Chatham Docks edges closer to redevelopment
Plus are any Medway Tories pondering defection, your reminder to vote, news in brief, and more
The battle over the future of Chatham Docks has been rumbling for years now, with strong feelings on both sides of the debate. This week, things moved one step closer to the site being redeveloped with planning officers recommending approving plans to change the nature of the south of the site. We take a look at how we’ve ended up here. Further down, we have some fun with the news that more than a fifth of Conservative councillors have considered defecting from their party. We also remind you to vote on Thursday, and of course, we have our news in the brief roundup.
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Chatham Docks edges closer to redevelopment
In the ongoing battle over Chatham Docks, it is looking increasingly likely that Peel Ports will get their wish to redevelop the site after Medway Council planning officers recommended granting approval to the Basin 3 development.
The Basin 3 proposals seek to demolish the existing dock buildings, which are currently tenanted with existing businesses, on the south side of the site next to Pier Road and replace them with new flexible industrial, office, and logistical space. While the plans at this stage are only illustrative rather than final, the proposals are seemingly acceptable enough for Medway Council to consider them worthy of approval.
It is important to note that these plans are rather limited in scope compared to much wider plans that were put forward in 2021. The current plans aren’t proposing the closure of the entire site at this point but instead redeveloping a section of it. Of course, once the door has been opened, it is difficult to close it, but it seems fairly likely that Peel considers this to be an easier win than doing everything at once.
The proposed approval comes despite significant objections from various parties. 171 members of the public objected to the proposals, including those working on the existing site who face losing their jobs. Objections beyond this potential loss of 800 jobs include disputing Chatham Docks owner Peel Ports’ financial arguments for the development, increased environmental impact, and knock-on economic impacts of the closure.
The biggest objector to the plan is ArcelorMittal, a wire producer based on the site. They reject Peel Ports’ key assertion that Chatham Docks will close in 2025 regardless, stressing that if the application is successful, their own company will either close down completely or relocate abroad. They further assert that over 2,000 jobs depend on Chatham Docks and that the site remains busy, with 170 vessels utilising the location each year. Peel Ports claim it will cost £30m to repair the lock gates at Chatham Docks, describing this as not viable, and why the entire site needs to close and be redeveloped. ArcelorMittal rejects this figure and argues that the costs could easily be covered if new leases were granted to businesses currently being forced from the site.
National Highways has concerns about the plan's effect on the surrounding road network, and Chatham Maritime Trust has raised concerns about the impact on their facilities next door in Basin 2.
In fact, of all of the representations about the site, only the England Coast Path National Trail favours the scheme, as it will open up a new pedestrian and cycling route between St Mary’s Island and Chatham Waters rather than sending people along the busy Pier Road. But it seems that this is the only thing being welcome from the proposals.
Long time Local Authority readers will be aware of the significant political battle over Chatham Docks. For over a decade, Peel Ports have signalled their intention to close the site in 2025 and redevelop it. The previous Conservative administration seemed to accept this and was prepared to allow the site to be designated for future residential use in its Local Plan preparations. At the time, the Labour opposition campaigned hard to protect Chatham Docks from this fate, and joined by a number of rebel Tories, it was enough to scare the administration into abandoning their Local Plan at the time.
Since then, we’ve had something of an about face. Despite all the noise about protecting Chatham Docks in previous years, Labour, now running Medway Council, has been quiet on the subject. This comes despite securing the backing of Keir Starmer in their campaign to save the docks in 2020. Part of this is likely the grim options they face in getting a Local Plan completed while also meeting the reality that Peel is likely to close the site regardless, so there is little point in wasting a prime development site.
Rochester and Strood MP Kelly Tolhurst has been raising the issue of Chatham Docks in Parliament, and to be fair, she has been consistent on it. In 2021, she forced a debate on the subject in the House of Commons, even when her party within Medway Council was leaning toward redevelopment. Tomorrow (Wed 1 May), Tolhurst will lead another parliamentary debate on the issue, with a 90-minute slot allocated to discuss the matter in Westminster Hall.
So, given all of these objections, what would lead Medway Council officers to recommend approval to redevelop the site?
In a slightly ironic twist, it appears that Medway Council planning officers are minded to approve the application because it conforms to the requirements of the 2003 Local Plan, the massively outdated document we’ve been unable to update due to political arguments.
The planning appraisal says:
The application site forms part of the existing Chatham Docks Industrial Estate, which is referred to as Chatham Port in the adopted Medway Local Plan (2003). Chatham Port is identified as an existing employment area with a primary focus for use classes B2 (general industry) and B8 (storage and distribution) and port related uses through Policy ED9.
Policy ED1 of the adopted Local Plan states in summary:
In Chatham Port employment area development will be permitted only for General Industry (class B2) and Storage and Distribution (class B8)
It is considered that this proposal will ensure that this site remains as employment use however it will allow for more flexible interpretation of employment use when compared to the current restrictions as set out within the 2003 Local Plan Policy ED1. The proposal remains in broad accordance with this policy where general industrial (class B2) and storage and distribution (class B8) will be supported.
As employment development is currently acceptable on the site, a change in the type of employment isn’t a ground to reject it given the plans still remain in the same broad area. The key difference, which seems to be welcomed by planning officers, is that these plans will allow more flexible use to facilitate high-tech, creative media, and medical employment uses that aren’t currently suitable on the site. Similarily, the report also notes that of the 22 businesses currently operating on the site, 14 of them are already not related to the running of the port.
The report suggests that the loss of businesses on the site could be reduced by most of them being able to move to other suitable sites within Medway, though it is unclear where those sites are located. It does, however, accept that while the port-related businesses could find a home at Thamesport in Grain, it is possible they could move to sites outside of the area.
Economically, Medway Council seems to accept the case that the redevelopment would benefit the area, suggesting that more highly skilled jobs would be created in high-value sectors. That said, these kinds of things always feel slightly tenuous, particularly in light of the Innovation Park Medway fiasco earlier this year.
But like the good people at the England Coast Path National Trail, it is the public realm benefits where the report gets most excited. The plans propose opening up the site for public access for the first time, which in turn creates a desperately needed active travel link in the area:
More importantly creating a vital new public link between Colonial Wharf and the existing and forthcoming urban areas to the south east and south west, dramatically improving sustainability and the attractiveness of routes for pedestrians and cyclists (both for leisure and employment as well as access to other facilities), while increasing the potential for further connectivity into Gillingham with potential knock on social regeneration of those areas.
The planning appraisal identifies why officers are minded to approve the plans at great length. Inevitably, plenty of people and organisations will likely disagree with this assessment.
It should also be reiterated that this doesn’t make the final decision certain just yet. Officer recommendations are just that: recommendations. The decision is still ultimately made by Medway Council’s planning committee, who, as we’ve established before, aren’t exactly reliable at committing to plans.
Whether or not that will make a difference is unclear. As set out above, the new Labour administration has been keeping tight-lipped on the future of the docks. With a fairly sizeable majority on the planning committee, the decision will likely come down to them.
The decision will be made at next week’s planning committee meeting, which will take place on Wednesday 8 May. We’ll be watching, and suspect we won’t be the only ones.
Are any Medway Tories pondering defection?
Okay, this isn’t strictly a Medway story, but it was impossible to resist having a little fun with it.
Polling carried out by the i revealed that 21% of Conservative councillors across the country had considered defecting in recent years.
This inevitably begs the question of which ones in Medway have pondered making the jump elsewhere.
Of course, of the current cohort, former Deputy Leader Cllr Elizabeth Turpin recently quit to sit as an independent but using the polling in the story, that would still mean there are three or four Conservatives in Medway who would be considering jumping ship.
Given the state of the national polls, it’s hardly surprising that councillors might consider their options, but in Medway, options are few and far between. The rancour between the Conservatives and their Labour counterparts makes any movement there unlikely, and there’s no Lib Dem presence on the council either. Reform could be an option for the more modern Tory, but even as they literally set up shop in Strood, there is little sign of much activity on a local level.
We’d like to throw this one open to our readers. Which Medway Conservative councillors could you see jumping ship, and where could they go?
For what it's worth, our money would be Cllrs Lawrence, Fearn, Etheridge, and Joy, each for entirely different reasons. But what do we know?
Vote early, vote once
This is your obligatory reminder that this Thursday (2 May) is an election day in Medway and that you should ensure you vote.
We know the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner elections aren’t necessarily the most enticing of prospects, but democracy is what democracy is, and voting remains important regardless.
If you’re unsure who to vote for, you can listen to our recent debate between all three candidates at MidKent College.
A small part of Medway within the Luton and central Chatham area will also be voting on the Arches Neighbourhood Plan referendum, meaning you’ll have two ballot papers to fill out if you live there. Exciting.
Polling stations will be open across Medway between 7am and 10pm, and you can even drop your postal vote off there if you forgot to send it back in time.
Remember that the electoral system is changing for this election. It is a straight first-past-the-post contest rather than the preferential system we’ve had in previous PCC elections.
Most importantly, remember to bring an acceptable form of photo ID to your polling stations, or you’ll be turned away.
Of course, we’ll be publishing results as they come in, but we’ll share more details on that later in the week.
In brief
🪖 Local historian Chris Sams has done a piece looking at the various defensive forts around Medway. All of them are fascinating in their own way.
🏥 Medway Hospital has submitted a planning application to encase their multi-storey car park with anti-climb barriers. Are many people climbing up the side of it?
🏗️ Plans have also been submitted to convert the former Gun Shop in Chatham High Street into a new shop and seven flats. The existing building is in an awful state of repair.
⚽ Gillingham Football Club have sacked head coach Stephen Clemence after failing to secure a playoff spot. Clemence was only appointed in November last year.
🟢 The co-chair of the Medway Green Party has been selected as a parliamentary candidate in the coming General Election. Jeremy Spyby-Stenson will be fighting for the seat of Hartlepool against Reform leader Richard Tice and someone even worse in Anne-Marie Waters.
More Authority
There was a great response over the weekend to our interview with John Daynes, a man with a remarkable story that involves being in care, addiction, crime, jail, and finally finding redemption and helping others.
"It created somebody horrible"
Coming up this week, in addition to our free briefing editions, our paid supporters will also receive a look at what the Shared Prosperity Fund is doing in Medway, our creative edition over the weekend featuring work from a number of talented Medway types. Then, on Sunday, our next big interview is with Neil Charlick, founder of the Gillingham Street Angels. To access all of these as we publish them, hit the big orange button below.
Footnotes
This article has been updated to correct the date of elections taking place this week. Of all the things we could have got wrong…
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Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Pleaser by Georgia Maq, The Art of Forgetting by Caroline Rose, and The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter.