Medway Council wants a lower housing target for five years, then a higher one. You can comment on it and 13 other new plan documents until 26 October.
Medway Council is asking the planning inspectors to let it build fewer homes a year for the first five years of its Local Plan, and more in the five years after. The proposal is one of 14 documents now out for public comment. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on Monday 26 October.
The council announced the consultation on Monday. The inspectors examining the Medway Local Plan 2041 asked for it. The council handed these documents in during the first round of hearings in September, and the consultation page says they “have not previously been available to all interested parties”.
The housing numbers
Medway’s housing need works out at 1,636 homes a year. The council says it is not trying to lower that total. It wants to change the timing instead.
Its explanatory note of 17 September proposes a “stepped” requirement:
| Plan years | Financial years | Homes required a year |
|---|---|---|
| Years 1 to 5 | 2026/27 to 2030/31 | 1,309 |
| Years 6 to 10 | 2031/32 to 2035/36 | 1,963 |
| Years 11 to 15 | 2036/37 to 2040/41 | 1,636 |
The council’s reason is that its big strategic sites will be slow to start. Roads, schools and other infrastructure have to come first, and builders need time to get going. Once those sites are running, it expects building to “increase substantially”.
The note also says two of those sites have moved:
- the Hoo Consortium has revised when its sites on the Hoo Peninsula will deliver, with some earlier and some later
- Land West of Strood now records a one-year delay
Will it add up?
The council’s own table forecasts 26,316 homes by 2040/41 against a requirement of 26,176. That leaves a margin of 140 homes over 15 years.
The same table shows how far behind Medway starts. It puts 2025/26 at 841 homes against a requirement of 1,636, a shortfall of 795 that has to be made up.
It also shows building falling short of the target in six of the later years. The council says earlier over-delivery covers those gaps.
The note gives Medway’s latest Housing Delivery Test result as 60%. That test compares homes built over three years with the number needed. Because Medway is below 85%, national rules make it plan for 20% more land than its five-year target. The council says it can still show a five-year supply when the plan is adopted.
What else is in the consultation
Six of the documents are Statements of Common Ground: written agreements between the council and other parties. Five are with the promoters of large housing sites:
- the Hoo Consortium, on the Hoo Peninsula
- F T Atwood and Partners, at Capstone Valley
- Esquire Developments, at Rainham Parkside Village
- Peel Waters, at North Gillingham
- Barratt David Wilson Homes, Bellway and Brookworth Homes, on Land West of Strood
The sixth is with the “prescribed bodies”, the public organisations the council has a legal duty to cooperate with on planning.
The rest include transport modelling for 2031 junctions, a high-level appraisal of Medway’s flood defences, an updated Green and Blue Infrastructure Framework, and a note on Southern Water’s request for tighter water efficiency standards in new homes.
When the hearings resume
The second round of hearings runs at the Hessenthaler Suite at Priestfield Stadium in Gillingham. The inspectors’ draft programme of 1 October sets out the days:
| Date | Subject |
|---|---|
| Tue 17 Nov | Transport |
| Wed 18 Nov | Health, communities and infrastructure; energy |
| Thu 19 Nov | Minerals and waste |
| Tue 24 Nov | Site allocations SA1 to SA6 |
| Wed 25 Nov | Site allocations SA7 to SA14 |
| Thu 26 Nov | Delivery and monitoring; wrap-up and inspectors’ closing |
Fridays 20 and 27 November are held in reserve. Sessions run from 9.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.
Anyone can watch. The council’s hearings page says sessions are livestreamed and recorded. Only people who made a representation earlier can speak. They must email the programme officer by 5pm on Thursday 22 October.
What it means for you
If you want the inspectors to hear your view on these documents, you have until 26 October. Quote the document reference, for example MLP/ED30, in your response. You can respond:
- online through the council’s Opus Consult page
- by email to Planning.Policy@Medway.gov.uk
- by post to Planning Service, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham ME4 4TR
Printed copies are at Chatham Library and Community Hub. The council says every response will go to the inspectors and be published on the examination record. For queries, call 01634 331629.
For applications near you, see our Medway planning applications page and our planning news round-up.
Have your say