Canterbury’s Tales of England

An ambitious reinvention of Canterbury as a world-class heritage, cultural & commercial destination - by telling Canterbury’s Tales of England through the city’s rich past, present & future.

MASTERPLAN vision

Canterbury’s Tales of England is an ambitious reinvention of Canterbury as a world-class heritage, cultural and commercial destination - giving the city’s heritage core a setting worthy of its historical significance, rescuing heritage at risk, and fundamentally changing how the city celebrates this incredible resource - helping to broaden its appeal to visitors and respond to the national shift in the high street.

The masterplan vision seeks to act as a catalyst for the transformation of Canterbury through the delivery of seed projects that either celebrate past tales or shape future tales, designed to give the city enough critical mass to enable it to attract new visitors and private investment, whilst also making the city an even more beautiful and sustainable place to live, work, learn and visit - centred around the city’s rich heritage. 

Our Mission

To celebrate Canterbury’s tales of the past and to shape its tales of the future.

1 CelebratE Canterbury’s Tales of the Past

Our world-class heritage assets are currently undervalued. Canterbury’s Tales of England will fundamentally change how the city celebrates this incredible resource, broaden its appeal to visitors through new high quality experiences, respond to the national shift in the high street, and share Canterbury’s Tales of England with visitors from around the world in this nationally significant heritage and cultural project.

2 ShapE Canterbury’s Tales of the Future

With our close proximity to London and the Continent, world-class educational facilities, and a home to inspiring stories, Canterbury has the opportunity to forge a future at the forefront of innovation, culture, wellbeing and sustainability. Canterbury’s Tales of England will help shape the city’s future tales with high quality catalyst projects that touch on each of these themes, making Canterbury a best-in-class heritage city fit for the decades ahead.

Our OBJECTIVES

1 CELEBRATE PAST TALES

• Reinvent Canterbury as a world-class heritage and cultural destination to encourage longer visits, overnight stays, and exploration of our rich heritage by residents and visitors.

• Maximise and celebrate the potential of Canterbury’s existing heritage assets, rescue those at risk, and protect the heritage core.

• Link Canterbury’s heritage assets, capital projects and organisations together under one shared identity to tell Canterbury’s Tales of England.

CANTERBURY - THE DESTINATION CITY

Canterbury has the opportunity to become the South East’s premier destination for culture, heritage, education, high street retail, entertainment, special events, and innovation. The Masterplan will imagine a city that attracts visitors from all corners of the globe, using our unique position as being home to the story of England as the foundations of our global appeal. It will act as a catalyst to attract further public and private investment into Canterbury’s businesses, experiences, hospitality and infrastructure - to maximise the opportunities of the decades ahead, and allow businesses and residents to thrive in its beautiful and historic surroundings - creating a truly world-class destination.

PROTECT THE HERITAGE CORE

Our vision seeks to protect and revitalise Canterbury’s heritage core by restoring its heritage assets, encouraging civic pride, advocating for a reduction in the impact of through traffic, decluttering our streets, and aiding high quality design and development.

We will:

• Enhance the setting of our heritage assets through high quality public realm improvements that have the opportunity to become heritage assets of the future.

• Protect and restore Canterbury’s unique heritage assets such as the Biggleston lampposts within the heritage core.

• Encourage civic pride and facilitate volunteers with first-class support & facilities.

• Advocate and facilitate high-quality shopfront design using sympathetic materials.

• Advocate the decluttering of the high street and important side streets, replacing modern wayfinding and street furniture with traditional designs.

• Support projects that work to revitalise the heritage core, encourage new independent businesses, and diversification of the high street, for example: wellbeing (e.g. spas), education, boutique hotels, healthcare providers, experiences, destination brands and specialist retailers.

• Support plans to remove as much through traffic as possible from in and around the heritage core, creating shared, car-free spaces within the city wall.

• To argue for a green ring around the city by reducing the width of the ring road and reinstating the city wall moat as a green space, encouraging walking and cycling.

• Protect and celebrate the rare chalk stream river running through the city, encouraging residents and visitors to enjoy it responsibly.

SUSTAINABILITY & WELLBEING

Our vision seeks to enhance Canterbury’s green spaces by improving biodiversity within the city and putting sustainability and wellbeing at the forefront of our projects and activities.

WE WILL:

• Plant 1095 trees across the city, commemorating the age of England and increasing biodiversity.

• Reinvent and reuse existing buildings and materials to protect embodied carbon and minimise the carbon footprint of development.

• Use high quality materials that are guaranteed to last - becoming heritage assets of the future.

• Ensure our buildings are sustainable, utilising technology such as air source heat pumps, grey water harvesting and renewable energy. Introducing green roofs where possible.

• Transform the city’s green spaces into thriving and biodiverse Story Gardens for residents and visitors, including the creation of a new linear park on top of the city wall and the reinstatement of the moat green space along the base of the city wall.

• Enhance connectivity and cycling provisions across the city.

• Enhance provisions for outdoor recreation and wellbeing.

OUR BRAND

Canterbury’s Tales of England is of course a nod to the world-famous Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘the father of the English language’. It is often said that Canterbury is England in miniature as our story is so closely entwined with the nation’s. We therefore have an exciting opportunity to tell the story of over 1000 years of English history through the eyes of the city.

By presenting Canterbury as a microcosm of England’s wider story, we will enhance its destination appeal and give it a compelling and authentic narrative at the centre of the great sweep of history, from early Roman settlements to the founding of the Christian church in England; from power-broking as England's Rome to the birthplace of Christopher Marlowe, who transformed the English language, and Aphra Behn, who was the first professional female playwright. The richness of Canterbury's physical, literary and religious heritage puts it on a par with the great cultural cities of Europe and beyond.

And with the recent news that Canterbury was home to Britain’s earliest known humans, our tale becomes even more compelling!

A VISION FOR OUR SHARED STORY

Canterbury’s past is as rich as it comes says the Lonely Planet guide to Britain - so much so that the city is home to England’s earliest known human settlers dating back 620,000 years! It’s a city so closely entwined with the story of England itself - it proudly tells Canterbury’s Tales of England at every opportunity.  It’s even home to some world firsts; the world’s oldest school, the English speaking world’s oldest church and the world’s very first passenger railway and season ticket. Not to mention its thrilling literary links to England’s first female professional writer Aphra Behn, Ian Flemming’s James Bond, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Christopher Marlowe - and being home to not one, but to three World Heritage Sites!

This world-famous cathedral city was one of medieval Europe’s great places of pilgrimage after the infamous murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170. Today, the city bustles with international visitors, two thriving Universities and vibrant hospitality - serving the best of local Kentish food and drink. Less than an hour from London by high-speed train, people from all corners of the globe come to Canterbury for its world-class heritage, for culture and festivals, to study, to shop, to eat and enjoy its wealth of entertainment options, including its boldly modern Marlowe theatre that’s home to the best West End shows. Its new open air event space set within the atmospheric ruins of its 900 year old Royal Castle and the spectacular Castle Conference & Exhibition Hall overlooking the city’s ancient rooftops provide a stunning setting for exciting experiences. 

Canterbury has an intimate human scale, meaning you can explore from corner to corner with ease, uncovering a trail of hidden Story Gardens, enticing medieval alleyways and the splash of oars on the narrow, gently flowing River Stour. You may be in the city but you get a distinct sense of being in the Garden of England too. Beautiful countryside and the coast are just a stones throw from the city with Whitstable and its world-famous oysters, the White Cliffs of Dover and trendy Margate on its doorstep - making Canterbury the perfect base to explore the entire county of Kent and to learn about England’s magical story.