Medway Local Plan (Regulation 18, 2024)

7.1 Introduction

7.1.1 The One Medway Council Plan 2024-2028 promotes the Council's ambition to accelerate economic growth in Medway to benefit every neighbourhood.^[76] We want to see our businesses innovate and grow, and to attract new businesses to locate here, providing quality employment opportunities for all and enabling local people to thrive.

7.1.2 The One Medway Council Plan also reports that Medway is home to around 14,000 businesses and the area's economy is currently worth £6.3billion. Unemployment is also falling, from 9.6% in 2013, to 4% in 2023.^[77]

7.1.3 The NPPF states that Local Plans should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand, and adapt. Plans should also set out a clear economic vision and strategy which positively and proactively encourages sustainable economic growth.^[78]

7.1.4 This chapter sets out the planning strategy which will support the economic vision for Medway and considers the distribution and management of employment uses in Medway.

7.1.5 A core ambition of the Local Plan is to strengthen the performance of Medway's economy, securing quality jobs in the local area, capitalising on the further and higher education offer, and realising the area's strategic potential.

7.1.6 By 2041 Medway will have successfully grown its economy, gaining competitiveness from its strategic location, and securing and developing its diverse business base and attracting inward investment in a range of employment sites.

7.1.7 However, recent years have been very challenging for the local, national, and global economy. There have been rapid and significant changes in employment practices and commercial land needs, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, global instability and political changes. These are reflected in the demand for commercial land, including office space, retail and warehousing and distribution. The Council recognises the importance of a resilient employment land strategy that is flexible to market and structural changes.

7.1.8 More locally specific challenges include that although Medway is a major economic hub in the South East region, it does not perform to its potential. Medway has a number of pockets of deprivation where communities experience employment and income deprivation. Historically Medway experiences high levels of out-commuting typically to London and neighbouring local authority areas.

7.1.9 Medway Council commissioned an Employment Land Needs Assessment in 2015, and this was updated in 2020.^[79] We are commissioning a further refresh of this needs evidence to inform the Pre-Submission Draft Plan. In the meantime, set out in the following policies is an economic strategy, to which your comments are invited. The policies are based upon the strategic priorities of the Council, and our knowledge of the local economic environment.

7.2 Employment strategy

7.2.1 Medway's employment land needs over the plan period will be calculated and published in forthcoming evidence, and this will provide additional detail to this strategy. Nevertheless, the current strengths of our employment offer will be supported, and growth encouraged where possible.

7.2.2 New employment opportunities will be supported in sustainable locations, and especially where they can foster a critical clustering of economic activity. Therefore, new employment proposals will be directed in the first instance towards areas of existing business and commercial activity.

7.2.3 Our town centres have a resilient business presence and there are opportunities for the redevelopment of several smaller, centrally located sites with good accessibility for office and related activities.

7.2.4 There are also several large-scale business and industrial estates across Medway, including Medway City Estate, Innovation Park Medway, Gillingham Business Park, and Knight Road, Rochester.

7.2.5 There is significant potential for the regeneration, and redevelopment, of employment sites on the Hoo Peninsula, in particular at the Isle of Grain, and the site of the former Kingsnorth Power Station.

7.2.6 Some types of employment use, however, can emerge in a more spontaneous manner. This includes creative and cultural industries, and manufacturing services, which can occupy offices, cultural facilities, shops, education buildings, studio workspaces, industrial premises, and warehouses. Part of this need can be met through employment land allocations and existing employment sites. However, creative and cultural industry start-ups and newly establishing businesses for example, often emerge in unplanned urban locations due to a range of factors, including clustering of talent, ideas and flexible and cheap accommodation. Related activity needs to be supported, particularly in the area's town centres and regeneration areas, and within the context of masterplans and associated initiatives. This will also be considered in more detail by other sections of the Local Plan.

7.2.7 The plan will seek to increase the productivity of Medway's economy, as measured via Gross Value Added, through support for economic sectors with growth potential and higher value employment. This includes the designation of suitable employment sites that can accommodate growth, including the Innovation Park Medway. More generally, the plan also aims to provide a range of employment sites to meet business and organisational needs. Through this approach, the Council and its partners aim to support a wide range of job opportunities and promote growth of higher value jobs and priority sectors.

7.3 Existing employment provision

7.3.1 The Council acknowledges that the planning system is flexible and should respond to market signals. To ensure a balanced development plan, which meets both housing and employment needs, it is important that we manage existing employment space where we can.

7.3.2 Protecting viable employment sites will help Medway to grow; to promote a balanced economy, and to protect local services. Some level of protection will also put less pressure on needing to find new employment sites to replace ones that have been lost to other uses.

7.3.3 However, changes to the Use Classes Order in September 2020 bought together several previously separate uses into one new use class: Class. Class E includes shops, restaurants, cafes, financial and professional services, some leisure uses as well as uses that previously fell under Class B1 (offices, research and development, light industrial uses). This means that planning permission is no longer needed to go from offices (and other types of employment land) to other uses within the same E Class.

7.3.4 Moreover, changes from Class E uses to dwelling houses (Class C3) can now also be made in many cases without the need for planning permission. Also, changes of land and buildings in use for storage and distribution (Class B8) are permissible without the need for consent in many cases, but there is currently an upper floorspace threshold of 500sqm.

7.3.5 However, where planning permission is required, this policy would apply.

7.4 New employment sites

7.4.1 The Council is in the process of commissioning an update to its employment land needs assessment. This evidence will be available for the next consultation on the Local Plan.

7.4.2 The previous assessment indicated a need for around 320,000 sqm of office / industrial and warehousing floorspace up to 2040. This equated to approximately 69ha of employment land (creating over 4,000 new jobs).

7.4.3 We expect that there will be some level of additional employment need over the plan period, and we know that there are employment development and allocation opportunities which have been promoted through previous consultations. Therefore, the following policy is directed at promoting certainty in the delivery of additional employment in Medway.

7.4.4 The Local Plan will provide a range of sites to meet the employment needs identified over the plan period. This will involve the retention of existing employment sites where possible; support for enhancing and consolidating current sites to better meet the market's requirements and make better use of land; and identifying additional locations that can provide attractive accessible sites for business growth.

7.4.5 The site of the former Kingsnorth Power Station, on the Hoo Peninsula provides an opportunity for new commercial and industrial uses at the 113ha site, of which half could be developable land. The landowner is seeking to deliver a modern and sustainable development to create new employment opportunities for skilled jobs and to attract investment to the region. A mix of commercial, manufacturing, industrial, distribution, data centre and energy uses, could be brought forward on site. The site has potential to be intensified to maximise the development potential of this strategic brownfield site, to deliver a high quality, commercial scheme with flexible space to meet market needs.

7.5 Local Development Order for Innovation Park Medway

7.5.1 National Policy supports the use of Local Development Orders (LDOs) to help fast track delivery of development.

7.5.2 Medway Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Councils have separately adopted a LDO covering the land identified across both authorities. This now provides guidance for how proposals come through within the boundary of the identified LDO.

7.5.3 Development in the Innovation Park Medway is guided by the LDO, masterplan and Design Code. The former two set out the parameters for development and the latter sets out the detailed guidance on matters relating to layout of street hierarchy, communal collaborative spaces facilitated by the arrangement of plots to material and vegetation choices. This is essential to ensure that the main ambitions of the site are realised, which include innovation and a high-quality environment. Any planning application that comes forward on the IPM will need to be compliant with the design code and the aims and ambitions of the LDO, i.e. innovative uses. Uses supportive of innovation will be considered on its own merits.

7.5.4 Whilst there is currently a pause and review exercise happening with development connected to the LDO, the Council remains committed to the delivery of high-quality employment at Innovation Park Medway. It is expected that development will continue throughout the plan period.

7.6 Learning and skills development

7.6.1 The Council supports the development of skills and learning opportunities across Medway. Benefitting from good education, quality jobs and a growing economy is a main priority for the One Medway Council Plan. The Council wants to give local people the best chances to reach their full potential, including access to good quality education. Educational facilities include early years (creches/nurseries), schools (years reception to eleven), further education (post 16 –colleges or sixth forms) and higher education (universities).

7.6.2 Medway Council is a Local Education Authority. Medway has 87 day nurseries/ pre-schools, 42 nurseries within primary schools, 76 primary schools, 19 secondary schools, 5 special schools and 2 alternative provision schools and one all-through school. Medway also provides an adult education learning service, which reaches into the wider community. There are close links with apprenticeship schemes.

7.6.3 A learning cluster of further and higher education has been established in the Chatham Maritime area, with the Universities at Medway (Greenwich, Christchurch & Kent), Mid Kent College and the Waterfront University Technical College all sited here, supporting thousands of students. These and wider training facilities play a major social and economic role in the area and are anticipated to expand further over the plan period.

7.6.4 Education and learning opportunities are critical to developing and strengthening Medway's economy, and supporting the health and wellbeing of residents. Schools, colleges, and wider learning and training centres provide opportunities for co-location of wider services, improving accessibility for communities.

7.6.5 Medway has seen an uplift in the skills and qualifications levels of residents. In the 2021 Census, 31% of the population had Level 4 Qualifications or above in Medway compared to 25% across Kent.^[80] Approximately 7% of Medway's population is made up of students and this rises to 15% in some areas.^[81]

7.6.6 Boosting educational attainment and qualifications and skills levels in Medway is a core priority. This underpins the area's economic performance and opens up greater job and social opportunities for residents, skills retention, job creation, securing job locally which means less commuting with environmental and health benefits. The Local Plan can help in these ambitions, by supporting the provision of nurseries and the timely delivery of new schools, and the development of the higher and further education sector.

7.6.7 A key aim of the Council is to continue to build on the success of further and higher education in Medway. Students spend over £150m per annum in Medway with local businesses and services supporting some 1,200 jobs. The added benefit from this is that it will lead to an increase in Gross Value Added of the economy.

7.6.8 To facilitate an improvement in skill levels in the economy the further and higher education facilities that support this level of qualification need to be supported. Higher and further education institutions in Medway contribute hundreds of millions to the local economy directly, but also indirectly add other benefits.

7.6.9 Apprenticeship programmes and adult education also support skills development and retention, as does developing good links between key business centres, such as Innovation Park Medway and the universities and other education providers which will support the creation of apprenticeships allowing further development of skills and enable residents to find good jobs locally, providing greater benefits to the area.

7.7 Tourism, culture and visitor accommodation

7.7.1 The tourism and cultural economy plays an important role in raising Medway's image and profile, and supporting employment, business, creative and leisure opportunities. Tourism, arts and culture, are therefore central to the Council's ambitions for the area and sit at the heart of the Medway Council Plan, its Regeneration Strategy – Medway 2035, the Medway Cultural Strategy (2020 – 2030), Thames Estuary Production Corridor, and as part of the Creative Estuary Initiative.^{[82],[83],[84],[85],[86]}

7.7.2 Marketing campaigns have contributed to the growth of Medway's tourism economy. Trip numbers, sector value and employment, have all increased in recent years. Research commissioned by Visit Kent on the economic impact of tourism in 2022, reported that there were 4.5 million visitors to Medway. This had an economic value of £312m and supported 5,782 jobs in this sector.^[87]

7.7.3 Medway offers visitors and residents a wealth of heritage, riverside and countryside settings, parks and open spaces, and free festivals and events each year. The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Rochester and Upnor Castles, Rochester Cathedral, Royal Engineers Museum, literary links to Dickens, and wider museums, universities, theatres, art galleries, bars, cafes and restaurants, provide a range of attractions, day and night. Medway's town centres also play a significant role in supporting tourism with historic and cultural assets, and a focus for food and drink and community activities. Visitor activity can also strengthen the centres, supporting local businesses and services. Vibrant centres support our communities and boost pride in Medway.

7.7.4 Rural areas, estuaries and coast, nationally and internationally significant wildlife habitats, and public rights of way, including the King Charles III England Coastal Path provide a wider green tourism offer. Visitors and residents can enjoy walking, cycling, birdwatching and water-based recreation. Areas such as the Hoo Peninsula and the Kent Downs NL have a distinct sense of place and remoteness, on the doorstep of our towns and villages. There are opportunities to further support the rural economy through tourism in these areas, such as promoted through the Kent Downs work on sustainable tourism, and RSPB's work in highlighting the important birdlife around Medway's estuaries and marshes. Such opportunities should reflect the sensitivity of the natural environment, to safeguard their special features.

7.7.5 Medway's regeneration strategy seeks to strengthen our tourism sector by creating better places, making best use of heritage assets, improving venues and facilities for arts and culture, encouraging rural and marine based tourism, and promoting short break stays. Growth in tourism also means that potential exists to enhance the supply of visitor accommodation, across a range of short and longer stay markets, including budget and higher quality hotels, self-catering, camping and caravanning, and marinas. This is particularly the case within the context of proposals for mixed used developments, urban and waterfront regeneration, and sustainable rural tourism. Medway's visitor accommodation sector is smaller in comparison to the Kent, regional and England averages.^[88] Tourism also promotes the opportunity for restoration and/or improvements to parts of Medway's industrial heritage which may now be underutilised or derelict.

7.7.6 Medway Council has produced a Design Code for Chatham, which will assist in creating an environment to support vibrancy and tourism. The development framework for Star Hill to Sun Pier also promotes activities to boost tourism and community activities.

7.7.7 The NPPF states that planning policies should help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt. The NPPF also highlights the role tourism plays in supporting the rural economy and the need for it to respect the character of the countryside.

7.7.8 Responses to earlier consultation on the Local Plan supported the development of Medway's tourism sector, linked to waterfront regeneration, the natural environment, heritage, culture, and improvements to the supply and mix of visitor accommodation.

7.7.9 Tourism and culture are important for Medway, making a significant contribution to the area's current and future economic prosperity and wellbeing of our communities. It also has a broader role in terms of raising Medway's profile and supporting a positive image that helps attract investment. Arts, entertainment and recreation industries are a valuable part of Medway's economy, and provide services to visitors.

7.7.10 As Medway grows over the plan period, our communities and visitors require improved and new community, cultural and creative facilities, public realm and open space, leisure uses, walkways and cycle routes, and visitor accommodation. The Council is leading on bringing forward such opportunities. Town centre masterplans and design codes, the Chatham Intra HAZ, urban regeneration sites and mixed-use developments can provide key mechanisms to enable this provision.

7.7.11 The potential to achieve greater value from the use of Medway's river frontage is a key aspect of the Council's regeneration and tourism aims. In the central urban areas, the waterfront also provides an opportunity to link heritage assets and provide a focus for cultural activities. The Council recognises the importance of planning for good quality public realm and providing a mix of leisure, food and drink offers in the town centres and waterfront areas. These can help provide a positive experience for communities and visitors, support the development of an evening and cultural offer, as well as boosting the local economy.

7.7.12 Green and blue infrastructure, rural areas, nationally and internationally significant wildlife habitats, comprise an invaluable tourism, health and wellbeing asset for local communities and visitors. Initiatives include the King Charles III England Coastal Path, which follows Medway's river fronts and estuaries and around the Hoo Peninsula linking Riverside Country Park with the RSPB's reserve at Cliffe Pools. Given the importance of the natural environment, the estuaries and marshes, it is essential for access to be managed sustainably to avoid damage to the area's environment.

7.7.13 The development of tourism and cultural facilities, and visitor accommodation, will be in line with the strategy promoted by the Local Plan and the priorities of the One Medway Council Plan. Proposals will also need to respect the character of urban and rural environments, respond to opportunities to improve Medway's diverse tourism and cultural offer, and provide benefits to local communities and visitors to the area.

7.8 Culture and creative uses

7.8.1 Medway's Cultural Strategy's (2020) vision is for Medway to be internationally recognised for its creativity and culture, exemplifying the positive impacts on everyone's lives.^[89] The main ambition is to reposition Medway as a cultural hub. The vision is based on six values, including strategic working, environmentally sustainable actions, inclusion and access for all and recognising culture as integral to health and wellbeing. These ambitions align very closely with the Local Plan's vision and strategic objectives for our communities and areas.

7.8.2 Arts Council England has identified Medway as a Priority Place for culture and heritage. The Medway Heritage Place project will bring investment to use heritage to build pride in place, inspire local communities and drive regeneration.

7.8.3 Culture is often expressed generally in terms of its infrastructure: museums, galleries, theatre, libraries, music venues, public art, festivals and events. The Cultural Strategy also recognises wider heritage, food, the night-time economy and the creative industries. For purposes of the policy below, culture will be described in terms of 'cultural facilities and attractions'.

7.8.4 Medway has an established profile for some aspects of our culture such as heritage assets, festivals and events, there is opportunity to widen this offer. The Council will continue to support a conducive environment for culture and the creative economy. This will broaden residents' access to activities, services and jobs. The cultural needs of existing and new communities will be met by strategically developing cultural venues, facilities, uses and creative workspaces, and the retention and enhancement of existing cultural and creative uses in their various forms.

7.8.5 Medway has a diverse mix of towns, villages and communities. Culture and creativity are expressed and enjoyed by communities across Medway, but there are some noted clusters of activities and facilities, such as larger centres like Rochester and Chatham. The Council promotes inclusion and opening up opportunities for all in enjoying culture as part of a healthy quality of life.

7.8.6 The cultural and creative sectors play a vital role in Medway and this policy approach will ensure a supportive environment for their increased contributions to economic growth and community benefits.

7.9 Rural economy

7.9.1 Medway's administrative area is home to over 279,800 residents and covers 19,354 ha of land, of which 35% are urban areas, and 65% is rural.^[90] Around two-thirds of Medway's area is rural, and this is home to around a sixth of the population. Medway's rural areas include the Hoo Peninsula to the north, and Cuxton and Halling to the south-west, the Kent Downs, North Kent Marshes, and internationally and nationally designated wildlife habitats.

7.9.2 A total of 8,845ha of Medway's land is farmed, including for field scale vegetables, fruit, arable crops, and marshland permanent pasture, with cereal production a dominant land use.^[91] Medway has a high proportion of land of the best and most versatile categories, particularly Grade 1, compared to the national and regional picture.

Figure 6: Agricultural Land Classification

7.9.3 The South East's horticultural production accounts for 1.6% of the total farmed area but delivers around a third of the region's entire agricultural output value. The region grows 40% of the nation's top fruit and soft fruit, much of it in Kent.^[92] Within the county, the Thames Estuary is a key growing area, with top fruit and soft fruit production equivalent to approximately 11% of national production. Medway contributes about 6% of the South East's fruit and vegetable production, so horticulture is an important local farming activity.

7.9.4 With the agricultural sector responsible for about 12% of the UK's 2022 greenhouse gas emissions the climate emergency and climate change affects the countryside, habitats and water resources.^[93] This places a responsibility on farming to adapt to new policy frameworks, environmental and market conditions.^[94] Technology, innovation and changing agricultural practice may, however, bring growth and diversification opportunities for farm and land-based enterprises. The growth of viniculture across Kent and Medway is illustrative of this. New crops, and different ways of cultivating existing produce, could also make more efficient use of production inputs, including soil and land, water and energy. Industry bodies, consider the agri-food sector to be well placed to respond to the climate change and net zero carbon challenge in the South East, Kent and Medway.^[95]

7.9.5 Growth and diversification of farming and horticultural activities may require supporting infrastructure, such as processing, packing and production facilities, within areas such as the Hoo Peninsula. Occasionally, visitor attractions related for example to vineyards, also form part of an enterprise's approach to diversification. This can sometimes lead to significant change in the rural landscape, should existing employment locations and on farm sites, not be available or appropriate. Business growth needs under these circumstances will therefore need to be balanced by careful consideration of any potential adverse impacts on the character of the countryside and natural environment.

7.9.6 The Council recognises that the rural economy also encompasses an increasingly diverse range of farm diversification enterprises, and rurally located businesses, which contribute significantly to Medway's economy, spanning a variety of activities, beyond traditional land-based activities. This includes services, small scale manufacturing, food and drink production, community facilities, tourism attractions, and visitor accommodation. Locations include small industrial estates, settlements and local centres, and stand-alone locations within the built area of existing farm and other settings.

7.9.7 Rurally located businesses can experience however, poorer accessibility, quality of communications and broadband, in comparisons with urban areas. A further factor affecting the development of the rural economy and sustainable communities, is the limited availability of suitable land and buildings. The Council will therefore seek to retain existing community and employment sites and facilities, providing jobs and services for local communities, before considering other uses.

7.9.8 Medway's rural, estuarine and coastal areas also provide an asset and opportunities to develop tourism and leisure sector businesses and jobs, that are reliant on the special characteristics of the countryside, coast, and environment. This resource will therefore need to be safeguarded to ensure its environmental sensitivity and economic potential is not eroded by other developments.

7.9.9 Proposals for loss of employment uses, such as village shops, and community facilities will require a reasonable attempt made, without success, to secure a similar re-use of that property or site. Marketing evidence will have to be produced over a year or six-month period. Reasonable attempts mean responding to comments made by interested parties and offering flexibility to make the site more accessible, for example it could mean to lower the price but by a reasonable amount to ensure continuation of the use. A further option could be marketing the site in smaller parcels.

7.9.10 Medway's countryside contains a diverse range of employment opportunities from farming to industry, service-based and community focussed activities, and as such is not restricted to the UCO B classes, or the E classes use that usually defines employment.

7.9.11 The NPPF outlines the need to support a prosperous and sustainable rural economy; a need to make sufficient provision for conservation and enhancement of the natural environment; and measures to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.

7.9.12 The Government also recognises the many opportunities and challenges of rural areas across England, noting the need to take proper account of the needs and circumstances of rural communities to achieve outcomes in line with urban areas – a process referred to as 'rural proofing'. Challenges include the greater prevalence of smaller businesses in rural areas, a greater reliance in some areas on less productive industries – such as agriculture and tourism – and a smaller pool of labour on which to draw.

7.9.13 Infrastructure within the countryside is also designed for a sparser population and so any proposals need to ensure they do not impact adversely on the environment and existing communities, particularly where it is not appropriate to upgrade infrastructure to facilitate the development.

7.9.14 Agriculture and rurally located businesses need to operate so as not to adversely impact on the integrity of Medway's international and national conservation designations, wider countryside, estuarine and coastal habitats. Rural and coastal areas, and agricultural activities, also provide valued eco-systems services, resources for flood risk management, recreation, human health and well-being.

7.9.15 Medway's villages provide a range of facilities for residents and visitors, such as shops, pubs, and local services. These community facilities and small businesses are critical to the sustainability of rural community life.

7.9.16 The UK's post 2020 trading arrangements with the European Union have created challenges and opportunities for agricultural and land-based businesses, the food and drink sector, which will take time to iron out. In part response the Government's support framework for the sector will lead to a changed approach to environmental land management, grant support and regulations.^[96]

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