In his last message to residents, the Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett discusses Medway’s exciting regeneration projects.
Dear residents,
With spring upon us I am sure many of you are looking forward to the warmer months and exploring everything Medway has to offer.
As this is my final Leader’s message before my retirement in May, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the brilliant community groups and volunteers across Medway who I have worked with over the last 26 years.
One of my proudest achievements is our regeneration programme which is continuing to transform Medway whilst providing jobs for local people.
Just this week we held a ground-breaking ceremony for our new multi-million-pound family-friendly sports centre in Rainham. The centre will have two swimming pools – a children’s fun pool with flume, wave ball pool and beach area, and a training pool for lane swimming and lessons, as well as a fitness gym and room for exercise classes and children’s parties. The centre is anticipated to open in summer 2024.
We are continuing to invest heavily in Medway’s city centre, Chatham, and have made great progress at the Waterfront development, which is being built by our very own housing company, Medway Development Company (MDC). Construction really is taking shape and on a recent visit I got to see the fantastic views the stylish apartments will offer residents for myself. The development will also include commercial units which will provide more choices for people to eat, drink and shop.
We are also creating a brilliant new community hub in Lordswood which will help residents access more services. The new hub, which will have a dedicated children’s library and offer a wide-range of exciting clubs and activities, is due to open this summer. This fantastic project supports our aspiration to make Medway even more child-friendly as well as our climate change aspirations as we will be installing LED lighting, more thermally efficient windows and solar panels.
Medway’s local and parish elections are taking place on Thursday, 4 May. I would like to take this opportunity to remind residents that the government has introduced new legislation which means you will need to bring an accepted form of photo ID, such as your passport, driving licence or blue badge, with you to the polling station to be able to vote.
If you do not have photo ID, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) or apply for a postal vote. Residents can apply online for a VAC, ahead of the deadline on Tuesday, 25 April. Only apply if you do not have one of the forms of accepted photo ID. Residents are encouraged to apply early to make sure they can vote in the local elections on Thursday, 4 May.
It has been a privilege to serve Medway’s residents all of these years and wish you all the very best for the future. Medway truly is a great place to live, work, learn and visit and I look forward to seeing the area continue to flourish.
Cllr Alan Jarrett
Leader of Medway Council