Full council decides on 15 October whether to borrow £2.684m to turn the former Wigmore park and ride into an 8-pitch council-run Gypsy and Traveller site.

Medway councillors will decide on Thursday whether to borrow £2.684 million to turn the former Wigmore park and ride into a permanent, council-run Gypsy and Traveller site.

The Cabinet chose the plan on 4 August. It survived a call-in by opposition councillors on 13 August. The spending needs the approval of full council, which meets on Thursday 15 October (council report).

What is proposed

The Cabinet picked “Option 3” of three. It would:

  • build 8 pitches for 10 touring caravans on the existing site
  • add roads, hardstanding, utility blocks, a play area, landscaping and noise screening
  • connect water, sewers and electricity, and look at solar panels and heat pumps
  • allow a possible second phase later, with 6 more pitches on adjacent land

The £2.684 million covers the first phase only. The council would need a new planning application, and it expects 12 to 18 months of design and tendering before building starts.

Architects' indicative site plan titled Hoath Way G and T Site Option 3, showing numbered pitches with utility blocks along an access road, two ponds and planting, a play area, and adjacent land outlined for possible future expansion.
The indicative Option 3 layout drawn for the council by Hazle McCormack Young LLP, dated 8 June 2026. Drawing: Medway Council report, Appendix B

Why the site is already occupied

A Gypsy and Traveller family group already lives on the site. The council tried to remove them and lost possession proceedings in February 2025. The family then won planning permission on appeal in June 2025, for up to 10 touring caravans (council report).

The report says the site is still informal. There is no permanent water supply, drainage or power, and no defined pitches. The council collects £24 per caravan per week for rubbish collection and toilets, but no rent.

The earlier legal fight was not cheap. Officers told the scrutiny committee that internal legal time came to just under £15,000. External counsel cost £36,750 plus VAT, costs of £60,000 were awarded against the council, and a further bill of about £60,000 was expected.

The family would have to move out temporarily while building takes place. Officers said in August that this had not yet been discussed with them, so the cost is not known.

Why the council says it needs it

The draft Medway Local Plan has to show where Gypsy and Traveller households will live. The council’s assessment found a need for 56 pitches and 8 plots for travelling showpeople between 2022 and 2041. Recent permissions and appeals have supplied 26, leaving 30 pitches still to find.

The planning inspectors examining the plan have questioned whether the council can show enough sites. So the council looked for land. Its search went like this:

  • a call for sites ran from 8 June to 20 July 2026 and received no submissions
  • officers screened 978 pieces of council-owned land of 400 square metres or more
  • 423 survived the first environmental checks, and 19 were looked at in detail
  • the former Wigmore park and ride was the only site left with potential

That makes the vote matter for the Local Plan too. The council will answer the inspectors’ questions on Traveller sites by 29 October. Hearings on the plan start at Priestfield on 17 November, as set out in our Local Plan report.

The objections

Six councillors called in the Cabinet decision. They gave four reasons (scrutiny minutes in the report):

  • no public consultation
  • the cost and the capital needed
  • whether the land is right for a Traveller site
  • political expediency, and whether other options were properly considered

Officers replied that the original planning application drew 33 objections from 32 households. The council refused it, but a planning inspector allowed the appeal and found the site acceptable on air quality, noise and the impact on neighbours. The committee voted to accept the Cabinet decisions and take no further action.

The cost to taxpayers

The money would be borrowed. The report puts the yearly cost of the borrowing at about £151,000. Over 50 years, £2.6 million of borrowing could mean repayments of about £5.6 million in total, including interest.

The council hopes for a Homes England grant, which would cut the borrowing. The report says officers are “confident”, but funding “cannot be guaranteed” and grants never cover the full cost.

The vote comes on the same night councillors consider their auditor’s formal warning about the council’s borrowing and reserves.

The alternative of leaving things as they are would cost about £50,000 a year, the report estimates. Selling the site was also looked at. Officers said a sale would bring legal and equality risks, would not guarantee the family moves on, and would not help meet the need.

What it means for you

If full council approves the money, nothing is built yet. The council would first consult for six weeks on Traveller site allocations as a change to the Local Plan. It would then need a full planning application, with the usual neighbour notifications and a chance to comment. You can follow new applications through our Medway planning applications page.

Full council meets at 7pm on 15 October at the St George’s Centre, Chatham Maritime, and is open to the public. The papers are on the meeting page.