Developers push back as Medway tries to make growth pay for itself
New charges for growth leads to backlash from developers, plus the week ahead, news in brief, what’s on, and more
Medway is proposing a major update to its Developer Contributions Guide, raising expectations for infrastructure funding and lowering the threshold at which affordable housing is normally sought. Developers and planning consultants are pushing back on viability and evidence. We look at what the changes would mean and why this argument will sit beneath almost every major housing decision Medway makes next.
Developers push back as Medway tries to make growth pay for itself
For years, one complaint has followed almost every major housing development in Medway.
The homes arrive first, but the infrastructure struggles to keep up.
Residents raise concerns about school places, GP appointments, traffic, parks and local services. Developers point out that many of those issues predate their schemes. Medway Council is left trying to bridge the gap.
Now, the authority is proposing a significant overhaul of the system used to require developers to contribute to the cost of growth.
A new Developer Contributions Guide would update rules that have remained largely unchanged since 2008, increasing expectations in several areas and lowering the threshold at which affordable housing is normally sought.
The council says the changes are needed because Medway in 2026 is a very different place from the Medway of nearly two decades ago.
Since then, thousands of homes have been built across the towns. Tens of thousands more are anticipated through the forthcoming Local Plan. At the same time, schools, healthcare services and social care providers are facing growing pressure.
Under the proposed guidance, developers could be asked to contribute £7,449 per dwelling towards new primary school provision where required, alongside £6,351 towards secondary education and £3,035 towards nursery provision.
Open space contributions would be set at £3,507 per dwelling, while healthcare contributions could reach £2,000 per home for primary care facilities and a further £400 for community healthcare services. Large developments of more than 300 homes could also be asked to contribute towards hospital capacity.
The guide extends far beyond schools and healthcare. Contributions may also be sought towards social care, libraries, public realm improvements, waste and recycling infrastructure, heritage assets and environmental mitigation measures.
For a sizeable housing development, the total bill can quickly run into millions of pounds.
The proposed changes would also make affordable housing a more prominent feature of future developments.
Under the existing guidance, affordable housing is generally sought from schemes of 25 homes or more in urban areas and 15 homes or more in rural areas. The new guide proposes a threshold of 10 homes, bringing far more developments into scope.
Council officers argue the changes are necessary if housing growth is not to place additional strain on already stretched services.
The guide highlights the growing demand for social care and predicts a substantial increase in the number of people living with dementia over the coming years. It also points to pressures on healthcare services and the need to ensure new communities have access to schools, open space and other infrastructure.
But developers and planning consultants are far from convinced.
Of the 25 responses received during consultation on the draft guide, 11 came from developers, planning consultants, landowners or their representatives.
Many questioned the methodology used to calculate contributions. Others argued that some of the proposed charges were too high or insufficiently evidenced.
Several respondents called for the guide to be delayed until Medway’s Local Plan is completed, arguing that key planning policies are still evolving.
A recurring concern was viability.
Developers warned that increasing obligations could make some schemes financially unviable, particularly on more challenging sites. In their view, every additional requirement reduces the funds available to fund construction, remediation, affordable housing, and other elements of a project.
It is an argument likely to be familiar to anyone who has followed planning debates in Medway over recent years.
Residents often ask why new developments are approved without corresponding improvements to schools, GP surgeries or local infrastructure. Developers respond that schemes can only support so many obligations before they no longer make financial sense.
The council acknowledges that tension.
The report accompanying the guide notes that viability concerns remain a risk and confirms that developers will continue to be able to submit viability assessments where they believe planning obligations would make a scheme undeliverable. Those claims can then be independently reviewed.
Council officers have nevertheless rejected calls to delay the document, arguing that the existing guidance no longer reflects current planning policy or the realities facing local services.
The draft guide will now go before councillors for approval.
Behind the technical language and contribution formulas lies a fight over how much Medway’s next phase of growth is allowed to cost.
Thousands more homes are planned across Medway. The council wants those developments to carry more of the burden for the schools, healthcare, open space and local services that new communities need.
Developers are warning that there is a limit to how much can be loaded onto a scheme before it stops being built.
That tension will sit beneath almost every major housing decision Medway makes in the years ahead.
Local Authority is now on WhatsApp
We’ve launched a WhatsApp channel for Local Authority, where we’ll share new stories and the occasional major Medway development directly to your phone.
Council chaos, planning rows, disappearing pubs, strange licensing hearings, and the rest of life around the towns can now be available in yet another app you already check too much.
Council matters
Meetings next week:
- Tuesday: Licensing Hearing Panel will decide on a new premises licence for Chatham Town Football Club and a shop on Gillingham High Street.
- Wednesday: Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss looked after children, Oasis Restore Secure School, and the Medway Youth Council Conference.
- Thursday: Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee will discuss bus services, Southern Water, developer obligations, and more.
New planning applications:
- Conversion of the former rear of the Sue Ryder shop in Chatham into an events and dining space.
- Wickes in Chatham wants to replace their two best parking spaces with a battery for their solar panels.
- HMO application for Rainham Road in Gillingham.
In brief
🚒 The developer of the remarkably combustible former St John Fisher School in Chatham is facing enforcement action from Medway Council after the building went up in flames for the ninth time last week.
🧑⚕️ The NHS in Kent and Medway have reduced the number of IVF treatment cycles to patients in Kent to one and lowered the age limit from 40 to 38.
⛪ The Local Democracy Reporting Service have been to interview the Queen Prophetess behind a church that opened illegally on Luton Road.
🏪 KMTV visited Strood High Street, which is ranked as one of the worst high streets in the country for shop closures.
🛒 Meanwhile, Aldi in Strood is set to be upgraded as part of a £300m investment from the firm across the country.
🏤 The Post Office is set to seek a new site on Luton Road following the closure of the Morrisons Daily that currently houses it.
🏚️ An utterly awful sounding care home in Gillingham is set to close.
Property of the week
This two-bedroom flat in Brompton is on the market for offers in excess of £250,000 and sits inside a former schoolhouse conversion that still looks like it knows what it used to be. The selling point is the main living space, with vaulted ceilings, huge arched windows and wall murals that make it feel more like a small private chapel for your sofa than a standard apartment. You get two double bedrooms, allocated parking, and the Dockyard and Fort Amherst nearby, which is handy if you like your local walks with a bit of cannon-adjacent history. The only reality check is the leasehold running costs, with a chunky service charge and ground rent that you’d want to be comfortable with before falling too hard for the windows.
Events this week
📜 5 - 6 Jun - Rainham Poetry Festival // Two day festival of poetry, with special guest Lemn Sissay. St Margaret's Church, Rainham. Free.
⛪ Sat 6 Jun - Garden Open Day // Rare chance to access the gardens around Rochester Cathedral. Tickets £10.
🛍️ Sun 7 Jun - The Little Market // Launch of new monthly market of handmade items, gifts, homewares, art, and more. Corn Exchange, Rochester. Free.
📽️ Mon 8 Jun - Ocean with David Attenborough // Attenborough reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Odeon, Chatham. Tickets from £6.50.
💬 Wed 1o Jun - Big Trouble with Imogen Wade and Jake Wild Hall //Long-standing poetry night, featuring open mic and performances. 12 Degrees Micropub, Rochester. Tickets £7.30.
Footnotes
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