Medway states that it is committed to urban regeneration and is identifying underused sites that could make better use of brownfield land for development. While this should form an important part of Medway’s strategy, it would not deliver the visions and goals of the Plan when relied upon singularly. The cases of Chatham Dockyard and Strood Waterfront highlight the difficulties in delivering such
brownfield land in set timeframes. These ultimately fail to contribute to the Council’s pressing need for market and affordable homes. Land contamination, heritage, demolition and higher cost all act as constraints on the redevelopment of these sites which can affect viability and often lead to the slow delivery of schemes, or indeed never being completed. Medway’s recently awarded £4m from
government for unlocking unused brownfield land (for approximately 372 dwellings) highlights the significant investment required to deliver homes on brownfield land.

The Reg.18 document itself acknowledges that some of the urban regeneration sites have not been put forward by landowners and may not be available or deliverable. Indeed, the Medway Land Availability Assessment Interim Report (October 2023) provides a map that shows that quite a few of the brownfield sites identified in the Regulation 18 Plan are not available. Availability is a key tenant of deliverability identified within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and therefore any sites not available, should not be relied upon to meet the Council’s housing need.

Based on an understanding of the constraints in the District and the review of the availability of sites identified in the LAA Interim Report (October 2023), it is considered that the Council can only realistically delivery approximately 6,000 dwellings from urban regeneration schemes, which is 5,151 homes less than identified in the Reg. 18 Plan.