A 4,000-home 'garden city' has been given the final sign-off after developers agreed to pump millions of pounds into improving roads, schools and healthcare facilities.

The hugely controversial Mountfield Park, set to transform the south of Canterbury, has faced hundreds of objections from locals, a High Court battle and lengthy delays.

But after councillors gave it the go-ahead last winter, developer Corinthian Homes has agreed a multi-million pound plan of action with Canterbury City Council to get the long-running scheme off the ground.

The 550-acre plot is set to have two new primary schools, offices, community spaces, sports facilities and a health centre, with bosses at Corinthian warning the project could take up to 20 years.

Education

By far the most valuable investment will be the £20 million reserved by Corinthian for the building of two new two-form entry primary schools on the land.

Split into two phases, the ‘Northern Primary School’ would be built first, with contributions from the developer paid in installments based on how many homes are occupied - providing constant funding for Kent County Council (KCC).

A ‘Southern Primary School’ would soon follow, with KCC and Corinthian still hashing out who would be responsible for the erection of the buildings.

Should KCC be left in charge of the construction, a further £9.8 million per school would need to be coughed up by Corinthian.

Meanwhile, at least £13.6 million will be spent on bolstering the city’s existing secondary schools - with the payments also set to be spread out depending on the occupation of houses.

Healthcare and community assets

A further £3.4 million could be used to fund the building of a health centre with six GPs - although Corinthian could choose to develop the practice themselves.

Doing so would result in the contributions set aside for the project becoming void, with the developer needing to have completed the centre before 1,500 homes have been moved into.

If Corinthian passes the buck onto the NHS, four contributions would be required at various stages, with all money needing to be paid before the 2,500th home on the development is occupied.

Room has also been left on the land for the possible relocation of Kent & Canterbury Hospital, something that has been in the pipeline for a number of years, though it is not clear what the plan of action for this is so far.

A new community centre is set to be part of the scheme as well, and must be built before the occupation of the 1,637th home.

As part of the open space on the development - which would be the equivalent size of 112 football pitches - two playing fields and children’s play areas will feature on the plot.

Transport/roads

A new junction will be created on the A2 close to the top of New Dover Road.

It will contain off-slips bringing both Londonbound and coastbound traffic into the development.

But while there will be an on-slip for motorists heading towards Brenley Corner, drivers travelling in the Dover direction will still have to join the A2 further along at Bridge.

This arrangement must be in place before the first 50 homes in the estate are occupied, with all works scheduled to finish prior to 1,599 properties being filled.

Situated next to the new A2 junctions will be the relocated New Dover Road park and ride, which will also receive a boost in parking spaces - with a grand total of 1,000 spots for motors.

Changes to Brenley Corner have been deemed necessary before the new build can grow too big, though it is not known how involved Corinthian would be in this.

It is also not yet known how much the changes to the A2 would cost, but a budget of £2.4 million has been assigned to city centre road projects.

These would include improvements at St George’s and Riding Gate roundabouts, bus lanes on the city-bound New Dover Road and cycle routes across Canterbury, all of which would be completed before a certain number of homes could be filled.

Corinthian will also pay £390,000 a year towards bus services in the city, including a new Fastbus service operating between six and eight times an hour between 7am and 7pm on weekdays.

Environment

The pollution issues at the Stodmarsh nature reserve have held up many new-builds across the district, with developers having to come up with plans to manage wastewater treatment.

Fears over the quality and volume of water to be discharged into Lampen Stream from Mountfield Park, and questions as to who will be responsible for an on-site wastewater treatment works, were raised last year.

The Lampen flows through to Stodmarsh – a Site of Special Scientific Interest suffering from high nitrate and phosphorus levels due to water pollution.

On Mountfield Park, when 150 out of the 4,000 homes have been built, a new "state-of-the-art" wastewater treatment works will be introduced on-site.

It will be built by Severn Trent Connect and paid for by Corinthian.

Treated water will pass through on-site wetlands for a process called "polishing", which removes harmful nutrients. It will then be discharged into surrounding ditches and Lampen Stream.

The new-build homes will be future-proofed, with electric vehicle charging points installed at each and the potential for each household to be gifted an electric bicycle.

The plans have proved controversial with environmentalists, with more than 200 letters of objection to the local authority from residents, community groups and parish councils.

Many of them cited the loss of rural and agricultural land, the impact it will have on the “identity” of Bridge village, the development being out of character with the area, and fears of urban sprawl.

Despite this, council officers recommended the committee approve the project, arguing it would “have a significant positive impact upon the district’s economy”.

Tim Leathes, a director at developer Corinthian Land, claims the project would be a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand Canterbury”.

“We’re looking forward very much to working with the council and the residents of Canterbury to bring forward something wonderful, and we’re looking forward to long-term, productive engagement,” added Mr Leathes.

The approval of the plans gives Corinthian full permission for the first 140 homes - while the remainder have received “outline” approval, meaning they will be subject to further, more detailed applications.

The council planning committee voted to include an additional condition, that a planning sub-committee must meet every six months to monitor the development - including meeting with affected local residents.

It is set to start meeting before the end of the year, with promises made after May’s elections of getting the committee together within six months.