Medway Local Plan (Regulation 19, 2025)
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Medway Council is preparing a new Local Plan to manage the area's growth up to 2041. The Local Plan covers the whole of Medway's administrative area. The plan has an important purpose in identifying a strategy for how an area should develop over time – where new development should take place, and which areas need protection. The plan will help to deliver on the Council's ambitions for the environment, supporting people and boosting jobs and investment in Medway. It is closely linked to the One Medway Council Plan 2024, that sets out our vision, ambitions and priorities. Our vision is for Medway to be a place that people are proud of; and to be recognised as a great place to live, work, learn and visit, where all people thrive. Comment
1.2 Medway area
1.2.1 The Local Plan sets out the direction for Medway's growth over coming years. This is a Plan for people who live, work, or study in Medway and visitors. It is a Plan for Medway as its own place. A complex place, which encompasses distinct towns and villages, with their own strong identity and history. A place of contrasts, from remote marshes and mudflats to busy urban streets. A place of noted heritage, but also looking to the future, with innovation and enterprise, and universities and colleges equipping students with skills for the changing world of work. Comment
1.2.2 People are at the centre of the Plan. The Council wants Medway to be a healthy place to live, with clean air, high-quality, well-designed housing, greenspaces for people to enjoy, places for people to mix, and job opportunities to support a good quality of life. Currently there are marked differences in health and wellbeing across communities in Medway. The Plan needs to look at how we plan for the use of land to help people to live healthier and longer lives, and provide safe, connected and sustainable places. Comment
1.2.3 The Plan considers the diverse communities who make up Medway. Policies for housing, employment, transport, services and community facilities, retail and design need to take account of the needs of different sectors of the community. This is reflected in the types of housing planned and infrastructure required, such as schools and parks. Comment
1.2.4 The Plan must address big issues for Medway – the environment, high quality energy efficient homes that are affordable and within the reach of residents, health and wellbeing, boosting the economy and tackling deprivation. There are many areas where we need to improve on the current position. The Local Plan is one of the approaches that the Council can take to help address inequalities, poor environmental standards and reduce pressures on services. The plan sets ambitions that can be achieved for a confident future Medway. Comment
1.2.5 Climate change is a global emergency but needs to be addressed at all levels. Medway as a coastal area is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, and changes in temperature and precipitation have impacts for landscape, food production, nature and people. The new Local Plan will help to secure a more resilient future for Medway. Comment
1.2.6 Medway sits at the mouth of its great river on the north Kent estuarine coast, bordered by the Thames to the north and the Kent Downs to the south. The five historic towns linked by the A2 form a complex urban conurbation, which retains the distinct identities of the individual towns. The population of Medway reached 286,600 people in 2023 and it continues to grow. The urban area is surrounded by a network of villages on the Hoo Peninsula and the Medway Valley, alongside marshes and mudflats, wooded hills, productive farmland and strategic energy and minerals operations built up around the wharves. Much of the countryside and estuary is of international importance for its environmental qualities, including designated Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the Kent Downs National Landscape, and National Nature Reserves. Land to the west of Medway forms part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. Comment
1.2.7 The River Medway is a key asset, providing a strong sense of place and identity. However, the river bisects the area and movement is constrained by four crossings. The severance caused by the river, established commuting flow patterns and travel behaviour, the legacy of post-war development designed for the car, and the existing public transport offer make for a challenging environment in which to accommodate Medway's development needs. Medway's location in north Kent gives rise to additional opportunities and challenges associated with wider growth, such as the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC). Comment
1.2.8 The Local Plan is much more than identifying sites for new housing, but this is a key part of the Plan. There are huge pressures on housing. Decent homes are unaffordable for many people. Unfortunately, some of the accommodation locally is sub-standard and there are challenges in securing decent standards with some conversions, particularly where they are undertaken under permitted development. The supply of new housing is central to the new Local Plan, but it is about more than housing numbers. The Plan seeks to improve the choice and mix of homes, drive up quality, and meet the needs of different sectors of the community. Housing-led growth can support wider investment in services and businesses and contribute to shaping the character of new and existing communities. Comment
1.2.9 The Plan can help Medway to capitalise on its strategic advantages for businesses, with transport links, proximity to London, the cluster of universities and colleges, and a diverse portfolio of employment land from the strategic landholdings at Grain and Kingsnorth, to re-purposing vacant retail units on the High Streets. There are opportunities to redress the flow of commuters from Medway to jobs in London and attract more businesses to set up locally. This is central to Medway's economic strategy, but is challenged by current trends, particularly with cost of living pressures where people are being attracted to move to Medway for its choice of housing, but retain jobs in London. Comment
1.2.10 The Plan considers how Medway's infrastructure, such as schools, transport networks, health facilities, parks and community facilities, need to be upgraded in line with a growing and changing population. Comment
1.2.11 When it has been adopted, the new Local Plan will supersede the existing Medway Local Plan 2003, and will be used to assess and determine planning applications together with any relevant policies in neighbourhood plans. Applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Comment
1.2.12 The plan covers the period up to 2041 and it is important that it is read as a whole. All Local Plan policies should be considered together and not in isolation in the preparation and consideration of planning applications. The policies in the Local Plan do not list or cross reference to all other policies that may be relevant. Comment
1.3 How the plan has been prepared
1.3.1 All local planning authorities in England and Wales are required by Government to have an up to date Local Plan. The Local Plan addresses a range of environmental, economic and social matters, including infrastructure needs. The plan has been prepared to be consistent with the Government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and associated Government legislation. Comment
1.3.2 The plan has been informed by a wide ranging evidence base, including technical reports and assessments, and input from consultation and engagement with statutory bodies, residents, developers, businesses, voluntary and community organisations. The Local Plan forms part of the Council's policy framework and has strong links to wider strategies and plans, such as the One Medway Council Plan, Medway Health and Wellbeing Strategy, Medway Climate Change Action Plan, and strategies on matters such as transport, housing, waste, and wider environmental issues. Comment
1.3.3 The Council has held two formal stages of consultation at 'Regulation 18' in the preparation of the plan. In Autumn 2023, the Council consulted on the direction for the new Local Plan. Around 400 people responded to the consultation, covering a range of interests. A further Regulation 18 consultation in Summer 2024 provided more details on potential development options and draft policies to manage development. Around 400 people responded to this consultation. Various issues were raised, including concerns about the impacts of development on local infrastructure and the environment, and development sector interests promoting specific sites. Comments made in the Regulation 18 consultations are published on the Council's Local Plan web pages, together with a summary report on the issues raised, how these have been considered and the consultation process. Comment
1.3.4 A key requirement of the plan is the assessment of the level of development, such as land for housing, jobs and services, needed over the plan period. The plan considers the options for how these needs can be met through sustainable development that delivers on the vision and objectives for Medway by 2041. Comment
1.3.5 Housing is a major issue for the plan, and the scale of defined housing needs requires significant land to be identified for new housing sites. This is an important driver of the spatial strategy. The Local Housing Needs requirement is defined through use of a government standard method formula. The annual need for 1,636 homes a year has been projected over 15 years of the plan period to 2041, resulting in a need to plan for 24,540 homes. Comment
1.3.6 The Local Plan provides for housing land supply through implementation of schemes with planning permission – 'pipeline' sites, new site allocations for development, and allowance for 'windfall' sites. Windfall sites are those that receive planning permission, outside of Local Plan allocations. The supply provided in the draft plan consists of: Comment
- Pipeline sites (with planning consent, not completed or allocated) – 1,762
- Local Plan allocations – 21,194
- Windfall sites – 1,584
1.3.7 This provides a small buffer on supply over need. Further details on the calculation and definition of components of housing land supply are set out in the Land Availability Assessment, 2025. This document also outlines information on sites considered as options for development allocations in the plan. The report considers the capacity and potential use of sites and phasing of development over the plan period, recognising lead in times and build out rates on housing sites. Comment
1.3.8 The Council commissioned an Employment Land Needs Assessment to identify land requirements to support and strengthen the local economy over the plan period. This has identified a need for 204,000 sqm of industrial floorspace and 36,500 sq m of office floorspace. The plan provides sufficient land for a portfolio of sites that meet the needs of different types of businesses. The strategy recognises the potential to realise the strategic economic role of sites such as Grain and Kingsnorth in growing sectors, such as low carbon energy and AI. Comment
1.3.9 A Retail Needs Assessment was also commissioned to provide evidence of retail floorspace needed in the earlier part of the plan period. The shorter projection period reflects the uncertainty with longer term forecasts in retail, given significant changes in shopping patterns in recent years. This was updated in 2025. The plan's strategy supports existing high streets and centres, and provides for new retail floorspace as part of mixed development in strategic allocations. Comment
1.3.10 Work has assessed options for accommodating growth in different locations across Medway, including urban regeneration and expansion of villages and suburban neighbourhoods. In the Regulation 18 consultation in 2024, the Council presented three broad development strategies for comments. There was an indicative preferred strategy that included regeneration on brownfield land, and development bordering towns and villages. Comment
1.3.11 This work has been reviewed, with regard to comments made in the consultation and further assessment through the Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment. In addition, the Council has produced an updated Land Availability Assessment. This considers all development sites for their suitability, achievability and deliverability, against a range of constraints and development potential. These assessments have informed the identified spatial strategy for Medway's growth. Comment
1.3.12 The development of the Plan has been shaped by an iterative process of Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). Interim SA and HRA reports were published with the Regulation 18 consultation in July 2024. Comments made on the interim reports have been considered by the Council and its consultants. All potential sites, broad locations and reasonable alternatives for development, and policies have been assessed in the SA and HRA reports. Updated SA and HRA reports have been produced for the Regulation 19 stage of the Local Plan, considering the impacts of proposed development sites and policies, including mitigation being secured through the Plan. The HRA report supporting this Regulation 19 Plan is interim, pending specific work on air quality assessment. The HRA will be updated and published for comments before the submission of the Draft Plan for examination. Comment
1.4 Duty to Cooperate
1.4.1 The Council has a duty to cooperate on cross border strategic matters in the preparation of the Local Plan. There has been ongoing liaison and work with neighbouring local authorities and statutory consultees throughout the preparation of the Plan. This work has included consideration of the impacts of the LTC, motorway junctions on the strategic road network and large development proposals and allocations on Medway's boundaries. Comment
1.4.2 A key area of engagement has been the cross border working with Maidstone Borough Council, and wider bodies, such as health services and the Local Education Authorities in relation to the Lidsing Garden Community in Maidstone. This is a strategic development allocation in the adopted Maidstone Local Plan Review, 2024. It has a close relationship with neighbouring urban communities, services, greenspaces and transport links in Medway. The Council continues to collaborate with Maidstone Borough Council and key stakeholders in comprehensive cross border planning for new development in the two boroughs, to provide for sustainable growth, and mitigate potential impacts on existing communities and the local environment. Comment
1.4.3 The Council has discussed the matter of potential unmet housing need in neighbouring areas. This has been identified as a cross border issue with Gravesham Borough Council. There has also been liaison with Gravesham Borough Council in relation to the promotion of development on the Medway boundary in their emerging Regulation 19 plan, and the Councils have collaborated on joint technical work to inform their respective local plans and development strategies. This has established exceptional circumstances for reviewing Green Belt boundaries to meet housing needs. Comment
1.4.4 The Planning Service is collating the record of its engagement and consultation activities in a Duty to Cooperate report that will be submitted with the Draft Plan for examination. This work will be further supported by individual Statements of Common Ground between the Council and key organisations. The Council has published a Duty to Cooperate report and a composite Statement of Common Ground identifying key strategic matters. The Planning Service will continue to work with neighbouring local authorities and statutory consultees up to the submission of the plan for examination. This engagement will allow consideration and discussion of matters that have been identified in the Regulation 19 plan, and the production of individual Statements of Common Ground and an updated Duty to Cooperate report, that will be submitted with documents for examination. Comment
