Healthy and active communities
We want to support all of our residents, especially young people, to realise their potential through the provision of services and initiatives that will help Medway become an even healthier and safer place to live.
Resilient families
Improving everyone’s health and reducing inequalities, developing and improving Children’s Services and continuing to strengthen our Early Help offer will support families to give their children the best start in life.
All children achieving their potential in education
We will raise aspiration and ambition through raising standards in education settings, improving the percentage of children in settings that are good or outstanding and engaging with young people.
Implementing the actions of the School Effectiveness Strategy will improve the quality of leadership, governance and teaching and help all children to achieve their potential.
Older and disabled people living independently in their homes
A clean and green environment
We want Medway to be a place that residents and businesses are proud of. Maintaining a clean and green environment, enabling residents, visitors and businesses to move around Medway easily by tackling congestion hotspots will enhance the public realm and street scene.
Put Medway on the map
Built around our culture, tourism and regeneration strategies. By building on what makes Medway unique - the river, our heritage and sporting legacy - Medway on the Map promotes Medway as a great place to live, work, learn and visit.
A strong diversified economy
We want to ensure that Medway’s regeneration drives economic development to encourage new and existing businesses to grow in Medway, which will benefit residents through the creation of the new jobs and homes they need.
By attracting high tech and science based businesses to relocate and grow in Medway, we are creating high skilled employment opportunities for our graduates, to retain local talent and create a strong mixed economy.
Residents with skills and jobs
We will work to promote jobs, skills and employability by equipping people with the skills needed to secure opportunities in Medway’s future economy.
The Medway Skills Board, established in 2017, and Medway Adult Education learning programme, will boost local skills levels for those furthest from employment.
Preventing homelessness
By adopting a council-wide approach, we will support people and vulnerable families to access housing and get a foot on the housing ladder.
Working with landlords and agents will support households to sustain their accommodation and prevent homelessness.
Delivering new homes to meet the needs of Medway's residents
We will work to deliver new homes to meet the needs of Medway residents, through a council-wide approach. Progressing Medway’s local plan and working with developers will enable housing development on appropriate sites to meet our Medway’s successful growth.
Getting around Medway
Tackling congestion hotspots through transport and public realm improvements will enable residents, visitors and businesses to move around Medway easily.
90% of our schools have an Ofsted rating of 'good' or better
99.7% of long term community services delivered via a personal budget, higher than the 92.2% national figure
Highest rate of health visiting coverage in the South East (2020/2021). The health visiting service continued to conduct new birth visits face-to-face throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period to support new parents and respond quickly to any safeguarding concerns
Single point of access child development team and routine smoking screening for all new mothers
Eight green flags awarded - the national standard that recognises well-managed green spaces
Lowest Council Tax in Kent
Over 30 days of free festivals
28% of Medway is internationally important for biodiversity and landscape
846,358 visits to Medway sports centres (2021/2022)
517 miles of roads maintained
Work has begun at Innovation Park Medway (IPM) and is estimated to bring £95 million to £142 million per annum to Medway’s economy
Rochester Riverside, Medway’s flagship regeneration programme, is proceeding at pace and ahead of anticipated delivery
Planning permission granted to develop a high-quality, mixed-use development at Chatham Waterfront - a driver for further regeneration. This project is now progressing through its construction phase
Opportunity/challenge
Our funding is changing as a result of continued reductions in central government funding.
Benefit/solution
As the balance of funding shifts away from government grants and towards greater reliance on local taxation, this presents local authorities with both a challenge and an opportunity. More homes and inward investment by business can increase the council’s tax base, but also brings with it increased demand for services and infrastructure.
Opportunity/challenge
Changes in legislation, extending our responsibilities for children with special needs and disability (SEND) to 25 years old, has increased the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) in place and the number of children entitled to Special Educational Needs (SEN) transport. This represents a significant funding pressure.
Benefit/solution
We have reviewed our SEN Transport policy and established a portfolio holder-led task group to manage demand and reduce unit costs to mitigate this pressure.
We will work with schools and academies to facilitate a more inclusive culture that keeps children with SEND in mainstream education.
Opportunity/challenge
As well as an ageing population, with the number of people over 85 projected to increase by 61% from 2020 to 2035, the number of adults with long-term and multiple health conditions and disabilities who are living longer is expected to increase.
Benefit/solution
Our strategic approach continues to focus on supporting people to live independently for as long as possible. In recent years we have developed additional community-based provision such as Home First, to support people back home when discharged from hospital, and additional Extra Care schemes, a community based alternative to residential care. Joint strategies and commissioning plans with the NHS have been developed to ensure we continue to develop the right type of provision to meet future needs.
Opportunity/challenge
Continuing to improve our services for children and families in Medway in light of increasing demand and challenges in recruiting and retaining social work practitioners.
Benefit/solution
Invest in and support our staff and managers to deliver quality work, and develop strong partnerships to improve outcomes for children and families.
Opportunity/challenge
Changes in legislation - the Adult Social Care Charging Reform. The government has set out its new plan for adult social care reform in England. This included a lifetime cap on the amount anyone in England will need to spend on their personal care, alongside a more generous means-test for local authority financial support.
This will require Adult Social Care to carry out Care Act and Financial Assessments for everyone who currently pays privately for their care. From October 2023, anyone assessed by a local council as having eligible care and support needs, either new entrants or existing social care users, will begin to progress towards the cap. Costs accrued before October 2023 will not count towards the cap.
Benefit/solution
We have introduced a working group to implement this new approach to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. We will liaise with other local councils, the National Association of Financial Assessment Officers and SE ADASS to ensure there is a consistent approach.
Opportunity/challenge
Changes in legislation, the government is committed to a wide-ranging and ambitious reform of the adult social care system that protects people from unpredictable costs, offers more choice and control over care received, offers outstanding quality, and is accessible to those who need it. A sustainable care market is fundamental to underpinning this ambition.
It is acknowledged that some local councils are promoting efficient and effective operation of care markets, with sustainable rates of care and ambitious market position statements. However, a significant number of local councils are paying residential and domiciliary care providers less than it costs to deliver the care received. This is undermining their markets, creating unfairness, affecting sustainability and, at times, leading to poorer quality outcomes.
We do not know if the funding provided will be adequate to cover costs.
Benefit/solution
We have introduced a working group to manage this change and will work with providers and partners to ensure we capture all the necessary and relevant information to meet requirements.
Opportunity/challenge
Changes in legislation and demographic growth in the area are increasing pressure on the provision of support and accommodation for people who may be homeless, in particular the net migration flow to Medway from London has increased in recent years.
Benefit/solution
Our Homelessness Prevention Strategy was revised in 2019 to include specific reference to additional resources, and legislative requirements, following the introduction of the government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy. This has been supplemented by further requirements and funding, for people who are homeless as a result of domestic abuse, to ensure we meet the aims of the Domestic Abuse Act.
Both of these provide additional accommodation and support resources and have a focus on ensuring that we work effectively with people who move into Medway, as well as those already resident, and these complement our existing range of interventions provided by our wider Housing Services. Regular feedback is provided to government advisers on the challenges faced by Medway and our response in meeting these.
Opportunity/challenge
Medway is the largest conurbation in the south east, outside London. The population of around 280,000 is predicted to grow further increasing the demand on public services. Demographic growth in the area is increasing pressure on housing, employment and effective infrastructure including flood protection, roads, health and water capacity.
Benefit/solution
We are transforming the way we work to make sure that we deliver services in a way that meets the changing needs of our residents. We are delivering more services online, working with communities to help them to do more for themselves, and exploring new and innovative ways of delivering services.
Our extensive regeneration programme, as outlined in the Medway 2035 strategy, and continuing as a key theme of the Medway 2037 strategy refresh, ensures the tremendous pace of regeneration in Medway continues. Our Infrastructure Delivery Plan identifies the services needed to deliver sustainable and successful growth. Our Local Transport Plan includes our plans for improving transport by tackling congestion, improving public transport services and improving journeys to school and work.
Opportunity/challenge
A £170 million Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) to unlock sustainable development potential on the Hoo Peninsula. The fund is a government capital grant programme to help deliver homes across England.
Benefit/solution
The council secured £170 million from the Housing Infrastructure Fund in order to be best placed to play its part in meeting the anticipated growth of Medway’s population.
Medway's successful bid focused on significantly improving the Hoo Peninsula's environmental infrastructure and transport connections.
The HIF project recognises that the Hoo Peninsula is a distinctive place, with important areas for wildlife, and limited services and infrastructure. Medway Council is engaging with the public to make sure development takes place in the most appropriate places, and that it is sensitive to the environment and supported by the necessary infrastructure.
Opportunity/challenge
Kick starting growth through alternative delivery models and providing the right infrastructure for residents and businesses to thrive.
Benefit/solution
Innovation Park Medway (IPM) is an important opportunity to help shape the economic future of Medway. Our ambitions for the IPM are to:
- attract high value businesses
- improve the number and quality of jobs
- retain and increase the local skills base
- strengthen links between educational institutions
- establish the IPM as a preferred destination and partner for local business
- promote Medway’s brand and image.
Medway Development Company (MDC) Ltd. is wholly owned by Medway Council and its purpose is to undertake development activity to deliver high-quality residential developments to support wider regeneration initiatives and deliver investment returns.
The council has approved £120 million to fund the development programme and to date, planning permission has been achieved for over 500 homes. The White Road scheme has been completed, with 20 affordable modular homes successfully delivered. A further 341 homes are in construction at the Garrison Point and Chatham Waterfront sites and these exciting schemes are progressing towards completion.
Further sites are earmarked for development, including the Mountbatten House building, that will be converted into new high-quality residential apartments and the Britton Farm Mall site in Gillingham that will deliver 44 affordable homes.
The company is also involved with a number of corporate projects, including the recently completed Kent and Medway Partnership Trust (KMPT) NHS facility at Britton Farm, that sits alongside a new Skills and Employment Hub, also project managed by MDC.
