Housing strategy and development service

The aim of the council’s affordable housing planning policies is to ensure the development of balanced and integrated communities and to deliver good quality, affordable housing for local people in housing need for present and future generations. The recent Housing Needs Survey clearly identified a need for additional affordable housing and the council is committed to meeting this need, in line with its affordable housing service standards.

Local Plan Policy H3: Affordable Housing states that: "Where a need has been identified, affordable housing will be sought as a proportion of residential developments of a substantial scale."

The Housing Strategy and Development Service actively monitors all affordable housing sites in Medway and those close to its borders, from planning stage through to completion. It works with affordable housing providers to develop new schemes and in 2006/2007, 190 units were completed.

There are 17 affordable housing schemes currently under development, ranging from small urban infill sites to large regeneration projects. These sites will deliver a mixture of social rented and intermediate housing units, helping to create thriving, sustainable communities.

There are currently 125 schemes planned within Medway. Some of these schemes, based along Medway’s waterfront, form part of the Medway Renaissance regeneration strategy. There is a number of other planned schemes in Medway, including the development of a new settlement at the Royal School of Military Engineering site in Chattenden.

Interested in HomeBuy?

HomeBuy is a government-funded programme providing low cost, affordable homes. It helps people who wish to buy a property but cannot afford to and those who wish to rent but cannot afford to pay market rents. To find out more, go to www.homebuy.co.uk/homebuy/about.asp.

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