Medway Local Plan (Regulation 18, 2023)

COMMENT ON PARA. 1.2
ArcelorMittal strongly supports the Council’s ambitions for boosting jobs and investment in Medway in the new Local Plan - particularly in considering the future of Chatham Docks.

Chatham Docks is a 400-year old commercial port and is a vibrant, working dock operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The docks employ over 800 people – many of whom are local. There are also existing jobs in the supply chains. Overall, there are over 2000 jobs dependent on the docks.

Chatham Docks must be both supported and protected in the new Local Plan.

A raft of documents has previously been sent to Medway Council for Officers to consider as part of its consideration of this new Local Plan including the following:

- A Viability Report prepared by Medway’s leading accountants, Crossley Group, into the economic conditions surrounding commercial tenancy at Chatham Docks that concludes that the return on Chatham Docks is ‘above industry expectations and is therefore economically viable from a capital perspective.’
- A report by marine consulting engineers and ship surveyors, ABP Marine Limited, into the costs of repairing the existing lock gates at Chatham Docks. This report concludes that it would only require a capital outlay of £3.5 million to repair the lock gates rather than the £30 million suggested by Peel L&P.
- An economic and financial assessment of Chatham Docks by Independent Port Consultants concludes that ‘in view of the cost estimate, financial viability and impact on jobs and revenue if the operation is made to close, ending the operation to render the land available for alternative uses does not make economic sense.’

For your convenience we re-submit these reports again as part of these representations on behalf of ArcelorMittal. These representations and a copy of the reports have been emailed to: futuremedway@medway.gov.uk

COMMENT ON PARA. 1.4
ArcelorMittal notes that this consultation does not detail policies or identify those sites preferred by the Council for new development and notes that details relating to specific sites will come in the next stage on the Local Plan.

ArcelorMittal submitted representations to the Call for Sites consultation requesting that Chatham Docks be retained as a working, vibrant dock and be promoted for development for continued port use in line with current Local Plan policies ED1 – Existing Employment Areas and Policy E9 – Chatham Docks.

It is a thriving industrial dock. The docks employ over 800 people – many of whom are local. There are also existing jobs in the supply chains. Overall, there are over 2000 jobs dependent on the docks.Chatham Docks must continue to be both supported and protected in the new Local Plan.

Technical evidence has previously been submitted to the Council on behalf of ArcelorMittal in support of Chatham Docks continued operation which must be taken into consideration when reading these representations.

We have re-submitted these technical reports again as part of these representations and they have been emailed to: futuremedway@medway.gov.uk

COMMENT ON PARA. 2.7
The new Local Plan must strike a balance in identifying new sites for housing but not to the detriment of existing jobs and existing important employment generating uses employing local people within the Borough.

Chatham Docks is a vibrant, working dock operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The docks employ over 800 people – many of whom are local. There are also existing jobs in the supply chains. Overall, there are over 2000 jobs dependent on the docks.

Chatham Docks must continue to be both supported and protected in the new Local Plan.

COMMENT ON PARA 3.1
ArcelorMittal notes that ‘Medway is a leading economic player in the region.’ Therefore, future housing development in Medway cannot be at the expense of existing viable employment generating sites.

Chatham Docks is a 400-year old port employing over 800 people. There are existing jobs in the supply chains. Overall, there are over 2000 jobs many of which are local and dependent on the docks.

Chatham Docks must continue to be supported and protected in the new Local Plan.