After two rounds of public consultation on its new Local Plan and a detailed examination by government inspectors, at the last moment before it is adopted, Dover District Council has added an additional paragraph that effectively bans new employment opportunities in Deal.

If a business wanted to build a workshop in Deal bigger than 1000sqm to make widgets, in addition to all the other planning constraints it will now have to justify why it’s not choosing a site at Whitfield or Discovery Park. That condemns Deal workers to more years of commuting to earn a living and adding to the congestion on the roads in and out of town.

Deal & Walmer Chamber of Trade has submitted a challenge to this unwarranted and iniquitous ban.