Medway is the biggest sub-region of the 40-mile Thames Gateway zone. Medway’s fast-developing 15-year regeneration programme is due to create some 16,000 homes and more than 20,000 jobs. It is expected to turn Medway into the thriving new river-city of the south east and has been kick-started by £120m of public money to acquire and prepare sites for redevelopment. The programme is now being driven forward with massive investment by the private sector.
Medway Council has its own regeneration unit - Medway Renaissance, which is a unique arrangement in the Gateway. Regeneration specialists St Modwen PLC will be leading Medway’s investment when it becomes Medway Council’s ‘investment partner’ in a ground-breaking partnership expected to generate more than a £1bn.
Medway is pressing ahead with its application for World Heritage Site status for Chatham Dockyard and its defences. The bid includes Fort Amherst, Upnor Castle, Brompton village and barracks and the Pembroke site – formerly naval barracks and now part of Medway’s university campus – as well as the Great Lines. Key waterfront regeneration sites are Rochester Riverside, Chatham Waterfront, Strood Riverside, Temple Waterfront and Gillingham Pier.
Chatham will be the retail, commercial and cultural hub of the new river-city. The Chatham Waterfront site – stretching from Sun Pier to the Command House pub – will be transformed into a major visitor destination with a striking new theatre and conference centre. Masterplans for Chatham’s three regeneration sites – Chatham Waterfront, The Brook and Station Gateway – were the subject of public consultation in May and July 2007. |
Medway’s commitment to energy-efficiency and sustainability is set out in the Green Charter for the flagship Rochester Riverside regeneration site, for which developers have been short-listed and are expected to be selected in late 2007. Medway Innovation Centre and Science Park, next to Rochester Airport, will provide a vital ‘incubator’ base for innovative, high-tech enterprise.
The 2012 Olympics will boost Medway’s regeneration programme, in Gillingham in particular. The Black Lion leisure complex in the town is set to become a regional centre of sporting excellence – to be called Medway Park - after the Government announced it will invest up to £5m in the project.
The area is already attracting investment from the hotel sector, with operators poised to invest an estimated £50m with 500 rooms across at least five sites.
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