We are writing on behalf of our client, Mr Richard Castle and family, of Dagenham Farm, Ratcliffe Highway, St Mary Hoo, Rochester, Kent, ME3 8RN in respect of the Medway Council Local Plan Regulation 18 Consultation Report – Setting the Direction for Medway 2040.

Mr Castle and family remain committed to the promotion of the sites at Grain Road Middle & Lower Stoke for residential development in the future Local Plan. This representation is made in this context and demonstrates a justification for designation of these sites as part of a sustainable rural expansion to meaningfully contribute to the Council’s substantial housing requirements within the District.

These sites have been promoted for housing development through the Medway Council Call for Sites 2022 in February 2023. Following the publication of the Medway Land Availability Assessment (LAA) on the 16th October 2023, the three sites at Middle & Lower Stoke (See Figure 1) have been given the reference numbers as follows:
• AS15 - Land at Middle Stoke, Grain Road, Rochester – 0.86 hectares
• AS14 – Land to the North of the A228, Grain Road, Rochester – 2.71 hectares
• AS17 – Land to the East of the A228, Grain Road, Rochester – 7.82 hectares

During the Stage 1: Identification of Sites and Initial Survey, the assessment of these sites concludes that they should all subsequently proceed to Stage 2, where the Council will carry out a more detailed assessment. The LAA confirms that work is underway on Stage 2, involving estimating the development potential and an assessment of the suitability, availability, and achievability of each site, before considering whether constraints are capable of being mitigated.

These representations confirm that the three sites could be delivered in the first 5 years of the Local Plan period, and are available now.

The production of the Medway Local Plan has involved a number of key stages. With three stages already having been completed, the ‘issues and options’ (Regulation 18) completed in 2016, the ‘development options’ (Regulation 18) completed in 2017, and the ‘development strategy’ (Regulation 18) completed in 2018. This consultation, ‘setting the direction for Medway 2040’ (Regulation 18) consultation, marks the fourth consultation phase and the final regulation 18 consultation before the publishing of the Regulation 19 draft plan.

The current consultation considers why the Council needs to plan for Medway's growth. It refers to aspects of Medway that need to be safeguarded for the future, such as beautiful landscapes and historic buildings. The consultation document also outlines potential options for building new homes, workplaces and services, such as schools and surgeries.

It is understood that this consultation does not detail policies or identify those sites preferred by the Council for new development. However, this representation builds on previous submissions by Mr Richard Castle and family, who continue to promote the three sites at Middle and Lower Stoke for residential development, in the context of the current open consultation.
Context

This representation seeks to continue the promotion of the three sites at Middle and Lower Stoke, Grain Road, Rochester, which have previously been promoted for residential development through the Call for Sites 2022 undertaken by Medway Council, and which have now been through an initial Stage 1 Assessment (MC Ref: AS14, AS15 & AS17) as part of the Land Availability Assessment (October 2023).

Prior to the Call for Sites 2022, there has been some previous promotion, as summarised below, albeit it is noted that Sites AS14 & AS17 have not been previously promoted through any earlier representations.
AS15 – Land at Middle Stoke, Grain Road, Rochester
This site was promoted through representations made in respect of the Medway Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) 2017 under site reference 0794 and in
response to the subsequent Medway Local Plan 2012-2035 Development Options Consultation.

Most recently, site AS15 has been subject to an outline application for up to 9 dwellinghouses as part of application MC/23/0106. On 27 September the Committee voted for a resolution to approve the scheme, following the Council’s recommendation to approve subject to clarification from HSE. Such clarification has at the time of writing been received by HSE and the principle of residential development on site AS15 is considered acceptable. Respectfully, this position should be carried forward by the Council in terms of site allocation; albeit, it is accepted that the development is likely to come forward prior to any approval of a new Local Plan.

It is supported that during this Regulation 18 consultation that these three sites on land at Middle & Lower Stoke are now included as part of the defined area being promoted by Medway Council as Rural Development Sites, as shown on Map 3 within the Regulation 18 – Setting the Direction for Medway 2040 (September 2023) consultation document a having potential for providing capacity for 14,736 homes.

This representation confirms that the location of the sites on the edge of an existing settlement are considered to be sufficiently sustainable and suitable for a mixture of small-scale residential development (AS15 – Land at Middle Stoke) and for high-quality, landscape-led, low density residential development (AS14 & AS17 – Land to the North and Land to the East of Grain Road). Site AS14, by virtue of its location, could also be developed, not only in isolation, but more strategically with neighbouring sites to the north, as also being assessed through the LAA.