The plan's vision is to

Connectivity and infrastructure are essential to Medway’s development. Pathways, including alleys, need to be maintained on a regular basis and pavement parking needs to be curbed. The parking of vehicles on pavements make it almost impossible to walk around most of our towns, we really need to use traffic wardens and issue penalties to re-educate the drivers that pavements are for pedestrians. Developments need more than just adequate road, cycle and pedestrian provision, these need to be considered alongside recreational and green space areas not just small patches of neglected verges.

Green spaces and woodland areas must be saved in Medway. Not everyone has a car that's why local green spaces and woodland must not be built in so that people don't have to travel far to enjoy nature. For the sake of residents mental health please do not build on any more green spaces.

Medway desperately needs a new hospital, one that has room for expansion if necessary. We had 3 hospitals but are down to one that can’t expand and is not fit for purpose, it’s too old and can’t provide comprehensive services to the expanding communities it serves. currently services such as blood testing are undertaken at a unit on an industrial estate and clinics are farmed out everywhere, some of the wards at this hospital are old, narrow and Victorian. Last October I spent time on Sapphire ward, we had a resident mouse in the ward that ran about the floor at night and this was on one of the more modern rooms. The car parking is expensive, limited and pitiful I feel sorry for the staff who try to work there. Plenty of greenfield sites are being sold off for so called luxury or executive housing, particularly on the peninsula, let’s see some real future planning, we need green spaces and more social housing but we need an up to date, modern hospital to provide a good service here.

Re addressing climate change: it would be good to see more public recycling facilities on the high street and at key points throughout Rochester. Encouraging local business to think sustainably would also be great e.g. more veggie/vegan food options (Rochester seems quite meat heavy), biodegradable single use food packaging, metal straws etc.

Re more sustainable choices of transport: having left London for Rochester, there certainly seems to be an over-dependency on cars here, notably due to lack of regular buses and local supermarkets - so keeping on top of essentials such as food shopping always seems to require either a drive or home delivery (both fuel dependent). What could help here is:
- More local and well stocked supermarkets - we are in desperate need of one on Maidstone Road near the top by the post office, also towards the bottom near The Granville.
- More regular buses - they currently only come once every 0.5-1hr, which means you usually ending up opting to drive somewhere for convenience
- More electric charging points throughout the town and local roads (e.g. via lampposts) to encourage hybrid and electric cars
- Bike lanes around the town, and space for secure CCTV bike storage near the station
- Safer walkways near busy roads e.g. maidstone road seems especially dangerous for school children walking up and down it, and the cars driving at 30mph

It is important for the vision to identify development opportunities in sustainable locations for a range of high quality residential accommodation and employment sites to deliver future growth, whilst protecting the area's important environment and the heritage assets. Focus should be on identifying existing urban and brownfield sites and where possible, making efficient use of land and buildings over green field development.
Furthermore, policies need to be suitably flexible to ensure that developers have confidence to invest and respond to changes in economic circumstances.

Reference to

“Medway's economic mineral resources may be worked to meet needs and will be safeguarded from unnecessary sterilisation and for use by future generations. Wharves and rail depots continue to be utilised for the importation and distribution of minerals and will be safeguarded for this purpose. A positive legacy will be left by mineral supply development in Medway”

Removal of paragraph and term 'sterilised'

Support the objectives of the Council's vision in principle - further consideration of detailed policies in due course.

Climate Alarmism and resulting NetZero policies must not strangle the local economy and control local peoples freedom through green taxes and fines for non compliance. We still suffer from a cost of living crisis and unnecessary ineffective Covid Orwellian controls that damaged our economy and wellbeing. The public must not be forced or frightened into a Chinese style of social control or a Stone Age type of existence. Climate portfolio holders for climate change include alternative views held by eminent scientists: Dr Richard Lindzen, Physicist Andy May, Dr Judith Curry, Dr John Christy and Dr William Happer.

The scale of suggested residential development, especially in the Capstone Valley/Spekes Bottom, is inconsistent with the stated vision.

More bins in residential areas.
More efficient litter picking service. I see workers but medway is still full or rubbish and broken glass
Poo bags available in areas rife with dog poo.
A limit on "cash & carries" kebab/pizza/unhealthy take away establishments on high streets.
Free activities for children from low socio economic backgrounds. Especially in holidays. Encourage them to develop hobbies.
Funding for young people from low socio economic backgrounds to have music lessons, dance classes, sports etc
School buses for primary and SEND children. The council spends too much money on taxis also the environmental impact

I am strongly against this plan. I understand the need for more housing.
However, it is so ignorant to address how Medway has a clear strategy for climate change and how it has a wonderful countryside, to then plan to destroy native wildlife and countryside trails. How can Medway be a city which addresses climate change when you want to cover its wildflower fields and elegant native forests with tonnes of concrete? For every 1kg of concrete produced, 0.9kg of CO2 is released. There are other issues in Medway which first need to be addressed, not this.

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.

I hope sorting out Chatham High Street and surrounding areas are included, putting it politely the place has become "not nice" and no longer a desire to visit (even though I live locally).

Private car use places unsustainable pressure on the public highway network. The best way to relieve this pressure is to make sustainable and healthy transport options such as walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport the first choice for people's short everyday journeys. This will help address issues of climate change, air quality, public health and road danger.

Infrastructure needs to include safe separated spaces for people to walk and cycle, safe routes to access existing public transport services and new mobility hubs, bus priority schemes and 20mph limits where vulnerable road users are required to mix with motor traffic.

It is very hard, no impossible, to trust Medway Council when its officers make fundamental mistakes such as spending vast amounts of money on HIF preparation when the grant was not forthcoming, also paying for a Cycle lane with road signs in its centre, or paying for contractors that are late and slow, and many many more poor decisions whilst ignoring the voices from the Hoo Peninsula demanding improvements to infrastructure in advance of building permissions and building taking place. Medway Council no matter what political affiliations have and continue to be useless….

The NPPF (paragraph 20), sets out that strategic policies should ‘set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places, and make sufficient provision for [amongst others]:
a) housing (including affordable housing), employment, retail, leisure and other commercial development’;

Furthermore, the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’) requires that in order to boost housing supply, local planning authorities (‘LPAs’) should identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide 5-years’ worth of housing against their housing requirements with an additional buffer of 20% where there has been a record of persistent under delivery of housing.

The consultation report highlights at paragraph 5.4 that “It has to be recognised that there is a housing crisis, particularly regarding affordability and there is an absolute need to provide the right homes in the right places to meet Medway’s growing needs and the requirements for those desperately needing a good quality home”. It goes on to acknowledge that many existing residents are living in over-crowded and / or sub-standard housing conditions.

It is important that the protection of the intrinsic character and qualities of a site or an area are considered, but these qualities can be protected when new housing development is delivered, through good design and by improving the sustainable networks and access to places and services. Rather than seen as negative, new housing development should be seen as an opportunity to improve the area for the current and future residents delivering the types and quantity of homes that are desperately needed. On this basis, respectfully, reference to ‘housing delivery’ should be made in the vision.

The NPPF sets out in paragraph 22 that it is important that ‘where larger scale developments such as new settlements or significant extensions to existing villages and towns form part of the strategy for the area, policies should be set within a vision that looks further ahead (at least 30 years), to take into account the likely timescale for delivery’.

It is submitted that the development of Bloors Farm as a primarily housing-led scheme could be an option to deliver not only the existing elements of the vision for Medway, but could also deliver important housing numbers in the Medway area early on the plan period. The site is both available and the development of the site is achievable.

The AONB Unit welcomes the reference in the Vision to ‘The rural character of the Medway Valley and the Medway and Thames estuaries are valued landscapes and habitats are in good condition’. We are unsure about the intention or meaning of the word ‘secured’ proposed elsewhere in the Vision however, nor how ‘best’ is defined or perceived’. As a nationally recognised and designated landscape, we would consider all of the area covered by the AONB to be regarded as both valued and best landscapes.

Is Medway a city? Is that important. Addressing climate change is very important. Leading what? I've never heard the phrase medway coast???

Medway is already overcrowded. More houses will further worsen quality of life for those already living here. We already need more hospitals, GP surgeries, etc, as what we have isn't adequate to cope with all the houses built in the last 10+ years. The roads also aren't adequate to deal with yet more people. They're already overcrowded with many bottlenecks just from the sheer volume of traffic on the roads, which will worsen if you keep building without first addressing these issues.

This section talks about how we are a economic player in the area, this is not in line with the fact that the Chatham Docks are one of the areas for future development. The businesses within Chatham Docks currently turn over around 250million pounds a year and if this is shut this income will be lost and jobs will be lost. It is essential that we have jobs available for our residents and by taking away commercial businesses this is not in line with this statement.

Quality of life needs to be supported by access to services for all the family across generations. It is incredibly disappointing to find the focal point of the consultation document is solely housing volumes. Not a single reference to: School, Doctor, Dentist, Hospital when services are already over subscribed is negligent. Also note we are also in a bio-diversity crisis and the loss of habitat is alarming by when the Council is completely failing to hold developers to account for their obligations for planting. The priorities here are all wrong and not about existing residents.

I cannot accept this bobbins that Medway intends to adapt to climate change and tackle the clean air problem by concreting over the genuinely beautiful Capstone Valley

Thoroughly disagree that there are "Improved travel choices and infrastructure [that] have reduced the use of the car across Medway". Traffic is terrible, the main roads are fit to bursting and this is compounded by poorly planned roadworks on already under-maintained roads.
How can you even begin to mention "Medway's farmland" when your plans suggest you intend to build on a large proportion of it.

How exactly would we be addressing climate change by removing all of medways green space? Air quality is already poor and this will only exacerbate it. Not enough public transport options so cars are always used on an already overworked road infrastructure.

Medway will also be a regional player within the South East and establish itself as a major regional power within the Thames Estuary.

Medway will also have thriving education and be the "place to be". Our young people want to study in Medway and remain in Medway after they graduate.

Excellent plan of action, more info on river connectivity needed including support for river boat services around Medway and river links to Kingsnorth jetty.
Improved access into the river for leisure users to include repairs to existing river infrastructure and extension of canoe route from Allington to The Strand.
Inclusion of river user representation with Medway Swale Boating Association

The NPPF (paragraph 20), sets out that strategic policies should ‘set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places, and make sufficient provision for [amongst others]:
a) housing (including affordable housing), employment, retail, leisure and other
commercial development’;

Furthermore, the National Planning Policy Framework (‘NPPF’) requires that in order to boost housing supply, local planning authorities (‘LPAs’) should identify a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide 5-years’ worth of housing against their housing requirements with an additional buffer of 20% where there has been a record of persistent under delivery of housing.

The consultation report highlights at paragraph 5.4 that “It has to be recognised that there is a housing crisis, particularly regarding affordability and there is an absolute need to provide the right homes in the right places to meet Medway’s growing needs and the requirements for those desperately needing a good quality home”. It goes on to acknowledge that many existing residents are living in over-crowded and / or sub- standard housing conditions.

It is important that the protection of the intrinsic character and qualities of a site or an area are considered, but these qualities can be protected when new housing development is delivered, through good design and by improving the sustainable networks and access to places and services. Rather than seen as negative, new housing development should be seen as an opportunity to improve the area for the current and future residents delivering the types and quantity of homes that are desperately needed.
On this basis, respectfully, reference to ‘housing delivery’ should be made in the vision.

The NPPF sets out in paragraph 22 that it is important that ‘where larger scale developments such as new settlements or significant extensions to existing villages and towns form part of the strategy for the area, policies should be set within a vision that looks further ahead (at least 30 years), to take into account the likely timescale for delivery’.

It is submitted that the development of Bloors Farm as a primarily housing-led scheme could be an option to deliver not only the existing elements of the vision for Medway, but could also deliver important housing numbers in the Medway area early on the plan period. The site is both available and the development of the site is achievable.

We are writing on behalf of our client, AC Goatham and Son of Flanders Farm, Ratcliffe Highway, Hoo St Werburgh, Kent, ME3 8QE in respect of the Medway Council’s Local Plan – Regulation 18 Consultation Report-Setting the Direction for Medway 2040.

AC Goatham & Son remains committed to the promotion of Bloors Farm as a site for predominantly housing-led residential development in the future Local Plan. This representation is made in this context and demonstrates a clear justification for designating the site as a sustainable urban extension to meaningfully contribute to the Council's substantial housing requirements within the district.

This site was formerly promoted for housing development through the representations made by Begur Ltd to the Regulation 18 consultation in April 2017 and secondly through Rapley LLP who continued to support the site through the Regulation 18 consultation held in June 2018. Now being promoted through Bloomfields Chartered Town Planners, the site still provides an opportunity for positive growth in the Medway area to 2040.

AC Goatham & Son has significant land ownership interests across the Medway area and also has interests in a number of sites which they have long term leases on. Within Medway the business farms over 500 acres of land for top fruit (apples and pears). In the last 10 years the business has invested over £20 million in built infrastructure in Medway to support its farming business.

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 period 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 both Begur Ltd and Rapley LLP. AC Goatham & Son, continues to promote the site known as Bloors Farm, as a primarily residential housing-led scheme, in the context of the current open consultation.

Context

This representation seeks to continue the promotion of the site known as Bloors Farm. Lower Rainham Road, Rainham, which has previously been promoted for housing development through the 2008 Call for Sites exercise undertaken by Medway Council, the Local Planning Authority (LPA) and subsequently assessed through the 2019 Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA).

Bloors Farm is circa 27.32 hectare and was submitted under the name “Land between Pump Lane & Bloors Lane, Rainham”. It was given the reference number in the SLAA of ‘Site 750’. A plan of the site being promoted is attached at Appendix 1 for information.

Bloors Farm was last assessed by the Council through the Medway Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA) in December 2019, and along with a separate site in the ownership of our client, Pump Farm, both were identified as being available and achievable. However, they were subsequently deemed unsuitable without identified constraints being overcome. They were therefore not included to be carried forward for the next stage of assessment as part of the site selection for the Draft Local Plan.

The overall conclusion in the SLAA considered the site unsuitable for development unless identified constraints could be addressed. The constraints that were identified as unresolvable were because the site was ‘agricultural land’ and was identified as being the best and most versatile agricultural land. It is supported that during this Regulation 18 consultation the Bloors Farm site is now included within the area which is identified as a potential area of suburban expansion.

This representation confirms that the site continues to be promoted primarily for a housing-led development scheme. The strategic location and size of the site provides the opportunity for the delivery of a minor mixed-use scheme, which could be developed in isolation or more strategically with neighbouring sites, namely Pump Farm.

This representation responds to the current Regulation 18, by setting out how these constraints to development could be overcome. In addition to responding to each of the headings in the consultation plan, and identifying how the Bloors Farm site can deliver the vision and objectives through sustainable development.
 The vision for Medway in 2040
 The strategic objective; and
 Developing a Spatial Strategy

Overcoming Constraints:
The SLAA site assessment of Bloors Farm concluded that the only identified constraint for Bloors Farm was that the site is agricultural land. A further interpretation of the Local Policies map also identified that the site is in an area of Locally Valued Landscape.

It is set out below that both of these constraints can be overcome. In addition, The LPA is now reconsidering the suitability of Bloors Farm, as it is included in the general suburban land approach advocated in the general suburban extension model advocated in Map 2 of the consultation ‘Map 2 – overview of potential sites for Suburban Expansion’. An approach that is actively supported through these comments.

AC Goatham & Son confirms that this site will become surplus to requirement as orchards during the Local Plan period, which extends to 2040. It is expected over the coming years that some of the periphery orchards, Bloors Farm being one, will no longer form the main basis of their business model as the intention is to draw in operations closest to their headquarters and consolidate outlying interests. This meets the aspirations of NPPF paragraph 83, which advocates that ‘planning policies and decisions should recognise and address the specific locational requirements of different sectors’. The use of Bloors Farm with its intensive fruit farming operation has attracted significant residential complaints in recent years. Furthermore, the impending requirements for investment in replanting in the coming years will make the ongoing use of the site as an orchard unviable. The need for these sites to remain as agricultural land has been confirmed as having diminished significantly as to effectively extinguish what was formerly identified need.

The landowners is therefore releasing Bloors Farm, along with the neighbouring farm, Pump Farm, during the Local Plan process from their business portfolio of operational orchards. However, for the purposes of confirming land availability Pump and Bloors Farm are available now.

In respect of the Area of Locally Valued Landscape, it is our view that there will be no unacceptable impact on the landscape value. The Council’s Medway Landscape Character Assessment (2011) (‘MLCA’) identifies this area as an urban fringe with
urban/industrial influences. However, the landscape “condition” and “sensitivity” are identified as “moderate”.

It is now identified in the current consultation that the site could form part of a suburban expansion model, a model which is supported. It is therefore considered that the development of the site with a comprehensive and sensitive masterplan approach to incorporate appropriate landscaping will address any early landscape concerns. These could be undertaken a both strategic level through the Local Plan and on the site itself via careful masterplanning. In accordance with paragraph 125 of the NPPF 125, ‘area-based character assessments, design guides and codes and masterplans can be used to help ensure that land is used efficiently while also creating beautiful and sustainable places’.

I haven't noticed a reduction in traffic through the introduction of cycle paths - In fact cyclists are rarely seen. Traffic is increasing so this has not improved congestion. Public transport can only be guaranteed if it is subsidised. Bus companies only run routes that are cost effective. Hoo, although highly residential, has unreliable bus services. Not everyone can find decent home. No homes for elderly living independently. Can't downsize. No starter homes for young people. Too many 4 bedroom.

Good for Medway to be a regional leading city, but all the world's outstanding cities have green space. Looking at the map, Capstone is the only decent sized green space in the heart of this metropolis. Please don't lose it.

Secondly, other councils are building houses on our borders so occupiers will rely on Medway Council for many of their needs - make representation at National Level, for these areas to transfer to us.