The big race is over for another year, but Gillingham is continuing to make strides with a raft of new projects set to improve the town.
Love Gillingham weekend kicked off earlier this month with the Medway Mile on Friday 17 July, as more than 2,500 people took part in fun activities, including the one-mile fun run from Brompton Road to Medway Park athletics track.
All ages and abilities and participants were able to walk, jog, or run at their own pace, before enjoying children’s races, relays, a mascot dash and live entertainment throughout the evening.
If that wasn’t enough to set hearts racing, then more excitement was set to come with the unveiling of big plans for Gillingham’s future during the Big Day Out on Sunday 19 July.
The third annual Big Day out was the biggest yet, with 5,500 visitors, and featured an exhibition to preview public realm improvements outlined in the Gillingham Town Centre Vision and Action Plan – including the creation of the new Civic Square in the central part of the main High Street between Sappers Walk and Green Street.
Work on the £500,000 Civic Square regeneration project, funded through the Government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund, is expected to start this autumn, with the aim to complete the project in February 2027.
Planned improvements include new light columns, planted areas, seating, infrastructure for market and event spaces, new CCTV and creative art installations, along with the refurbishment of nearby public toilets.
A new ‘Welcome to Gillingham’ art mural – created by specially commissioned street artist Luke Smile – was also unveiled at Railway Bridge, and is one of a number of art murals set to come forward over the next year to inject community pride in the area, thanks to £5,000 funding from the Gillingham Town Centre Enablement Fund.
Another project delivered through the Gillingham Town Centre Enablement Fund is the refurbishment of the Sappers Walk sign and fabrications, and a new plaque created by the Royal Engineers, celebrating the history of the Engineers, and was unveiled by Major Ben Glazebrook & Naushabah Khan, MP for Gillingham & Rainham MP and Gilligham.
Gillingham mascot Tommy TrueBlue enjoys the fun at Love Gillingham weekend
This year’s Big Day Out included more activities than ever before throughout the High Street and Balmoral Gardens, including live music, wrestling, street performers, creative workshops, and new attractions including a children's activities zone at Balmoral Gardens with children's rides and a free pottery workshop, European Market stalls, a range of food and drinks stalls run by local businesses, and The Old Gillingham Heritage Trial run by local historian Rob Flood, which sold out.
The event was opened by Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of Medway Council, and was delivered thanks to Gillingham Taskforce, Friends of Balmoral Community Group, Medway Youth Services and councillors from Gillingham North, Gillingham South and Watling wards.
Galvanising the community
Cllr Harinder Mahil, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic and Social Regeneration and Inward Investment, said: “it was amazing to see so many people come together for Love Gillingham weekend, to enjoy all the fun on offer and see everything that’s been going on to give Gillingham a boost. Events like this galvanise the community and offer a chance to appreciate all the hard work going on. A big thanks to everyone involved and I look forward to seeing all the new initiatives set to unfold in the coming months.”
The Big Day Out also helped publicise information on Gillingham Taskforce, which is led by MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Naushabah Khan, and made up of councillors, Kent Police and Medway Council officers, with the aim to make the town centre a better place to live, work, learn and visit.
The Taskforce meets throughout the year and is working to make positive change to the town centre, with improvements to-date including:
- Eight new CCTV cameras in the high street, an ANPR camera trial, and extended parking restrictions in the pedestrianised high street from 6:30pm to midnight.
- The introduction of Article 4 Directions within Gillingham North, Gillingham South and Watling wards to place tighter local restrictions on Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
- £100,000 worth of council secured funding to improve street cleaning in both Gillingham and Chatham High Street. This will include the recruitment of an additional Street Operative, and arranging a street sweeping vehicle to clean the high street every day.
- Since 1 January 2026, there has been an increased police presence in the high street to tackle anti-social behaviour.
- Establishing the Gillingham Community Network, made up of local residents and businesses, to co-create our town centre vision and action plan.
Celebrating what makes Gillingham special
MP Naushabah Khan said: "The recent Love Gillingham 'Big Day Out' marked the third one I've hosted since becoming your MP. Seeing so many residents, businesses, community groups, and families out on the streets over the weekend is a reminder of what makes this town special. We had over 5,500 people attend in total, which is a fantastic turnout and shows just how much this event means to our area.
This year, I launched our new 'Welcome to Gillingham' mural and unveiled a new plaque on Sapper's Walk in collaboration with the Royal Engineers, celebrating our rich local military history. It's incredible to see the amount of work being done that's having a real and positive impact on Gillingham, and it's great we can have an event like this so everyone can celebrate our community's achievements.
A special shoutout to the Gillingham Taskforce, councillors from Gillingham North, Gillingham South and Watling, and Medway Council for delivering a great event. There's more hard work ahead, but I'm confident it will bring further positive change, and I look forward to celebrating even more successes next year."
In between the Medway Mile and the Big Day Out, a special market day on Saturday 18 July gave a further boost to the town, with a general market of 14 traders and European market featuring 13 stalls.
The traditional Gillingham Market has been running for over 30 years, and will continue to run every Monday and Saturday from 9am – 4pm.
Learn more about the work of the Gillingham Taskforce and the latest news on future improvements in Gillingham at Medway.gov.uk/LoveGillingham