How to search Medway planning applications on the Public Access portal, use the weekly list, comment within your 21 days, and read the MC references.

Every one of the Medway planning applications lodged for Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester, Strood, Rainham and the Hoo peninsula goes onto one free public register, with the drawings, the reports and the neighbours’ objections attached. You do not need an account to read it, you do not need to live next door to comment, and you get 21 days from consultation to have your say. Most people find out about a scheme when the hoardings go up, which is usually months too late. This is a plain guide to where the register is, how to search it, what the reference numbers mean, and what Medway Council will and will not take into account.

Where Medway planning applications live

Medway Council publishes everything on its Public Access portal:

If you have heard it called the Medway planning portal, that is the same system. It holds applications back to 2000, and no login is needed to look. You can search by application reference, postcode, street, applicant name, date range or status, such as approved (search and comment on planning applications).

Anything older than 2000 sits in a separate system. Medway’s historical planning search covers 1946 to 2000 and returns decision notices and plans, though you need the application number or part of it to get anywhere. Image quality on the oldest documents is poor, and only decision notices and plans are published unredacted for data protection reasons.

Setting up a free Public Access account is worth two minutes if you are following a scheme: it lets you save searches, track an application and get notified when its status changes.

The weekly list: the page to bookmark

Searching by address only helps if you already know something is happening. The weekly list is how you find out first.

  • Open the portal’s weekly list, pick a week beginning date, and choose whether you want applications validated that week or decided that week.
  • Filter by ward or parish to cut it down to your own area. The ward list covers the whole authority, from Chatham Central and Brompton through Gillingham North and South, Rochester East and Warren Wood, Strood North and Frindsbury, Twydall, Rainham and Lordswood and Walderslade.
  • There is a monthly list on the same page if a week at a time is too fiddly.

Checking your ward’s validated list once a week takes about a minute and is the only reliable way to see a proposal while you can still influence it.

What the reference numbers mean

A live Medway reference looks like MC/26/1456.

  • MC stands for Medway Council and appears on every application.
  • 26 is the year the application was received, so 2026.
  • 1456 is the running number for that year, allocated in order of receipt.

That structure means you can read the age and rough sequence of any Medway application at a glance: a low number in the current year landed in January, a high one arrived recently. Applications also carry a received date and a separate validated date, and the validated date is the one that starts the clock, because an application with missing documents is not valid and is not consulted on.

How to comment on a Medway planning application

Medway consults neighbours and gives 21 days to comment. To do it:

  1. Find the application on Public Access.
  2. Click Make a Comment.
  3. Enter your comment and click Submit, or Submit and Register if you also want an account.

Two things are worth knowing before you type. First, the council does not send acknowledgement letters, on environmental grounds, so no reply does not mean your comment vanished. Second, your comment becomes part of a Statutory Register that anyone can inspect: your name and address are published on the portal within three working days, while your signature, email address and phone number are removed. If you want your name and address taken off the published version, email planning.representations@medway.gov.uk.

What counts, and what does not

Objections fail more often on relevance than on merit. Medway can only weigh planning matters. Per the council’s guidance on commenting, it can consider:

  • design and appearance, which should be high quality and in keeping with the property and the street
  • the effect on historic buildings, conservation areas and protected trees
  • the impact on nearby homes, including loss of light, outlook, privacy and noise
  • effects on vehicle, pedestrian or cycle safety

It cannot consider:

  • private agreements between neighbours, or works crossing your boundary
  • the Right to Light Act
  • loss of property value
  • spoiling your view
  • disturbance from the building work itself
  • comments on Lawful Development Certificates, which are decided on legislation rather than judgement
  • condition discharge applications, which go to specialists

What it means for you: an objection saying a development will devalue your house or block your view carries no weight at all. The same objection reframed around loss of light to a habitable room, overlooking of a garden, or a dangerous access onto a busy road is a material consideration the case officer has to address.

How long a decision takes

Once an application is validated, the council publicises and consults on it, then either a planning officer or the Planning Committee decides it. The published timescales are:

Medway Council planning decision timescales
Type of applicationTarget decision time
Minor works, such as an extension or change of use8 weeks
Major works, such as a large commercial development13 weeks
Applications with an environmental statement16 weeks

Source: Medway Council, after you’ve applied.

Approvals usually come with conditions, some of which have to be discharged by a further application before work starts. Refusals come with reasons, and the applicant can either discuss those through a pre-application request or resubmit a changed scheme. An applicant can also appeal if the application is refused, or if no decision arrives within 8 weeks (13 for major schemes) and no extension has been agreed. There is no equivalent right of appeal for objectors.

If you are the one applying

Medway takes applications through the national Planning Portal, where you complete the form, upload documents and pay the fee. Paper applications are accepted if you cannot apply online, sent to The Planning Service, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TR. The council does not accept applications by email (how to apply for permission).

Check first whether you need permission at all. Many extensions, loft conversions and outbuildings fall under permitted development, and the council publishes a check if you need permission page before you spend the fee. Permitted development rights are narrower in conservation areas and for listed buildings, both of which are common across the older parts of Rochester and Chatham, so check the constraints listed against the address on Public Access before assuming anything.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search for planning applications in Medway? Use Medway Council’s Public Access portal at publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications. You can search by address, postcode, street, reference number, applicant name or date without signing in. Applications from 2000 onwards are held there.

How long do I have to comment on a Medway planning application? Medway consults neighbours and allows 21 days for comments. Comments made after the consultation period may still be read if the application has not been decided, but the 21 day window is the one that counts.

Will my name be published if I object? Yes. Comments form part of a Statutory Register, and your name and address appear on the portal within three working days. Your signature, email address and phone number are removed. You can ask for your name and address to be withheld by emailing planning.representations@medway.gov.uk.

What does a Medway planning reference like MC/26/1456 mean? MC is Medway Council, 26 is the year the application was received, and 1456 is the running number for that year.

How do I see new planning applications in my area each week? Use the weekly list on Public Access, filtered by your ward or parish, and choose applications validated in the week you want.

How long does Medway take to decide a planning application? Eight weeks for minor works such as household extensions, 13 weeks for major developments, and 16 weeks where an environmental statement is required.

Where do I find Medway planning applications from before 2000? Through the council’s historical planning search, which covers 1946 to 2000 and needs the application number.

Sources

Parish councils are consulted on every application in their area, which is one of the things the parish precept on your council tax bill pays for. For the other everyday Medway essentials, see bin collection days and parking in Medway, or start from the Medway Live home page.

Last updated August 2026. Portal addresses, timescales and consultation rules are those published by Medway Council.