It’s been a busy and exciting year for both planning and delivering economic regeneration and securing new investment in Canterbury district.
With the city council adopting new city and town centre strategies for Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay, these places now have unique visions for how they will grow and flourish up to 2040. As well as seeking to build on their successful tourism and the visitor economies (which are worth more than £400 million per year) by boosting business and regeneration, these strategies also welcome new investors.
“These strategies will give investors confidence that we have a plan for each place”, says Cllr Chris Cornell, Canterbury City Council’s cabinet member for economic development and coastal towns. “They create a framework to facilitate private sector investment and connect the right people with the right spaces wherever we can.”
They create a framework that will facilitate private sector investment and connect the right people with the right spaces wherever we can.
Canterbury district investment news round up
100% occupancy for Whitefriars and new co-working office space
This approach is paying off in Canterbury where Whitefriars shopping centre reached 100% occupancy in June this year. The Riverside also attracted new tenants in 2026 supported by increased customer footfall and dwell times. This success is impressive especially given current challenges to UK high streets.
New flexible office space for 2026 included new investment from Regus into 6-8 Longmarket, Canterbury. The new facility offers serviced offices, co-working space and meeting rooms. It has also brought back into productive use a long empty property in the heart of the city centre.
£22million investment in Canterbury nears completion[
2026 will also see Levelling Up Fund works finish in Canterbury. The £22 million programme of investment in city’s regeneration – including walking and cycling infrastructure, event spaces, heritage sites and parks/green spaces will be completed, with the much-anticipated reopening of Canterbury Castle to the public.
Following on from initial LUF investment to make crucial repairs into Canterbury’s former Poor Priests’ Hospital, the Marlowe Theatre’s £8.5m plans to turn this site into a creative learning centre for young people took a massive step forward this year. Its Hive project was awarded a £4.4 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This initiative will transform the 12th-century building – adding another exciting chapter to this site’s remarkable history.
Green light for A2 slip road and Park&Ride site expansion
In the Wincheap area of Canterbury, the city council gave the go ahead to increase capacity at the Park & Ride site. The site’s expansion will sit alongside development of a new A2 off-slip road. Both form part of longer-term plans to masterplan the industrial estate site, which amongst other things, will identify new opportunities to invest in Canterbury.
Whitstable Harbour attracts new operator
In Whitstable a well-known national operator has been selected to bring forward the redevelopment of the iconic Net Store site on Whitstable Harbour’s south quay, following a competitive marketing process. The new operator is set to bring their unique style and food and drink offering to the town. This represents a significant investment in the harbour and demonstrates its continued appeal as a regionally and nationally attractive destination to invest in.
Strategic investments for Canterbury district
Canterbury continues to attract significant private sector investment demonstrating ongoing confidence in the district as a destination for businesses looking to start, grow, or relocate.
David Lloyd Health and Leisure Centre
A new David Lloyd Club offering premium health and wellness facilities opened in December 2025 at Altira Business Park, Herne Bay. This 48,000 ft2 (4,460 m2) development represents one of the district’s most significant private leisure investments delivering 130 jobs.
With current membership levels already beating expectations, their decision to choose Herne Bay to invest in has definitely paid off.
The size of the local market made [Herne Bay] an attractive choice for us. We have been overwhelmed with interest since opening.
“The size of the local market made [Herne Bay] an attractive choice for us. We have been overwhelmed with interest since opening.”
Stuart Caswell.
Stuart Caswell – New Clubs Acquisitions Director, David Lloyd Clubs[L8] , said: “When looking at expansion opportunities, we consider the local demand and the geographic spread of our existing Clubs as well as the overall appetite for health and wellness facilities in the area.
“We already have a strong presence towards north east Kent and across Greater London but we were searching for opportunities to expand deeper into the county, reaching new members in rural and coastal areas.
“Kent is known to be an active county with a keen interest in sport and fitness, so we felt this presented an exciting opportunity for us to bring a brand new Club into this area
“We identified a gap in the market for our unique health, fitness and wellness offer in Herne Bay. The size of the local market made it an attractive choice for us.
“We have been overwhelmed with interest in the Club since it opened at the end of 2025 and were welcoming new members who were on a waitlist at the start of 2026.”
George Wilson Holdings
Plans for a new 17,000 m2 (180,000 ft2) commercial and industrial business park at Herne Bay were approved by Canterbury City Council in January 2026. Ideally located on the A299 Thanet Way this new George Wilson Holdings development will provide a mix of small industrial units, starter units, leisure space and EV charging infrastructure. Up to 250 jobs are expected to be created. 100% of planned commercial space in phase one is under offer.
East Kent is well located, good value and there’s constant demand for the kind of commercial space we’re delivering.
Investment in Herne Bay continues
In Herne Bay Canterbury City Council is investing £4 million in two major projects to revamp seafront landmarks. Refurbishment of the King’s Hall is underway to include a series of building upgrades to enhance the visitor experience, improve accessibility and celebrate the venue’s sea view and heritage features.
The refurbishment of Herne Bay’s Central Bandstand meanwhile will see vital repairs made to future proof the iconic building. These works will enable a local business to run the facility. Their plans include developing a vacant former restaurant into an 80-seat wine bar, installing a brand-new commercial kitchen, revamping their existing cafe there and replacing furniture throughout as part of a further £800,000 investment into the Bandstand.
Hot on the heels of these investments supermarket chain Aldi has submitted plans for a new £7million (8,100 sq2 ) store at Altira Park in Herne Bay, earlier this year, which if approved will create up to 40 jobs. If approved it will be the retailer’s second investment in Herne Bay, alongside its existing town centre store.
Proposals include 122 parking spaces along with electric vehicle charging points with landscaping that aims to deliver a biodiversity net gain on the site.
Choose Canterbury focused on new investment opportunities
Building on a successful year for the district Choose Canterbury will focus its efforts on showcasing new investment opportunities in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay along with connecting investors to the district’s business parks and new strategic development sites.
Confidence creates confidence and that has been the story again over the last year with a strong pipeline of investment continuing to bring jobs, facilities, business space and economic activity to Canterbury district.