Medway Renaissance

Consultation on the regeneration of Corporation Street

A six-week programme of public consultation ran from Monday, 4 August to Friday, 12 September 2008, giving local residents the chance to influence decisions about the regeneration of Corporation Street, a key arrival point for many people entering Medway.

Residents and traders were asked for their views on a draft development framework that will guide development of this through-route that carries the main A2 trunk road between historic Rochester and the flagship Rochester Riverside regeneration site.

Cllr Jane Chitty, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Development and Economic Growth, said: “It’s vital that local people help shape Corporation Street’s future. It’s an area that suffers from traffic domination, dereliction, a weak image and poor identity. Our ambitions for its future are driven by the fantastic Rochester Riverside project and the keen interest in Corporation Street being shown by developers and landowners.”

Medway Council has produced a draft development framework document that lays down principles that will guide the development of this area. The document sums up the council's ambition: “An elegant, tree-lined street, backed by fine new architecture, which forms an attractive and efficient route between key areas of Medway. In its own right, it will be an attractive place to live and work or to walk or drive through. The new development, together with associated public realm improvements, will bolster the economy of historic Rochester and provide a link to the new community at Rochester Riverside.”

Main objectives for the area are listed as:

• development that reflects the character of central Rochester;
• integration with Rochester High Street and Rochester Riverside;
• attractive, high quality public open space;
• an active environment that complements Rochester High Street and the evolving Rochester Riverside development;
• improved street-level activity along the length of Corporation Street, with a strong focus at Rochester railway station;
• measures to help reduce the way the railway and Corporation Street cut off the High Street from the Riverside.

The following documents are available to be downloaded:

• Corporation Street Development Framework - consultation draft July 2008 (pdf 4,360KB)
• Sustainability Appraisal
  
  
  • introduction (pdf 81KB)
  • main body of the report (pdf 1,799KB)
  • appendices (pdf 279KB)

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to use these files. If you do not have it on your computer, please use our advice page.

Alternatively, you can study them at:

• Gun Wharf, Chatham;
• Medway Renaissance, Rochester;
• any contact point;
• any library.

The consultation exercise included:

• approximately 1,000 letters and e-mails to a range of individuals, landowners, developers and stakeholders;
• the distribution of 2,000 flyers;
• 11 press briefings.

123 people attended the six-week exhibition and briefings were arranged for a number of organisations. A total of 48 responses were received.

What happens next?

Following the public consultation, the framework was revised to take account of the views the council has received. Its cabinet decided, at its meeting on 25 November 2008, to adopt the revised framework as a supplementary planning document (SPD). This means that it will always be taken into account alongside other planning policies when the council considers planning applications for Corporation Street and it will guide land owners and developers on the development potential of their sites within the context of the overall vision for the area. As a SPD, it will be part of the council's Local Development Framework. This means land owners, retailers and residents have the right to be consulted on proposals for Corporation Street before they are finalised.

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