Early plans submitted for dockyard redevelopment
The design would see new units and waterside pedestrian and cycle routes added
- Published
Early plans have been submitted for a redevelopment of Chatham Dockyard.
The designs would see existing warehouses demolished, new units built and the construction of waterside pedestrian and cycle paths.
The proposals will be evaluated to see if they are likely to have a significant environmental impact.
If it is decided they would, a full environmental impact assessment would be needed for the idea to go further.
The redevelopment of the docks has been a controversial issue for years.
It caused the collapse of Medway Council’s previous Conservative administration’s attempt to create a Local Plan, in part due to divisions within the group about this site.
In opposition to the plans is the Save Chatham Docks campaign, which aims to keep it as a working docks.
Labour and Conservative figures from Medway have supported the campaign, including current council leader Vince Maple (Labour) and Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood Kelly Tolhurst.
However, the Labour group has been criticised for what has been perceived as wavering in its support for the docks.
The design for Chatham Docks would see the current warehouses demolished
The Liberal Democrats said the application was an attempt to get approval for the redevelopment of a small area in order to open the door to wider work.
They also said the commercial dockyard represented millions of pounds for Medway’s economy.
Liberal Democrat spokesman John Castle said: “We will continue to fight to keep docks open for the businesses there."
At a local Medway Matters event, Mr Maple was asked whether he would guarantee to uphold his promise to support the continuation of Chatham Docks as a working dockyard.
He said it was important to remember that Peel L&P owned the land, but he was looking to work constructively with them.
The application is open for consultation until 7 December, with the aim for a decision to be made by 12 December.
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