About the Abbot’s Mill Project

The Abbot’s Mill Project aims to  develop an urban hub of sustainability and social justice, powered solely by non-centralised, renewable energy. The renewable energy will come principally through re-instating a water wheel into the old mill race on the site of the former Abbot’s (Denne’s) Mill, the seven-storey mill that once stood on St Radigund’s Street in the heart of Canterbury. 

The project is based purposefully in the heart of Canterbury, with the aim of becoming an urban hub of sustainability, compassionate living and social justice, powered by non-centralised renewable energy.

The project has two elements and is located on two adjacent sites.

Water wheel

Firstly the project will include a water wheel, which will be re-instated into the old mill race on the site of the former Abbot’s Mill on St Radigund’s Street. The Abbot’s Mill site, owned by Canterbury City Council, is part of the Abbot’s Garden – a green space and walk which runs from the Miller’s Arms public house, over the sluices and along the Great Stour up to the Marlowe Theatre.

The water wheel will generate an estimated 15kW (average) up to 20kW (peak), enough to power four family homes. The entire project will generate a net surplus of electricity, to be donated to local community groups or sold to a national renewable supplier.

As part of the new power generation scheme, improvements will need to be made to the monitoring and control of the River Stour at this location. This will include electronic monitoring of the water levels and an automatically controlled sluice gate (currently it is controlled manually). This will ensure an instant on-site response to potential flood situations, whilst ensuring continuous optimum power generation from the water wheel. This will also provide useful research data with regards to flood management and hydrological studies. This will provide greater control at reduced costs to the local authority/tax payer.

Education centre

The next phase will be the education and research centre which will include a vegan community cafe and woodland with wildlife garden. This will be on the facing bank of the Great Stour, opposite St Peter’s Lane. The two sites are linked by St Radigund’s Bridge.

The education and research centre will present information about all aspects of sustainable and compassionate living (see our Mission Statement), including non-centralised renewable energy. The centre will also provide information about the importance of the Great Stour in the history of Canterbury’s trade and development as a city.

The centre will be of a modest scale to be in keeping with the local two-storey housing. The whole construction would be an eco-build using sustainable, environmentally-friendly and locally-sourced materials (mainly local chestnut and glass and no concrete). The Abbot’s Mill Project will showcase low-impact building technologies at their best.

The community café which will double as a meeting space, run by and for the local community, serving local, vegan and ethically-sourced food. The wildlife garden will be based on the principles of permaculture. The development will be zero-waste and incorporate rain-water harvesting, biomass power generation and organic composting. Together with the areas accessible to the public, the education and research centre will incorporate office space for staff and volunteers.