Temporary housing approved on Medway’s doorstep
Plus new planning applications, council meetings, a house overlooking Horsted Valley, and the weekend’s sport
A neighbouring council has approved a £4m temporary housing scheme on Blue Bell Hill that will help it meet its homelessness duties while leaving Medway to deal with much of the practical impact. We look at what was approved, what wasn’t examined, and what it could mean locally, alongside a roundup of planning decisions, council business, events and sport. Let's get into it.
What a £4m housing approval on Blue Bell Hill means for Medway
A neighbouring council has approved a £4m housing scheme on the edge of Medway that will allow it to meet its homelessness duties while leaving Medway to absorb much of the day-to-day impact.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has granted itself planning permission to build and operate a managed temporary accommodation site on Blue Bell Hill, just inside its boundary. While administratively part of Tonbridge and Malling, the site is physically isolated from the rest of the borough and functionally tied to Medway for access to shops, services and transport. Medway Council has not been formally consulted on the decision.
What was approved
At an extraordinary full council meeting on Tuesday, Tonbridge and Malling councillors approved plans for a three-storey block of 12 modular homes on the former Blue Bell Hill commuter car park. The site sits between the A229 and the M2, surrounded by slip roads and junction infrastructure, and was previously used as a long-stay park-and-ride facility before closing in 2023.
The homes will be built and managed by modular housing firm Zed Pods, with on-site staff providing day-to-day management and support. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with completion scheduled for spring 2027. The council says the scheme will help reduce pressure on its temporary accommodation system, which currently costs around £2.5m a year.
The quiet change before approval
Early descriptions of the scheme suggested that households would typically stay for up to six months. Shortly before the application was approved, that restriction was removed.
The final planning condition allows the accommodation to be occupied by households to whom Tonbridge and Malling owes homelessness duties under the Housing Act, with no time limit attached. While individual households may move on, the site itself can remain in continuous use indefinitely.
That change was approved by councillors and was not accompanied by any additional consultation or reassessment of wider impacts.
Why the site points toward Medway
Although the land lies within Tonbridge and Malling’s boundary, planning documents acknowledge that residents will rely on nearby amenities in Walderslade and Chatham. Pedestrian routes, supermarkets, healthcare and public transport links all connect more naturally into Medway than into Tonbridge and Malling’s main towns.
The site is effectively a traffic island, enclosed by major roads and junctions. Access to Tonbridge and Malling’s settlements involves longer journeys along high-speed routes, while Medway’s urban areas are closer and more practical for everyday life. In functional terms, the development is Medway-facing.
Concerns raised along the way
Aylesford Parish Council did not object to the scheme but raised concerns about its suitability. These included the lack of public transport, unsafe walking and cycling conditions, proximity to busy roads, limited access to schools and healthcare, and the risk of isolation for residents without cars. The parish council also noted repeated references in the application documents to 'Phase 1,' warning that the design appeared to allow for future expansion across the remainder of the car park.
The Kent Downs National Landscape team, responding under a strengthened legal duty to protect nationally designated landscapes, said the design failed to conserve or enhance the area's character. While acknowledging that the disused car park currently contributes little to landscape quality, it described the proposed development as out of character and falling short of the standard expected in a protected landscape.
Local residents echoed many of these concerns. Several questioned how families would access services without cars, highlighted constant traffic noise and poor air quality, and asked whether placing vulnerable households on the edge of a major road network would support stability and wellbeing. Others queried whether the site selection was driven more by land availability than suitability.
What wasn’t looked at
Despite the site’s location and likely service use, there is no record of Medway Council being consulted. Because the scheme is classed as temporary accommodation, there is no requirement for developer contributions toward education, healthcare or social care, even though the site can now operate on an open-ended basis.
There has also been little public scrutiny of cost. The scheme carries a £4m price tag for 12 modular homes, funded through a mix of government grant, council reserves and developer contributions. That equates to well over £300,000 per unit before ongoing management costs are considered, raising reasonable questions about value for money and the alternatives assessed.
What this decision sets in motion
12 homes on their own will not transform Medway, nor will they overwhelm local services. But the decision matters because it establishes long-term use on a site whose impacts largely fall outside the borough that approved it. Planning documents explicitly do not preclude future phases on the remaining car park land, and the revised conditions permit the site to operate indefinitely.
Blue Bell Hill shows how councils under pressure to meet statutory duties are turning to marginal sites they control, where the administrative boundary is clear but the practical consequences are not. For Medway, the issue is less the scale of this development than the process behind it.
Council matters
Meetings next week:
- Tuesday: Licensing Hearing Panel will decide whether to grant a premises licence for Gepatos, a new grocery store on Chatham High Street in the Intra area. Kent Police, Medway Council's Public Health team, and the City of Rochester Society have objected.
- Thursday: Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel will put questions to Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott as he moves forward on a new Police and Crime Plan, and asks to increase the police council tax precept by £15. Our sister title, the Kent Current, covered the increase in more detail:
Ed Jennings
New planning applications:
- A request for a scoping opinion has been submitted for up to 550 homes, a primary school, and a local centre off Chattenden Lane in, er, Chattenden.
- Plans have been put forward for a block of four studio flats on what is currently the car park for Domino's Pizza on Chatham Hill.
- Just three new HMO proposals this week, with plans submitted for Camden Road and Dawes Street in Gillingham, and St Mary's Road in Strood.
Licensing:
- An updated premises licence is being sought for the former Frances Iles building on Rochester High Street, which appears to be operating under the new name Tribe.
- The Suya Factory, which appears to be a BBQ catering company, has applied for a premises licence to presumably open a restaurant next to the Pier Five pub at Chatham Dockside.
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In brief
🛍️ Rainham Shopping Centre has been sold to a mystery buyer for £1.5m.
🚑 Eight ambulances were sent to HMP Rochester last week after prisoners were 'dropping like flies' as a result of an unknown incident.
🏚️ A pregnant woman placed in temporary accommodation in Chatham by Bromley Council has said she is "exhausted" by the experience.
👷 Medway Council are planning to spend £2.5m modernising the St Alban's Close housing estate in Gillingham.
🏗️ The core construction of a new care home at Chatham Waters has been completed, with the facility set to open in the summer.
Property of the week
This four-bedroom detached house at the quieter edge of Horsted Park is on the market for £525,000 and backs directly onto the Horsted Valley, which Medway Council is in the process of designating as a new local nature reserve. Built in 2013, the house is laid out over three floors and includes an open-plan kitchen and dining space, a separate living room overlooking the valley, two bathrooms, some mightily impressive windows, and allocated parking. At around 1,600 sq ft, it is a good-sized modern family home by Medway standards, but what sets it apart is its position. With uninterrupted views across the valley and no immediate development behind it, the outlook is likely to remain greener and quieter than many other places in our towns.
Events this week
🎸 Sat 31 Jan - European Sun + Caleb Nichols + South Shore // Indiepop supergroup supported by new Medway supergroup. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £8.50.
🎸 Sat 31 Jan - UpCDownC + ManBand + Jrugs // Three of Kent's heaviest bands on one loud lineup. Poco Loco, Chatham. Tickets £5.
Sport this weekend
⚽ Gillingham FC host Bromley tomorrow (Saturday), with the Gills trying to get back on track while facing the league leaders.
⚽ Chatham Town welcome Southend United in the fifth round of the FA Trophy tomorrow (Saturday).
🏉 Medway Rugby Football Club are at home tomorrow to North Walsam, which is definitely a real place.
Footnotes
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