Chatham news
Chatham news, newest first, from Medway Live: planning, roads, schools, business and what's on in Chatham, with every story linked to its source.
Top story
SS Richard Montgomery Masts Reach Chatham in £500k Deal
All three SS Richard Montgomery masts are at the Historic Dockyard Chatham. A £500,000 government contract covers their storage and conservation to next August.
More stories
Business
Canteen by Gurkha Fire Opens on Chatham High Street
Canteen by Gurkha Fire opened at 245A Chatham High Street on 3 November, a street food sister to the five-rated Gurkha Fire on New Cut. Bookings are open.
Business
Fort Amherst Halloween Company Heads for Liquidation
Fort Amherst Halloween Limited calls creditors on 5 November to pick a liquidator. This year's scare and grotto tickets were sold by other Fort Amherst bodies.
Food & Drink
Medway Cafes and Coffee Shops: Where to Go
Rochester's Deaf Cat and Rochester Coffee Co, Café Nucleus's palm-tree garden in Chatham and two country park cafes: 12 Medway cafes with hours and prices.
Food & Drink
Christmas Dinner in Medway 2026: 9 Menus With Prices
Christmas Day from £54.99 in Walderslade to £110 at Upnor, December menus from £28.95: nine Medway pubs and restaurants with 2026 prices and deposits.
Soft play
Soft Play and Rainy-Day Places Near Medway
Monkey Bizz, The Fun Drum and Kidzone lead eight Medway soft play and rainy-day places, with October 2026 prices, session times and when to book ahead.
Days Out
Days Out Near Medway With Children, Checked October 2026
The Historic Dockyard, Rochester Castle and Leeds Castle lead 13 family days out near Medway, with October 2026 prices and the places that close for winter.
Food & Drink
Brunch in Medway: The Best Breakfast and Brunch Spots
Eggs Benedict from £8.50 at Fort Amherst, all-day brunch at Café Nucleus and £35 bottomless brunches in Rochester: 9 Medway breakfast spots, prices and hours.
Food & Drink
Afternoon Tea in Medway: Where to Book, Checked October 2026
Afternoon tea from £25 a head at Fort Amherst and Bridgewood Manor, £28 at Café Nucleus Chatham: 8 Medway tea rooms and hotels, with prices and booking.
Parks
Medway Playgrounds and Parks for Children
Capstone Farm, Riverside Country Park and the Strand lead 16 Medway playgrounds, with closing times, parking charges, cafes and toilets from council pages.
Buses
Chatham Bus Station Platforms A1 to A4 Shut 29 to 31 October
Platforms A1 to A4 at Chatham Waterfront Bus Station close 7pm Thursday 29 October to 6am Saturday 31 October for resurfacing. Nine routes move stop.
Walks
Walks Near Medway: Circular Routes, Parks and Riversides
Riverside Country Park, Capstone Farm and the Great Lines lead 12 walks near Medway, with distances, car parks, gate times and dog rules from official pages.
Food & Drink
Sunday Roast in Medway: Where to Book, Checked October 2026
Roasts from £15.95 at Cuxton, bottomless Yorkshires at Chatham's Command House, and riverside roasts at Upnor: 8 Medway Sunday roasts with prices and times.
Chatham
Chatham Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Chatham
Chatham roadworks: no temporary traffic orders in force within 3 km of Chatham right now. Checked every morning from the council's notices.
Chatham
Chatham Weather: 7-Day Forecast and Today's Hourly Outlook
Chatham weather today: heavy drizzle, 12°C by day and 8°C overnight, with a 79% chance of rain and winds up to 13 mph.
Data
Medway Claimant Count 7,775: Highest Since March 2022
Medway's claimant count rose by 200 to 7,775 in September, its highest since March 2022. Under-25s account for most of the rise, and 17 of 24 wards went up.
Food & Drink
Medway Restaurants: The Best Places to Eat
Omakase sushi, steak and lobster and family Italian in Rochester, plus Chatham and Rainham: 12 Medway restaurants with prices, hours, ratings, checked 24 Oct.
Chatham
Adoption and Fostering Drop-In, Chatham: Free, 7 November
Diagrama Foundation runs a free adoption and fostering drop-in at Sun Pier House, Chatham, on 7 November, 10am to 3pm. No talk to sit through; children welcome.
Sport
Medway Sports Awards: Itauma and Driscoll Join Hall of Fame
Boxer Karol Itauma and Olympic trampolinist Kat Driscoll join the Medway Sport Hall of Fame. Nominations for the 2026 awards close at 5pm on Sunday.
Chatham
North Dane Way Turn Bans From 26 October to April 2027
Two turns at North Dane Way, Lordswood, are banned from 26 October to 10 April while its roundabout is rebuilt. Boxley Road shuts for 16 weeks from 16 November.
Education
Medway Test Results 2026: Pass Mark 478, Lowest in 4 Years
Medway Test results came out on 14 October 2026 and the pass mark is 478, the lowest in four years. What it means, the 31 October deadline and the 27% plan.
Food hygiene
Medway Food Hygiene: Care Home and Rainham Restaurant Get 1
A Chatham care home and a Rainham restaurant got Medway's lowest food hygiene ratings in August. Of 92 businesses rated that month, 78 earned the top mark of 5.
Community
Chatham Community Food Shop Opens: £1 Veg Bags, No Referral
The SEK Community Food Shop opened in Chatham's Pentagon Centre on 5 October. Any Medway resident can shop: £1 fruit and veg bags, no referral or membership.
Chatham
Wayfield Primary Ofsted: Pupils Safe Now, Still Special Measures
Ofsted's June return to Wayfield Primary in Chatham found safeguarding now met and behaviour much better. The school stays in special measures, with five areas still urgent.
Halloween
Halloween in Medway 2026: Pumpkins, Ghost Tours and Scares
Pumpkin fields at Hoo and Rainham are open to Saturday 31 October and Fort Amherst's 18+ scares end on Halloween. Dockyard family ghost tours have sold out.
Christmas
Santa's Grotto in Medway 2026: Four Grottos, Dates and Prices
Hempstead Valley's grotto opens 7 November at £6.50 a child; Chatham Dockyard's Mission Christmas is £25 from 29 November, Fort Amherst from £27.50.
Housing
Medway Landlord Licensing Starts 4 January 2027 in 7 Wards
Every private let in seven Medway wards will need a council licence from 4 January 2027, at £840 a home or £1,600 an HMO. The wards, the rules and the fees.
Remembrance
Remembrance Sunday Medway 2026: Parades and Road Closures
Chatham parade gathers 10.20am, Rochester 10.25am, Gillingham service 8.45am on Sunday 8 November. Every road closure and the free car parks, confirmed.
Christmas
Chatham Dockyard Mission Christmas: 11 Dates, From £17.50
Mission Christmas 2026 at Chatham Dockyard runs on 11 dates from 29 November to 24 December: session times, ticket prices, what is included and how to book.
Chatham
Two New Chatham Nurseries Pass First Ofsted Inspections
Play A Way on Jenkins Dale scored Strong in all six areas and Marina Montessori at Chatham Maritime met the standard everywhere, with safeguarding met at both. What Ofsted found, and what parents should ask.
Planning
Chatham Care Home: 60 Beds on Old School Playing Field
A 60-bed care home is proposed on the last parcel of the former St John Fisher school field in Chatham. Comments close on 12 October, with 16 parking spaces.
Chatham
Chatham's Great Lines Park: Alcohol and Music Licence Bid
A company incorporated ten months ago wants an alcohol, live music and film licence over Great Lines Heritage Park in Chatham. Comments close on 14 October.
Chatham
Bringing Back Hope Chatham: Free Tickets for 30 September
A free afternoon at St John's in Chatham on 30 September marks a year since the Baton of Hope reached Medway. Tickets are free but must be booked first.
Data
Medway Claimant Count 7,700: All of the Rise Is Young
Medway's claimant count reached 7,700 in August, 4.2% of working-age residents. Every bit of the two-year rise is under-25s, and the 25 to 49 group has shrunk.
Chatham
Chatham Facial Recognition: 34,279 Faces, 18 Arrests
Kent Police scanned 34,279 faces in Chatham over two days and made 18 arrests. The force says every camera alert was accurate, and it has published the figures.
Schools
Medway Academy Conversion: Four Primaries, 1,529 Pupils
Swingate, Burnt Oak and the two Horsted schools left Medway Council control on 1 September, taking 1,529 pupils into a trust that was registered in June.
Twydall
Pride in Place Medway: Apply by 11 Sept to Spend £20m
Three neighbourhood boards will decide how £60m is spent in Medway. Applications close at midnight on Friday 11 September, and the plans go to government in February.
Chatham
Longhill Avenue: 16 Homes Backed on Chatham Chalk Slope
Officers recommend 16 houses beside Samuels Towers on land inside the Great Lines wildlife site, four years after the application. Kent Wildlife Trust still objects.
Chatham
Medway Panto 2026: Cinderella, 11 Dec to 3 Jan
Cinderella at the Central Theatre Chatham, 11 December 2026 to 3 January 2027: every performance time, the BSL and relaxed shows, ticket prices and parking.
Rochester
Heritage Open Days Medway: 44 Free Events, 11-20 Sept
All 44 events are free and 28 need no booking at all. Saturday 12 September is the busiest day, with 23 Medway venues open. One session has already sold out.
Transport
Medway Tunnel: £10.5m Bid to Replace Its 1996 Systems
Medway Council wants £9.25m to renew the tunnel's 1996 electrics, ventilation and life-safety systems, adding £1m itself. Decision due this autumn.
Community
Chatham Community Supermarket: £1 Veg Bags, Opens October
A social supermarket opens on the Pentagon's first floor in October: £1 fruit and veg bags, no referral or membership needed, open to any Medway resident.
Events
Super Saturday Chatham: Free Family Day, 29 August
Free drop-in on Chatham High Street and at the Pentagon, Saturday 29 August, 10am to 4pm. The craft activity must be booked ahead, and that is free too.
Planning
Docking Station Chatham: Access Road Plan In, Opens 2027
Chatham's Docking Station has planning consent but no road to it. A bid filed on 19 August would run a 3.1m lane from the Dockyard car park to the front door.
Community
Medway Young Mayor: Vote Closes 31 August, 8 in Running
Medway's first Young Mayor is chosen by 7 to 18 year olds and voting shuts on Monday 31 August. Eight candidates stand; the seven runners-up become deputies.
Data
Medway Claimant Count: 7,670 in July, 7.7% in Chatham
Medway's claimant count rose to 7,670 in July, 4.2% of working-age residents and above England's 4.0%. Ward rates run from 1.5% in Hempstead to 7.7% in Chatham.
Council
Medway Youth Justice Service rated requires improvement
Inspectors scored Medway's Youth Justice Service 6 out of 12: assessing and victim work require improvement, planning and delivery are good.
Parking
Brook car park closes 6 September: where to park in Chatham
Chatham's Brook multi-storey and Solomons Road close at midnight on 6 September. The 12 council car parks left hold 729 bays: here is the full list.
Half Term
Medway October Half Term 2026: Dates and What's On
Council schools in Medway break 26 to 30 October 2026; the grammars start a week earlier. Twenty-two things on, with dates, times and prices from organisers.