Residents of St Augustine's Estate in Chartham, near Canterbury, are claiming they are being forced to buy grass verges and small plots of land near their homes for thousands of pounds. The landowner, Rubislaw Estates Ltd, has put up several sites for auction, including roadside verges and small patches of grass between homes on the estate.
Residents of St Augustine's Estate in Chartham , near Canterbury , are claiming they are being forced to buy grass verges and small plots of land near their homes for thousands of pounds.
The landowner, Rubislaw Estates Ltd, has put up several sites for auction, including roadside verges and small patches of grass between homes on the estate. However, despite being designated as open public spaces, the sites have been advertised as potentially suitable for various uses, including portable homes, bio-net gain carbon capture, forest schools, allotments, and even for the travelling community.
This language has been described as inflammatory by locals, who suggest it appears to encourage residents to buy the plots out of fear of the potential outcome if someone else got there first. The situation has been ongoing since February 2025, when plots across the estate were put up for sale.
However, it was not until several plots of land on Beech Avenue appeared online, set to be auctioned off on June 4, 2025, that fears of traveller land grabs among locals began to escalate. Several residents have said they feel compelled to buy the plots of land near their homes, amid the prospect of what could happen if it is purchased by someone else.
A woman living nearby in Little Copse Close said she was initially against buying the land outside her property, but now feels she has little choice. Even though the sale of the plot outside her property recently fell through, nearby sites have already been fenced off after being sold, prompting her to intervene. She claimed that another buyer had purchased a plot in hopes of building a summer home, only to find they had been misled by advertising.
Canterbury City Council confirmed the plots are protected open space, meaning applications for alternative uses are unlikely to succeed. However, residents say reassurance from the city council does not go far enough in putting their minds at ease. They believe the land should be maintained for public use and do not want it to be bought up by individuals.
Mike Sole, a CCC councillor who also represents Canterbury South at Kent County Council, said it was key that the city council quickly got to grips with enforcement. He also said the local authority needs to contact vendors and order them to stop marketing the land for purposes for which it cannot be used.
The land on St Augustine's estate, where a former hospital was previously located, was initially owned by Growing Estates Ltd. It was later sold to Rubislaw Estates, a Scottish Property Development and Investment Firm, which almost immediately started selling the land. Emails previously sent by the company to Cllr Sole say that the firm intends to sell all of its holdings in Chartham and has no obligation to consult residents.
Cllr Sole described the situation as a scandal, saying he cannot understand why the land was not placed into a resident-owned management company from the outset. The only people making any gain out of this are the vendors of the land, he continued.
They are either trying to find people who are willing to take a punt and buy this land fairly cheaply, thinking they can put a caravan on it or something else, or they are scaring residents into having to spend their own savings to protect something that should already be protected by the planning conditions that were set out 30 years ago
St Augustine's Estate Chartham Canterbury Rubislaw Estates Ltd Future Property Auctions Traveller Land Grabs Protected Open Space Canterbury City Council Mike Sole Growing Estates Ltd Scottish Property Development And Investment F
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