representative told the meeting.

“They are committed to farm this land for future generations, providing food, and protecting the rural landscape and biodiversity.

“You currently have a plan based on a fantasy project which cannot proceed.”

Adisham Parish Council clerk Jean Swan also suggested the scheme would threaten “the village’s continuance as a small, close, rural community” on the outskirts of Canterbury.

Despite the level of opposition to the proposals, it was decided last night to go ahead with the consultation.

Residents will be invited to give their views online or at drop-in events held around the district between October 24 and January 16.

The final version of the Local Plan, informed by the consultation, is expected to be put before a government-appointed Planning Inspector for examination next autumn, before being decided upon months later.