Whitstable Green Lung Association members gather to put their message across before the public meeting at All Saints Church Hall.

by Adam Williams

A decision on plans to extend the Crab and Winkle cycle path in Whitstable moved a step closer on Thursday.

Supporters and opponents to the controversial planning application, many of them local residents, took the opportunity to voice their opinions during the public meeting at All Saints Church Hall. City councillors and planning officers then conducted a site meeting shortly after.

If approved, the existing route from Canterbury West station to Ivy House Lane in Whitstable would be extended along a disused railway embankment from All Saints Close to Northwood Road, between properties in Clare Road and Station Road. It would allow users easier access into the town and allow it to link up with the rest of the east Kent cycle network.

But objectors, including members of the Whitstable Green Lung Association, believe the path's construction will cause widespread destruction of flora and fauna. The group propose an alternative plan for a nature reserve and an outdoor education centre between All Saints Close and Northwood Road. A planning application has yet to be submitted.

The application will be debated in full at the city council's next Development Control Committee meeting at the Guildhall, Canterbury on Tuesday, September 15.

Read more from the meeting in next week's Whitstable Gazette.