Chatham creative quarters

Be a part of Chatham’s future today

Chatham is a city in all but name, with millions of pounds being invested to make it a better place for residents to live, work, learn and visit. Our extensive regeneration programme has seen significant projects take place across the central Chatham area, with exciting development taking place right now, from the opening of the new Healthy Living Centre to the redevelopment of Mountbatten House - the iconic building that dominates the Chatham skyline.

Chatham is the beating heart of Medway, as a place that aspires to be a leader in creation, innovation, arts, culture and heritage sites.

The Quarters

A Future Cities Framework (part of the Chatham Cultural Placemaking Strategy) has been developed for Chatham to ensure consistency around future, sustainable and exciting creative development.

The framework divides Chatham into 4 areas of focus for the future vision of the area’s cultural regeneration:

  1. The Old High Street Intra
  2. Central
  3. Historic Dockyard
  4. Maritime

Chatham’s 4 Creative Quarters each help to build a place that can handle ambition in appropriate scale, connecting experiences and their overall impacts, to draw and guide inward investment wisely.

Ambition and scale

A place that communicates its cultural and creative expertise and opportunity for all.

Clustering culture throughout the emerging city centre

This complements Medway’s ambitious placemaking plans by adding elements of culture in strategic redevelopment and regeneration locations and programmes, generating a forward-thinking view of the future potential of Medway.

A centre for cultural production and skills development

Majoring on the strengths of Chatham’s cultural, educational and commercial anchors to create a pipeline of cultural production expertise and skills to serve the wider Thames Estuary Production Corridor.

Creative Quarters projects

A Framework Equation has been developed, enabling Medway to strategically shape and deliver cultural projects within place regeneration.

Any future Chatham Creative Quarters project must:

  • champion at least one of Medway’s distinct Creative Production sectors
  • be strategically located (Creative Quarter)
  • leverage appropriate infrastructure (Physical Asset)
  • be supported with the appropriate level of investment
  • deliver against a timed strategic objective linked to wider Cultural, Regeneration and Place Strategy.
collage of art around Chatham

Proud to be Chatham

Our mission statement for Chatham Creative Quarters is to build a place recognised for creative ambition and scale that:

  • helps deliver Medway’s vision and cultural ambitions
  • maximises partnerships between place regeneration and cultural development
  • draws and guides inward investment wisely.

Chatham’s identity has plenty to be proud of

  • Four distinct Creative Quarters, linking Intra, the centre of Chatham, the Dockyard and maritime areas
  • A transport hub for Medway
  • A home of the key Medway heritage assets
  • Attracting public and private investment in the built environment from Intra to Maritime
  • A place of colourful festivals and community events
  • A centre for music, theatre and dance
  • Where digital arts are growing at pace
  • The home to many artists and their studios
  • A hub for fashion and graphic design
  • A place of arts and education.

Latest news

Further news will appear here as we launch Chatham Creative Quarters in 2025.