More than £3.5 million could be spent on GP surgery, school and library expansions – if plans for a 450-home estate are given the green light.

Developer Hollamby Estates has been told to stump up the cash by Canterbury City Council as part of its bid to build on a 57-acre plot in Greenhill, Herne Bay.

The firm’s proposals look set to be given the go-ahead after local authority officers recommended the scheme be granted ahead of tomorrow's planning committee meeting.

In a report that will be considered by councillors, officers note the developer is pledging to turn 30% of the homes into affordable properties.

They write: “The applicant proposes a good amount of open space, a community and sports facility, improvements to the local highway network and improved cycle links.

“The proposal would also see improvements made to the playing fields and parking facilities of the Briary Primary School which would be of benefit to the school and the locality as a whole.

“Overall, we consider that the change to the landscape and loss of agricultural land will be outweighed by the significant public benefits of the proposed development.”

Hollamby also plans to create four playing fields – including three football pitches – that could be made available for public use.

Officers propose asking the company to cover the costs of a 40mph limit along Radfall Road in order to mitigate the impact of the development on the route’s junction with Thornden Wood Road.

Kent County Council (KCC) wants Hollamby to pay more than £3 million to fund expansions at Herne Bay High and Briary Primary School as it predicts almost 250 pupils will move onto the site.

It also hopes to receive a further £150,000 from the firm to increase capacity at the town’s library, as well as a contribution of more than £7,000 towards youth services.

And Canterbury and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group is asking for more than £400,000 from the developer to help St Anne’s Surgery tackle an expected influx of 1,062 new patients from the site.

However, Herne and Broomfield Parish Council fears the project will create gridlock along Canterbury Road if it is completed before KCC’s Bullockstone Road Improvement Scheme (BRIS).

In a letter sent to the local authority, parish council clerk Monica Blyth said: “If this development goes ahead before the BRIS, there will be traffic chaos.

“This is because Bullockstone Road will be closed for some considerable time for the improvements and that will mean cars will be using either Thornden Wood Road - which is not ideal - or Herne.”

Hollamby had been forced to submit amended plans for the land to the city council in November after its original bid, launched at the beginning of 2018, stalled.

Development manager Chris Crook hoped the first of the site's homes would be occupied by the end of 2019.

But due to the coronavirus outbreak he is now unsure of how long it will take for construction vehicles to begin laying foundations.

He added: "We need to find a house builder to take things forward, which isn't an easy thing to do at the moment.

"On top of Section 106 contributions, there will be highways improvements, creation of open spaces and provision of recreation and community facilities.

"By the time you put all that together, there's in excess of £10 million of community benefits within this scheme."

Members of the planning committee meeting will not decide whether or not to approve the plans.

Instead, they are being asked to delegate the job of granting the plans on the terms they decide to officers.

Head to our business page for all of the latest news about businesses in Kent.

Read more: All the latest news from Herne Bay