A FRESH public inquiry has been ordered into controversial plans by Canterbury College to relocate to a new campus in the countryside.

The revelation places the future of the £50 million scheme into doubt. It comes as a severe setback to the college but is being met with delight by protestors who have mounted a lengthy campaign against the development.

Both parties have been waiting for more than a year for a Government decision on the plans to create the huge, state-of-the-art campus on farmland off Nackington Road.

The delay followed an admission by the Secretary of State that in granting permission, he had failed to consider the traffic implications.

It is now believed the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has stepped in to order a new, full inquiry because he believed the process would still be open to legal scrutiny from objectors.

But the new inquiry is not likely to be held until after the local elections next May which means a final decision could be up to a year away. That places more pressure on administrators at Canterbury College who say it is bursting at the seams with students and desperately needs more space.