 Before the end of the war , architect Charles Holden drew up plans to redevelop the city centre , but locals were so opposed that the Citizens ' Defence Association was formed and swept to power in the 1945 municipal elections . Rebuilding of the city centre eventually began 10 years after the war . A ring road was constructed in stages outside the city walls some time afterwards to alleviate growing traffic problems in the city centre , which was later pedestrianised . The biggest expansion of the city occurred in the 1960s , with the arrival of the University of Kent at Canterbury and Christ Church College . 
