Consultation expected on draft plan for Medway

Previous attempts to approve a local plan in Medway have failed

The latest draft of a document outlining how Medway will develop in the coming years could soon be unveiled.

Medway Council's cabinet is expected to approve the required six-week consultation period for the published plan - a major document designating what land will be used for and assessing infrastructure needs - on 3 June.

Local plans typically last 15 years, but the last time the council approved one was 2003, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Previous attempts to approve a local plan failed and the current council administration says it is a priority to put a new one in place before 2027.

The latest version of the document follows feedback from Medway residents and businesses in a previous consultation.

If councillors vote to proceed with the process, the plan will be published on 26 June and six-week consultation will commence before it is submitted to the government for adoption.

If approved by the secretary of state on schedule, the local plan will be in place until 2041.

Without a local plan, councillors have less power to reject planning applications.

Councillors voted down a motion in April about the future of Chatham Docks, which is covered by the plan, after suggestions it could collapse Medway Council's local plan process.

Controversy over proposals for the docks have caused issued for previous attempts to get a local plan approved.