Government accepts Chatham Docks redevelopment
Plus heckling the Planning Committee, Buses get 50% more expensive, 510 homes and supermarket proposed near the Strand, news in brief, and more
The fight over Chatham Docks has been rumbling for years now, as owners and tenants of the site remain at odds about its future. The owners got closer to redeveloping the site today, with the government choosing not to intervene. We’ve got the full details as the latest round of blame begins. Further down: A pretty grim Planning Committee meeting, most Medway buses are getting 50% more expensive, a huge development proposed near the Strand, news in brief, and more.
Government accepts Chatham Docks redevelopment
The ongoing fight over the future of Chatham Docks took a small step towards concluding today as the government opted not to intervene in the decision to allow Peel Ports to redevelop part of the site.
Sky News has reported that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have informed Medway Council that they won’t ‘call in’ the matter for further examination. As a result, they are happy for Medway to make the final decision on the site.
Given that Medway Council have previously recommended the scheme for approval, it seems inevitable that the project will now get off the ground.
We’ve previously covered the argument over Chatham Docks at length. Briefly, owners Peel Ports want to close and redevelop the site into a mixed commercial and residential use site. In contrast, one of the companies currently on the site, ArcelorMittal, has threatened to withdraw from the UK if the plans go ahead. The situation is heightened by Medway Labour (and Keir Starmer) pushing to protect the site while in opposition before quickly changing their minds when in power.
The proposals in question here are only for a section of Chatham Docks, and no residential units are being put forward, just commercial and industrial units. It’s unclear how much demand there is for these units, with the owners claiming to aim for creative industries and high-tech tenants on the site. The plans also open up a walking and cycling connection between Chatham Waters and St. Mary’s Island, avoiding travelling along the dual carriageway to the south of the site.
Former Rochester and Strood MP Kelly Tolhurst was quick to seize upon the lack of intervention, pinning much of the blame at the door of new MP Lauren Edwards:
Sadly the new Labour MP has singularly failed to back local people and fight to protect the docks and the jobs, choosing to hide behind the decision her council took last year, which she is still a part of as a councillor. I have fought alongside the businesses and workers to protect this asset, to try and save the jobs of local people and I will continue to fight alongside Save Chatham Docks who will be looking at next steps. I am clear this is a bad decision for the local businesses, local people, the Medway Towns and our local economy
Edwards, for her part, speaking to KentOnline, said she supported the issue being called in but also said she would work to ensure the new plan “is a success and delivers on the employment and growth potential outlined in the planning application.”
Campaigners to retain Chatham Docks as a working dock say they will continue fighting against the redevelopment. Unfortunately for them, that fight has just become a lot more difficult.
Heckling the Planning Committee
Council meetings are usually fairly dull, at least for the average person. Some of us politics nerds love this stuff.
Anyway, a perception that meetings run on for hours with councillors who love the sound of their own voices tends to result in public galleries that are largely empty at meetings.
Every now and again, something will enthuse local residents enough that they’ll come along to make their views known.
So it was last week as the Planning Committee saw a relatively busy public gallery as they decided on a raft of applications. The audience was mostly there for one, though: 44 homes next to the Fenn Bell Inn in St Mary Hoo.
We’ve covered the progression of this application at length, so we won’t recap things fully here, but this was the meeting where a final decision on the application was to be made. As the meeting progressed, it was clear that at least one member of the public gallery had some Very Strong Opinions about the application and the committee deciding upon it.
Despite regularly being asked to be quiet by Planning Committee Chair Cllr Chrissy Stamp (Lab), one audience member proceeded to heckle throughout the proceedings. As soon as anyone dared to say anything that wasn’t negative about the application, he was shouting something from the gallery.
Cllr Gulvin (Con) came in for some abuse for bravely highlighting that too many people in their 30s still live with their parents due to a lack of housing. A council highways officer was asked, “What world do you live in?” for suggesting 44 new homes would generate less than 20 new vehicle movements per hour.
After a barrage of heckling, Cllr Stamp threatened to remove the entire gallery, an unfortunately blunt instrument that isn’t used lightly but when proceedings face repeated interruptions. Cllr Peake (Lab) called out the man for unacceptable behaviour and requested his removal, though this didn’t happen.
The committee eventually approved the Fenn Bell application 12-2. Of course, this once again set off our animated audience member: “Really? You don’t even live on this bloody planet, do you? You have to listen to that twat. You’re only getting one term, like Keir Starmer.”
Well, that certainly told them.
Buses get 50% more expensive
Sad news for fans of getting a bus at a reasonable price as the government has decided that the £2 fare cap will increase to £3 next year.
Medway buses have long been, for lack of a better term, a bit rubbish. Services are often unreliable, fares expensive, and all routes lead to Chatham, which is rather unhelpful if you want to make a journey as extravagant as, say, Gillingham to Rochester.
So the £2 fare cap at least went some way to making the bus slightly more viable. Most operators in Medway signed up to the scheme (except Nu-Venture for some reason) and while we have no specific local data, bus usage increased 19% in the most recent annual data available.
While the cap increasing to £3 still won’t return fares to their pre-pandemic highs, it’s still a big increase when so many people are struggling. It’s also nearly double the fare for a bus in London (£1.75), a place that seems to have it together when it comes to getting people around.
With new powers for local councils to run their own bus services on the horizon, the days of private bus operators charging expensive fares might be coming to an end. But until then, passengers in Medway will face a 50% fare increase at the start of 2025.
510 new homes, supermarket, and more proposed near the Strand
Somewhat understandably, many people get upset about proposals to build homes in the countryside. So one would imagine they’d be more enthusiastic about a development that goes a long way to helping Medway reach its housing target when it’s on disused brownfield land.
This week, developer Blueberry Homes put in a screening planning application to Medway Council for 510 homes, a supermarket, a care home, commercial space, a sailing clubhouse, and more on the former gasholders site near the Strand in Gillingham.
Given that Medway needs to build over 1,000 homes each year to stay on top of its housing target, one development of 510 is a significant addition to the supply without developing on green land.
Inevitably, comments on local Facebook groups are far from positive, complaining about everything from congestion to lack of affordability (despite that not having been set at this stage) to the need for a new hospital to the 17-storey height of the buildings proposed (even though buildings at Victory Pier next door are the same height). Individually, some of these complaints may have merit, but the same reasons are brought out against any development that would allow more people to have a place to live.
Still, everyone seems to be missing the big question here: Exactly which supermarket could be lined up for the site? It’s just along the road from an Asda, a Lidl, and a Tesco Express, with a Tesco superstore not very far away. Given the plans propose a supermarket of around 2,000sqm, which is roughly in line with Aldi or Lidl stores, Aldi seems logical, but the chain already has two Gillingham stores. So we’re none the wiser, but feel free to place your bets in the comments.
You can read the details of the screening opinion application on Medway Council’s planning portal.
In brief
🚒 Part of Chatham Docks caught fire again last week. At its peak, eight fire engines were on site, with residents of St. Mary’s Island told to keep their doors and windows shut for nearly a full day.
🏦 Barclays in Chatham has been vandalised for the third time since June. Palestine Action carried out the previous incidents, but it is unclear who is responsible this time.
💣 BAE Systems is investing £220m to redevelop its Rochester site. That’s the kind of money you can throw around when you’ve been admitted to being corrupt, been caught ripping off developing nations, and continue to supply weapons to oppressive regimes. Of course, our local politicians are delighted about it.
🦽 Medway Council is considering scaling back its child disability grant scheme. Some families would no longer be eligible, and others would see their grant amounts reduced to save the council £200,000.
🚨 The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has revealed its findings following a collision between on-track machines near Strood last year. One driver was injured in the incident.
More Authority
The weekend saw the fifth Electric Medway festival taking place across our towns. For our Sunday interview, Steven sat down with organisers Kevin Grist and Janet Moore to talk about the festival's inception, what they need to keep it going, and using the submarine in the river.
Footnotes
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Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning, Cause A Stir by Charmpit, and Guts by Olivia Rodrigo.
Maybe Sainsbury's-by-the-Strand, then? Housing on that site would be a good thing, though we'll miss the 'big blue thing' as a landmark.
with regards to the strand development, there will be a lot of ground works, as I am told contamination is regularly checked with boreholes and it goes down 6 meters, and it is said that is why the paddling pool and boating lake there were closed because of this