A UK football club is stepping up the search for its Holy Grail.
Canterbury City FC in Kent has been without a home since as long ago as 1999 and is forced to play its home games at Margate, nearly 30km away.
Club chairman Trevor James says, “I didn’t get the Christmas present that I wanted….. a shiny new football arena based in Canterbury.”
He asks, “Is anything as disappointing as the various setbacks in trying to get the club back to Canterbury and into our own home?”
The city is better known for its world famous cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
But the local football club’s ground saga dates back years to 1999 when the club was required, mid-season, to leave its old ground, called the Kingsmead Stadium.
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Unsurprisingly, the homeless club finished bottom in successive seasons and inevitably, days before the start of the 2001/02 season, Canterbury City folded. In 2007 the club was revived and progress on the field was achieved with promotion to the Kent League after four seasons and into the Southern Counties East Football League.
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But securing a new home has proven far more challenging.
In recent years, its hopes have been dashed by refused new stadium planning applications in and around Canterbury.
More disappointment was heaped on the club by political climate change resulting in recent announcements that plans to develop 10,000 homes in the district (which a new-build stadium is linked to) have been pushed back again amid a government shake-up of housebuilding rules.
However, the good news is that a Canterbury City Council 2040 Draft Plan still includes plans for a new stadium.
And the club chairman says the club still clings to hopes that a solution can be found to the long-running issue.
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He said, “We have not been sitting on our hands. Thinking that it could be some years before a spade was put in the ground to build a stadium, we have tried a different approach to get the club back to Canterbury.” Talks started in November 2023 with the University of Kent, but after 6 months of discussions, the club was advised that their land was to be earmarked for housing development.
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“More disappointment,” says Trevor, adding, “The Kings School were more positive, but alas the conclusion was the same.
“On yet another tack, we identified two sites in Canterbury which are Kent County Council and Canterbury Council owned but it has taken over 10 weeks just for a response to our proposed Heads of Terms for our preferred Kingsmead site.”
With little progress on that front, he says, “Life can be very disappointing.”
He goes on, “On the basis that we cannot continue financially ground-sharing for ever, our revised strategy is to try developing something basic of our own, with or without partnerships.
“A few educational places around Canterbury have quite good sporting facilities, but not up to SCEFL standard, hence lengthy and sometimes protracted conversations with the University and schools, Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council who have been quite supportive to see what we could possibly develop in partnership.”
“All I can say is that it’s been tough – and ongoing.”
He adds, “Sometimes our search for a new Canterbury ground feels illusory like the search for the Holy Grail, but we are still trying to bring the City back home.”
The club may be having to play its home matches in Margate for the second successive season but, on the pitch at least, things are looking brighter with the club currently well placed in the SCEF Division One.
