Prepared for a sustainable and green future

Comment

Representation ID: 321

Received: 18/09/2023

Respondent: Mr Stephen Morton

There are hardly any protected cycle lanes in Medway.
Shared routes with pedestrians are not the answer.
Please start a programme of restructuring all major routes and juntions to the best design standard:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120
Once people start leaving their cars at home, pollution will decrease.
Building 28,000 new homes, encouraging more Medway-based industries and increasing road capacity for motor vehicles will dramatically increase pollution and hasten climate change.

Comment

Representation ID: 323

Received: 18/09/2023

Respondent: Mr Robert Drury

The ability to provide sustainable transport choices is dependent upon the council's ability to have day-to-day policies that work together towards the same goal and not compete. For example, the ability to offer free public transport to school children will reduce the need for parents to drive children to school, a policy of regular town cleaning reduces the risk of increased crime etc...

Comment

Representation ID: 347

Received: 25/09/2023

Respondent: Ms Celine Romand-Monnier

Public transport really must become more reliable and more affordable, at the moment the prices are extortionate.
Could the river be used too by implementing electrical boats / small ferries services between the Medway towns, and perhaps extending to the Thames towns and London?

Comment

Representation ID: 353

Received: 26/09/2023

Respondent: Mrs Claire Baldwin

Safer cycling routes are required. I dislike cycling in high traffic areas of Medway as I feel very unsafe with the large volume of traffic and heavy goods vehicles.

We have a good number of parks and green spaces in Medway, which is massively to our benefit. These should be protected as part of our green future, and development restricted to brownfield sites.

Comment

Representation ID: 355

Received: 26/09/2023

Respondent: Mrs Monira Ali

Use of boats and teams for transportation.
Better lighting to feel safe when it gets darker earlier.
Better roads, no pot holes, more electric car charging points to be available around Medway, not just car parks.

Comment

Representation ID: 367

Received: 26/09/2023

Respondent: Mrs Jill Lovell

There is nothing to disagree with in the strategic objectives other than to urge restraint and limit the number of new homes built before roads and public amenities are securely in place.
I’m concerned that the proposed LTC will damage the environment which is one of the jewels in Medway’s crown and referred to so eloquently in the opening comments.

Comment

Representation ID: 368

Received: 27/09/2023

Respondent: Mrs Jill Lovell

A PS to my earlier comments !

Re new builds. Would the council require new housing to incorporate sustainable heating / lighting together with insulation.
Also large scale introduction of ground source heating/heat pumps along with insulation for existing properties enabling council tax payers to improve their homes efficiently and economically?

Comment

Representation ID: 371

Received: 02/10/2023

Respondent: Ms Celine Romand-Monnier

It would be absolutely lovely to have a cycle path along the whole of Medway river, allowing to cycle from Strood to Maidstone, for instance, along the river.

Comment

Representation ID: 373

Received: 02/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Nicholas Dowling

Achieving net zero is of vital importance. Medway has the ability to lead on this in its local plan.

planning for transport must include robust proposals for vastly improved public transport links to enable trans modal shift away for the dependence on single use car journeys

Development must use sustainable construction techniques and sustainable services if Medway is to achieve net zero by 2050

Comment

Representation ID: 393

Received: 03/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Stephen Dyke

Welcome the reference to securing a "robust green and blue infrastructure", though like all the other bullet points in this section I need to see what this means in practice. In particular how the proposed suburban expansion, rural development and green belt release will enhance this (as it suggests to me filling in green parts of the landscape). I also think the document underplays the negative effect of the Lower Thames Crossing (if it goes ahead) - there are negatives to this scheme from a 'green' perspective, not least for the areas around Strood and Frindsbury.

Comment

Representation ID: 408

Received: 05/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Jason Tillman

The council needs to go much harder and faster with this aim. I lost a tree outside my house in the storm and the council did not replace it despite repeat phone calls. The only street that seems safe from tree loss is City Way. This alone will not be enough to protect habitat, ensure wildlife survival and reduce air pollution.

Comment

Representation ID: 413

Received: 06/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Jill Norton

Your proposed developments and development sites for the Hoo peninsula are totally at odds with this stated aim. Furthermore the infrastructure in terms of roads and essential services e.g. doctors etc are totally missing or unachievable. The roads in this area are already at capacity. Adding thousands of new houses will only make this even worse and add to climate issues. This is not sustainable.

Comment

Representation ID: 436

Received: 06/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Jan Sellings

I am a bit confused about the green spaces as there are so many houses/flats going up, eating up the small amount of accessible green space and grid locking roads, schools and the health service.

Comment

Representation ID: 446

Received: 08/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Sally Carman

Whilst worthy goals, as applied to possible development on the Hoo Peninsula there appears to be no realistic prospect of delivery now that HIF funds are not available.
Our roads simply cannot cope with the increase in traffic even delivery of a third of the options put forward would result in.The Ratcliffe Highway from Fenn Corner to Allhallows is already too dangerous to walk along even to a bus stop. The bus service is poor and iI wanted to use a bus to attend a class in Hoo I might have to wait 2 hours for a return trip.

Comment

Representation ID: 450

Received: 12/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Jill Peet

Fully support these objectives. They are ambitious but I believe they are deliverable

Comment

Representation ID: 455

Received: 13/10/2023

Respondent: Stuart Bourne

I believe that allotment provision has an important role to play to provide people an opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and produce cheap healthy food. Please ensure there’s enough new allotment sites to meet the growing demand.

Comment

Representation ID: 458

Received: 15/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Anita Young

As a family we enjoy capstone park and upper capstone fields. These are beautiful tranquil spaces of calm. Please don’t take them away

Comment

Representation ID: 507

Received: 19/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Keith Swaden

How do you build a sustainable and green future if you join currently distinct communities to each other, creating large conurbations or worse still a single town emanating from Chatham town centre? All this does is reduce the farmland, woodland and open areas that currently create green buffers and concentrates more housing for more people and ever more cars which would surely lead us further away from Net Zero.

Comment

Representation ID: 508

Received: 19/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Keith Swaden

Looking to the next 20 year plan 2040 - 2060 that will probably be more of the same, the whole of Medway will become a sprawling town/city. Maybe a Medway City is really the overarching objective of the council.

Comment

Representation ID: 513

Received: 20/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Ben Sawyer

Chatham Docks has significant benefits for the local Co2 emissions by allowing products to come in by sea instead of road. 1 ship of 4000 tonnes of cargo would take around 145 heavy goods vehicles to transport. Chatham Docks has around 180 ships per year, therefore that would be a potential on C. 26,000 more heavy goods vehicles required on Medway roads if it is not protected from development.

Comment

Representation ID: 522

Received: 20/10/2023

Respondent: Ms Kate Mayfield

Better cycle routes (here are some ideas) for kids and adults between the key amenity hubs of medway. And better cycle locking facilities everywhere - no low hoop type, only Sheffield cycle stands.

Comment

Representation ID: 524

Received: 20/10/2023

Respondent: Ms Kate Mayfield

Connecting up the centres of amenities in medway seems important. E.g. A bus route that runs from Strood retail park, to Rochester railway station, to chatham pentagon, to the dockyard, every 30 mins would be good, without changing. Connecting those centres seems important to get people out of cars. The intent to encourage more offices near around chatham, seems a good idea. Perhaps put in a foot passenger ferry (and for bikes) from the medway estate to sun pier running week days e.g. between 11 and 3 - might be interesting for bringing the estate people over to shop/use amenities.

Comment

Representation ID: 526

Received: 20/10/2023

Respondent: Francesca Baylis

I fully support the work to support the climate emergency and completely disagree with the central government stance that people care more about their finances. Active travel is very good for the Medway towns but could be better encouraged in the Medway valley. For example, a better pedestrian path between Cuxton and the Medway valley leisure park along the river would greatly encourage more people from Cuxton to walk to the cinema, bowling or the gym, while also providing better links into strood. Currently walking along the a228 can be quite dangerous and air pollution is a concern.

Comment

Representation ID: 545

Received: 21/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Christine Flood

Improved public transport and connectivity is essential. Safe cycle routes need to be compulsory with all new developments and current routes need review. Pavement parking needs addressing to enable people to walk. All new developments need to have environmental impacts addressed using green energy solutions as standard at build stage.
Areas need green space access for recreation and rest.

Comment

Representation ID: 551

Received: 22/10/2023

Respondent: Miss Ruby Heera

It would be great to include as an objective here ‘the provision of more local essential services such as local supermarkets to reduce carbon footprint’, as this seems to be one of the key and main reasons my partner and I need to drive anywhere regularly in Rochester.

Comment

Representation ID: 576

Received: 24/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Stephen Francis

Professor William Happer used the Equation of Transfer to produce modelling spectra that match measurements. He calculated a doubling of human caused CO2 over the century. Using the Stefan Boltzman formula this change modelled + 0.71C global temperature. Global greening is at a high demonstrating plants thrive in higher CO2. Bjorn Lomborg demonstrates it is more cost-effective to use taxpayer’s money for adaptation to mitigate the risk of severe weather episodes eg Maintain forests properly with firebreaks produces less fires & less severe fires. Burnt area of global forest 1900 - 2020 has decreased from about 4.0% to about 2.50%

Comment

Representation ID: 591

Received: 24/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Michael Eason

Medway Council - Don’t build housing on Capstone Valley and its surrounding farmland if you want to: - Protect endangered wildlife, including owls and water voles. - Save Medway’s last rural green space. - Prevent Medway from being an overly oppressive and depressing concrete landscape to live in. - Protect an outdoor green space that people who have no choice but to live in poor urban settings can easily escape to and enjoy some peace and tranquility. - Avoid near total reliance on car journeys because any housing in Capstone Valley will be miles from any train station.

Comment

Representation ID: 597

Received: 25/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Philip Calderwood

kind of contradicts what you are proposing for Capston Park which is a lovely piece of green area that Medway and Maidstone councils seem hellbent on building on :-(

Comment

Representation ID: 602

Received: 25/10/2023

Respondent: Mr Gary Outram

Medway Council received a 0% rating from Climate Emergency UK in the transport category of their Council Climate Action Scorecards (https://councilclimatescorecards.uk/councils/medway-council/).

Policies and actions that prioritise healthy sustainable travel by walking, wheeling and cycling and public transport are required so that these become the preferred and obvious choices for people's short everyday journeys in Medway.

There is a particular need for investment in public transport to serve the new and existing communities of the Hoo Peninsula. Frequency of services, operating times of services and journey times all require improvement. Establishing a rail connection should be viewed as essential.

Comment

Representation ID: 608

Received: 25/10/2023

Respondent: Mrs Daniela Baylis

To build on green belt or any of Medway's scarce green spaces is the very opposite of this statement. All development should be on brownfield sites with no other sites considered until these are fully utilised. Many of the proposed sites are on greenfields with no possibility of sustainable travel. These should not be considered. The proposed site in Cuxton has no means of sustainable travel due to the nature of local roads and a previous application for development had issues with water drainage. All sites put forward must be robustly assessed against the green criteria in this statement.