Leader welcomes 'hugely significant' moment for Medway
Medway Council leader Cllr Rodney Chambers has welcomed reports that Land Securities have been selected by the Ministry of Defence as preferred development partners for more than 5,000 homes on former barracks land at Chattenden.
Cllr Chambers said: “The selection of Land Securities is hugely significant for Medway and the wider Thames Gateway. Subject to a complex planning process in the months and years ahead, it should result in a new communtiy on a striking site on the Hoo Peninsula.
“It will pose significant challenges such as finding innovative transport solutions, minimising impact on the natural environment and energy use.
“However, it will also help to meet future housing needs, provide high quality employment opportunties and improve services across the Peninsula.
“We will seek early meetings with Land Securities to reach an agreed approach to planning and ensure the full and active involvement of local communities in the project’s development.”
The possibility of the Chattenden site becoming the only freestanding new settlement in the Thames Gateway was first floated in 1995. The principle has been consistently restated since then in a number of plans including the Kent and Medway Structure Plan and the South East Plan.
The broad ambition for the 700-acre Chattenden site – more than 5,000 homes plus retail and community uses – is a key part of Medway’s 20-year regeneration programme, which will deliver some 16,000 homes and more than 20,000 jobs in a revitalised City of Medway.
Cllr Chambers said: “The selection of Land Securities is hugely significant for Medway and the wider Thames Gateway. Subject to a complex planning process in the months and years ahead, it should result in a new communtiy on a striking site on the Hoo Peninsula.
“It will pose significant challenges such as finding innovative transport solutions, minimising impact on the natural environment and energy use.
“However, it will also help to meet future housing needs, provide high quality employment opportunties and improve services across the Peninsula.
“We will seek early meetings with Land Securities to reach an agreed approach to planning and ensure the full and active involvement of local communities in the project’s development.”
The possibility of the Chattenden site becoming the only freestanding new settlement in the Thames Gateway was first floated in 1995. The principle has been consistently restated since then in a number of plans including the Kent and Medway Structure Plan and the South East Plan.
The broad ambition for the 700-acre Chattenden site – more than 5,000 homes plus retail and community uses – is a key part of Medway’s 20-year regeneration programme, which will deliver some 16,000 homes and more than 20,000 jobs in a revitalised City of Medway.