Medway Local Plan (Regulation 18, 2023)

6. Next steps

6.1 The Council is continuing to collate a wide evidence base to support the new Plan. It is carrying out further assessments of potential sites, to identify which locations could provide for sustainable development. Infrastructure is a major concern, and there is specific work on transport and infrastructure planning to feed into the draft Plan. The evidence base will also be reflected in the details of new policies in the Plan.

6.2 Following this consultation, the Council will collate all written comments received and analyse them to show the key issues raised and suggestions for the direction and content of the new Plan. The comments will be published on the Council's website, with sensitive personal information removed. The Council will also publish how it has responded to the issues raised. The consultation comments will be submitted to the independent Local Plan Inspector, when the Council submits the Plan for examination next year.

6.3 The Council will use the information collected through the consultation to prepare the next stage of its work on the Local Plan. It will review the vision and strategic objectives for the Plan in the light of the comments raised, and will draw up a strategy for Medway's growth, based on the options set out in this document. Establishing a vision and strategic objectives will help to select sites for allocation, having identified the range of potential sites available for development through the Land Availability Assessment, which will be integrated with the Sustainability Appraisal.

6.4 The next stage will be the publication of a draft Plan, presenting the policies and site allocations that the Council intends to submit for examination, as its preferred strategy for managing Medway's growth up to 2040.

Further information about the new Local Plan, the consultation documents and reports that provide an evidence base can be found on the Council’s website at Medway.gov.uk/FutureMedway