Medway Developer Contributions and Obligations Guide

18.1 Background

18.1.1 Medway Council currently manage four sports centres – Medway Park, Strood, Hoo and Cozenton Park Sports Centre, plus The Strand Lido and Park and Watling Park 3G Football Centre. Medway Sport Centres currently have over 10,000 active members. Comment

18.1.2 Medway Park hosts a comprehensive regional, national and international events programme with an average annual footfall of 750,000. Comment

18.1.3 Medway Council also provide sport development opportunities and events for the community to increase engagement and participation in physical activity. This includes The Medway Mile, Summer of Sport, Muslim Women’s yoga, Homeless Football and The Mini Youth Games (including Inclusive Youth Games). These opportunities take place in sports centres, greenspaces and formal outdoor sports facilities. Comment

18.1.4 The projected increase in the population of Medway will create demand for additional modern and accessible indoor and outdoor sports facilities which reflect our customers’ needs and current demands and align with the Medway Sports Facilities Strategy and Medway Playing Pitch Strategy. Outdoor sports are included under the Open Space section 15. Comment

18.1.5 The Facilities Planning Model (2025) will review supply and demand for swimming pools, leisure centres and sports halls. This will further evidence the need for more and inclusive range of indoor sport facilities for an increasing and diverse population. Comment

Charge: £334.63 per dwelling Comment

18.2 Policy/Evidence Base

Medway Sports Facilities Strategy 2017 Comment

Facilities Planning Model (in progress in 2025 with Sport England) Comment

A new version of The Medway Sports Facilities Strategy is currently in development to be published in 2026 Comment