Interesting morning yesterday spent with fellow councillor George Crozer at Chatham Docks now under threat from landowners Peel L & P who supported by Medway Council want to close the docks.
The closure of the Docks would have a devastating impact on Medway leading to:
The loss of 1,440 jobs both at the docks and through local supply chains
The loss of £150 million of annual investment into the Medway economy. Chatham Docks is the largest single sector source of revenue in Chatham.
Yesterday first hand I witnessed the skill and dedication of a highly trained workforce and their professionalism.
Kelly Tolhurst MP made a passionate speech in the House of Commons to save the docks, to save our maritime history from the maniacal rush to build build build at all cost and damm the consequence. Her speech heaps even more pressure onto landowners Peel L&P and Medway Council who want to turn Medway’s 400 year old commercial port into riverside flats. Another example of the build at all cost mentality from Medway Council who’s City of Culture bid should embrace this 400 year old port and its part in the maritime history of the Medway Towns, but as we know Medway Council are very selective on the parts to preserve and enhance just look at the plans for the Hoo Peninsula which would be the jewel in the crown for most local authorities but for our council it’s a place to put at risk the National and International protected area, and to totally destroy Hoo Village a village mentioned in the 1086 Doomsday Book.
All because they refused to stand up to Government and say NO we cannot meet these ridiculous house building targets, we cannot destroy the history and the heritage of Medway our job is to protect and preserve the environmental areas, to allow our great farming history as part of the Garden of England to continue with crop growing and not turn these fields into fields of bricks and Tarmac.
Local Parishes of the Peninsula are uniting, our MP is championing our cause to save Chatham Docks and our beloved Peninsula.
Standing up for Chattenden, High Halstow and Hoo and the wider Hoo Peninsula!
I think public goods are being sold to the highest bidder. Correct me if I am wrong but the heritage in this site belongs to all the people who learned their skills there, worked there and made it what it was. It might be OK to own the land and do what you want with it but the views of the river should be protected by the council and the public. So well done. Sympathetic environmentally friendly developments only please.
So Medway Council partnerships with developers thousands of new homes which are priced for London commuters. Where will thousands of hard working people on minimum wages live??? Where will the many thousands of people and families in urgent need of social houses live??? So the Local Plan is approved – 30,000 London commuters live happy in their new Peninsula homes. – No changes, if fact increases, in the number of families living in Medway in urgent need of social housing or families living in appalling and unacceptable private rented housing conditions. Medway Council does not care!!!!!!
I think I can see where you’re going with this Chris! I don’t believe we should stand idle by and not speak out . We all want a Local Plan but it must be produced fairly. There must be a fair assessment of how many homes we need to sustain ourselves and a further assessment of the most appropriate place to build them. It is not up to Medway’s ruling party or developers to decide where they go and make the Local plan fit the choice. The plan must be evidenced Lead.
If Chatham Docks is dropped, great, but where do the proposed houses go?
Ron, 100% agree with what you say above, Hoo peninsula and Chatham Docks are unique assets in Medway and must be protected now and for the future.
Medway Council leaders need to push back on the unsustainable housing targets and look after our local heritage and strategically important assets.
It’s shocking that Medway Council want to use the land at Chatham Docks to build even more Flats. The flats that are already built in that area are squashed in side by side. Building for profit and greed needs to stop. Traffic and pollution and overpopulation of Medway is not worth the loss of 1440 jobs . It’s time to say no to this madness, that runs through Medway Council, and start embracing the Heritage and History of these Docks.
Your continuing campaigns and eloquent postings, factual, quantative and qualative are exemplanary to all Medway Council Ward Councillors Ron Sands.
I read and spread the words of all you current Hoo community people , passionate I am too of the Peninsula having grown up in Hoo from age 10.
Well said Ron. Praying all this noise from us locals, the parish councils and our MP will finally reach sensible ears.
A huge thanks goes to you Ron Sands for all you do. Medway Council are hellbent on destroying everything precious in Medway.
As many of you may be aware when I heard about this potential development at a recent council meeting I abstained from the vote as I wasn’t fully aware of all the facts. I am now fully aware of the fact having visited the site for myself.I would now vote to save the docks and the many jobs that rely on them.