Medway Local Plan (Regulation 18, 2024)

2.5.1 ArcelorMittal Kent Wire strongly supports the Council’s Strategic Objectives to secure jobs and develop skills for a competitive economy – these objectives must be carried forward in continuing to protect Chatham Docks in the draft Local Plan.
2.5.2 The current Local Plan protects existing employment uses for Chatham Docks and states in Policy ED1: Existing Employment Areas that ‘proposals for development resulting in the loss of existing industrial, business or storage and distribution development to other uses will not be permitted.’
2.5.3 In addition, Policy ED9: Chatham Docks states, ‘port-related development and an expansion of the commercial port, as defined on the Proposals Map will be permitted.’
2.5.4 If the Council is truly seeking to ‘boost the performance of the local economy by supporting local businesses to grow and innovate…’ and ‘build on existing strengths and expertise, such as engineering…and raise the profile of key sectors…’ then these protections for Chatham Docks must be carried forward into the draft Local Plan.
2.5.5 Chatham Docks employs local people who rely on its operation for their livelihoods. It must not be lost and redeveloped for housing.
2.5.6 Approximately 180 ship movements a year take advantage of the non-tidal Docks when they are fully operational– it is a very sustainable operation taking full advantage of the Dockside access. The dock use cannot be re-located, there is no other suitable site in Medway for its operation.
2.5.7 ArcelorMittal Kent Wire has submitted a series of technical reports to Medway Borough Council to demonstrate that Chatham Docks is viable and has a future, and that forcing the current operation to close does not make economic sense.

There is no proper assessment of the proposed loss of the ArcelorMittal Kent Wire facility versus the residential led proposal to ascertain whether what is proposed is a quality and resilient development. The lack of proper assessment prevents evidence-based judgments being made.
Given the significance of the port and its unique features as a non-tidal dock within Medway and the South-East, we consider there must continue to be a policy within the Local Plan which specifically supports the docks and its uses. We submit an alternative proposal for the Docks, the SPPARC Masterplan, alongside our full representations to planning.policy@medway.gov.uk

2.7.1 ArcelorMittal Kent Wire objects to any development proposal which supports the closure of Chatham Docks and which supports the loss of existing employment.
2.7.2 The draft 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.
2.7.3 It is imperative that Chatham Docks continues to be protected within the draft Local Plan in recognition of its unique locational attributes as a site protected for port-related development including industrial, business or storage and distribution development both as a designation on the Proposals Map and in Policies within the draft Local Plan.

There is no assessment of the proposal for the residential led redevelopment of Chatham Docks. The Chatham Docks Employment Report considers the economic impact of a mixed-use redevelopment of Chatham Docks but in a superficial way without proper consideration of the loss of UK production of essential steel products. The issue is not adequately considered by the Sustainability Appraisal. Noting the very widely drawn strategic objective, the Council has so far failed to produce (or rely on) any evidence which properly appraises the proposed redevelopment.
A full representation is provided to planning.policy@medway.gov.uk

Chatham Docks, by virtue of its location on a non-tidal dock, is able to use water-based transport. Were the site to be redeveloped for residential led development in accordance with the draft Local Plan, the new occupiers would not make use of that water-based transport. AMKW have sought to identify alternative sites but have concluded they would likely need to relocate outside the UK. This would have carbon consequences, as materials would need to be transported longer distances, and likely with more reliance on road-based transport.
A full representation is provided to planning.policy@medway.gov.uk

Chatham Docks is vital to maintaining a ‘robust…blue infrastructure network…’
The river-borne and sea-borne traffic associated with Chatham Docks allows direct sustainable connections with the rest of the South-East and with European ports, rather than just lorry deliveries in and out. These options would be lost were Chatham Docks to be redeveloped for uses not requiring water-based transport, and with displaced industry instead relying more on road-based transport with consequent carbon impact.
A full representation is provided to planning.policy@medway.gov.uk

The Local Plan puts forward policies in relation to employment land needs, whilst acknowledging that it is based on an assessment from 2015, updated in 2020. We submit that a more up to date assessment is required to accurately consider the need for employment land. The information provided to date is an insufficient basis for the Council's apparent identified need to "regenerate" Basin 3. We do not consider that a need to "regenerate" the site has been identified, especially given that it is currently occupied by a viable key employer.
A full representation is provided to planning.policy@medway.gov.uk

2.12.1 Policy S11 is wholly inconsistent with the proposals for Chatham Docks. Chatham Docks would not meet the test for non-employment redevelopment, as proposed by the draft Local Plan, as it is neither no longer appropriate or viable nor has there been no market interest in the in the site, nor has been market for a reasonable period (of 12 months). This demonstrates again the lack of consistency within the draft Local Plan, and the failure to properly consider of the redevelopment of Chatham Docks and its wider consequences.
2.12.2 The sustainability appraisal makes no reference to Chatham Docks and the conflict of the residential redevelopment in the consideration of this policy, indicating the inadequacy of its approach. The sustainability appraisal states that "the Council’s criteria to ensure that redevelopment of employment sites only occurs where detrimental effects can be avoided". This is clearly not the case in relation to Chatham Docks. That neither the Council policy nor the sustainability appraisal consider a balancing approach demonstrates a lack of understanding of the planning process in general and Chatham Docks in particular.

2.13.1 There are superficial references to the use of waterfront site for regeneration and tourism aims, without proper consideration of the unique locational characteristics of Chatham Docks. Due regard is not had to properly identifying sites for commercial development which meet the needs of a modern economy, pursuant to paragraph 84(b) of the National Planning Policy Framework and the amendments proposed to it. Further, this policy does not take into account the proposed amendments to paragraph 85, in particular the recognition of the importance of decarbonisation and reliability in the supply chain. The draft Local Plan fails to engage with these emerging national requirements. Draft Policy S14 identifies Chatham Docks as a site where "locally distinct clusters of cultural facilities, venues and related creative uses" will be supported. This policy clearly indicates a failure to engage with the significance of the non-tidal docks and the opportunity they provide for businesses who require access to water and cannot easily relocate, or in fact be accommodated elsewhere in the region. Further, there is no balancing of the carbon impact of losing water-based means for industrial sites. There is no detailed assessment of the current uses and the likelihood of a cluster of cultural uses being successful or even likely here. The policy does not appear to be based on any more detailed assessment than an assumption that cultural facilities near water would be visually attractive, without recognising the unique facilities from a carbon and industrial perspective which would be lost. The sustainability appraisal does not grapple with this at all, in a clearly inadequate manner.
2.13.2 This is contrary to National Planning Policy Framework paragraph 86(b), which requires planning policies should "set criteria, or identify strategic sites, for local and inward investment to match the strategy and to meet anticipated needs over the plan period". Instead, a rather superficial approach appears to have been taken.

2.14.1 The draft Local Plan states "[t]he integration of land use and transport planning has an important role to achieve net zero. In short, the planning of new development needs to shift from a mitigative to a creative approach, i.e. leading with a vision". However, the draft Local Plan does not put this in to practice when considering the proposals for the Chatham Docks site. Rather, it is inconsistent when proposing land uses at the Docks which do not require access to the water and would not make use of water-based means of transport, and which would force existing businesses which use water based transport for bulky industrial products to relocate. We submit that residential uses could be located in a large range of areas, without any particular need for proximity to water or a dock which would cease to be operational if residential uses replaced existing businesses. The draft Local Plan has failed to grapple with the importance in transport terms, among others, when proposing residential redevelopment.
2.15 Carbon impacts of transport
2.15.1 Whilst the draft Local Plan acknowledges that "[t]he levels of change required are unprecedented and equate to an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from surface transport by 2030" there is a failure to protect the current low carbon means of transport by continuing water-based uses at Chatham Docks. The draft Local Plan does not assess the loss of the non-tidal docks and their importance for industries relying on water-based transport, with consequent carbon consequences. Current and future operators at the Chatham Docks who use water-based transport for materials and products would have to relocate and instead use road-based means of transport, potentially over longer distances, producing more carbon at a time of acute concern about the environment, and contrary to other statements in the draft Local Plan itself regarding net zero. In ArcelorMittal Kent Wire's case, were the docks to be redeveloped, they would likely be forced to relocate overseas, with products supplied to the South East travelling much longer distances with connected carbon consequences
2.15.2 We consider this failure to be material, in particular in failing to consider downstream carbon consequences contrary to the UK's transition to low carbon future pursuant to NPPF paragraph 8.