Campaigners are urging university bosses to ditch plans for 2,000 homes on rural land and instead create a “biopark”.

They say the site near Canterbury could become the “green capital” of the area and attract more students.

The Save the Blean group insists its proposals could make “tens of millions” for the University of Kent, which owns the land.

Bosses have not rejected the biopark suggestion out of hand and say they will “continue to discuss any potential future developments with all those who have an interest”.

Two local MPs have also welcomed Save the Blean’s scheme.

It comes as Canterbury City Council is working on its Local Plan, which will govern the location of new homes in the district until 2040, with more than 1,200 needed every year to meet government targets.

One of the most controversial proposals is for 2,000 homes on land north of the university, near the villages of Tyler Hill, Blean and the treasured Blean Forest.

The housing plan has sparked fierce opposition - including from TV presenter Chris Packham - and led to the founding of the Save the Blean group.

In collaboration with Kent Wildlife Trust, the campaigners have now devised a detailed alternative proposal for the site known as the Blean Biopark.

They suggest the land could host accessible footpaths, regenerative farming areas for research and demonstration, and rewilded countryside.

Julia Kirby-Smith from Save the Blean said: “It's a unique piece of land.

“We’ve looked for a solution that will meet some of the university’s financial needs but also protect and enhance the wildlife.”

In recent years, the university has been beset by money woes, contributing to layoffs, strikes and the controversial axing of nine courses announced last year.

Its financial situation was widely regarded as the reason it put forward the land it owns as a prospective site for the huge housing development.

However, campaigners say the biopark proposal could also deliver a cash boost.

Ms Kirby-Smith says it could generate “tens of millions from green finance, sales of certain pieces of land, new students and new research grant funding”, adding: “We’re really confident that this is a viable alternative.”

Save the Blean argues the university could double down on agricultural, ecological and conservation-related courses in the future as a unique selling point.

“To have a truly sustainable uni you need to attract students and this will do that,” Ms Kirby-Smith said, adding that it could become the “green capital” of the area.

The group’s proposal does include some sections of university-owned land which could be developed for housing - for a total of 200 homes.

It also proposes celebrating the heritage of the Crab & Winkle Way - the footpath from Canterbury to Whitstable following the route of one of the country’s first railways.

Campaigners have been meeting with the university’s leadership regularly since the Local Plan proposals were announced.

MP for Canterbury Rosie Duffield (Independent) has previously spoken out against the housing proposals.

In a letter to acting vice-chancellor Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura, she describes the biopark as a “visionary and much-needed initiative for our community and environment”.

“I am glad that the university is seriously considering this proposal,” she told KentOnline.

“This was an issue that came up again and again on the doorsteps during the last general election campaign.

“I fully support the Save the Blean campaign along with many other local residents.

“We need affordable and social housing but this must not come at the expense of our precious green spaces that are there for the benefit of the local community.”

Sir Roger Gale, MP for neighbouring Herne Bay and Sandwich, also backs the biopark.

“It’s a very well-considered and very creative proposal that at least in part would meet the needs of the university and the need to protect the Blean, creating a natural resource that’s immensely valuable,” the veteran Conservative said.

“The university clearly faces financial challenges - partly at least because of the loss of international students.

“They have to make up that money somehow - they’ve already had to lay off staff, so I don’t think we should underestimate the financial pressures the University of Kent is under, or the need for creative ways to raise funds.

“That being said, there is a very large area of land that I would hope can be protected as best as possible.

“I hope the university and Save the Blean put their heads together and see if some compromise can be reached, meeting the needs of protecting the Blean and also meeting the university’s financial pressures.”

The district’s Local Plan was originally meant to be finished by June 2025, but in October last year the council’s cabinet voted to push back the timescale to spring 2026. It is now expected to be submitted to the government in autumn 2026.

A spokesman for the University of Kent said: “We have made our submission to the council's Local Plan and now await the next steps in the process.

“In the meantime, we continue to discuss any potential future developments with all those who have an interest in our proposal.”