Agenda item

Chatham Docks is under threat of development from landlords Peel Land and Property, who continue to claim that the site is no longer financially viable, despite having used their ownership of the land to demonstrate their commitment to employment when applying for residential planning permission on the adjacent Chatham Waters site.

The Docks has a 400-year history but has been designated for ‘mixed use – housing & employment’ in the current version of the Medway Local Plan.

This Council notes that:

·         Chatham Docks is a thriving commercial port which directly provides over 800 skilled local jobs and 16 apprenticeships. The Docks indirectly support an additional 640 jobs through the supply chain.

·         The businesses located at Chatham Docks make a significant positive contribution to Medway’s economy, with £150 million of annual investment into Medway. The Docks use environmentally sustainable methods to transport goods, which would otherwise be exported by road.

·         The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated Medway’s economy. Unemployment in Medway has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic, with 12,110 residents currently out of work. The loss of jobs at the Docks would cause further, irreversible harm to Medway’s economy at a time when we should be protecting skilled local jobs.

·         The closure of Chatham Docks would have a disastrous impact on the employees and their families because they would either lose their jobs or have to relocate; and some of the businesses at Chatham Docks are physically unable to relocate due to the nature of their operation.

·         Medway’s Local Plan has not yet been approved, and previous iterations have been criticised for failing to designate sufficient levels of employment land.

This Council resolves to:

Remove the ‘mixed use – housing & employment’ designation for Chatham Docks from the emerging Local Plan to safeguard employment, skills and the local economy and re-designate Chatham Docks as solely for employment use before the Local Plan is submitted for approval.

Councillor Andy Stamp proposed an alteration to his previously submitted motion. In accordance with Council Rule 11.4.1, the meeting’s consent was signified without discussion, therefore, the altered motion was considered as follows:

“Chatham Docks is under threat of development from landlords Peel Land and Property, who continue to claim that the site is no longer financially viable, despite having used their ownership of the land to demonstrate their commitment to employment when applying for residential planning permission on the adjacent Chatham Waters site. 

The Docks has a 400-year history but has been designated for ‘mixed use – housing & employment’ in the current version of the Medway Local Plan.

This Council notes that:

• Chatham Docks is a thriving commercial port which directly provides over 800 skilled local jobs and 16 apprenticeships. The Docks indirectly supports an additional 1,440 jobs through the supply chain.

• The businesses located at Chatham Docks make a significant positive contribution to Medway’s economy, with £150 million of annual investment into Medway. The Docks use environmentally sustainable methods to transport goods, which would otherwise be exported by road.

• The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated Medway’s economy. Unemployment in Medway has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic, with 12,110 residents currently out of work. The loss of jobs at the Docks would cause further, irreversible harm to Medway’s economy at a time when we should be protecting skilled local jobs.

• The closure of Chatham Docks would have a disastrous impact on the employees and their families because they would either lose their jobs or have to relocate; and some of the businesses at Chatham Docks are physically unable to relocate due to the nature of their operation.

• Medway’s Local Plan has not yet been approved, and previous iterations have been criticised for failing to designate sufficient levels of employment land

This council resolves to ask the relevant officers to consider to:

• Remove the ‘mixed use – housing & employment’ designation for Chatham Docks from the emerging Local Plan to safeguard employment, skills and the local economy and re-designate Chatham Docks as solely for employment use before the Local Plan is submitted for approval.”

A Member expressed concern that agreement of the motion amounted to pre-determination of the Local Plan consultation process. The Chief Legal Officer considered that all the sites forming part of the Local Plan would be available for consultation. Members were entitled to argue their views but he did not consider that either supporting or not supporting the motion amounted to pre-determination.

In response to further Member questions about the risk of pre-determination, the Chief Legal Officer said that Members were entitled to debate the motion without risk of pre-determining themselves. Members would need to be careful once the Local Plan was under consideration that they did not give the impression that they had a closed mind when making decisions. Decision making in relation to Local Plan was anticipated to take place in October 2021.

In accordance with Rule 12.4 of the Council Rules, a recorded vote on the motion was taken.

For – Councillors Adeoye, Bowler, Curry, Howcroft-Scott, Johnson, Khan, Maple, Murray, Price and Andy Stamp (10)

Against – Councillors Aldous, Brake, Buckwell, Rodney Chambers OBE, Chitty, Doe, Etheridge, Filmer, Gulvin, Mrs Josie Iles, Steve Iles, Jarrett, Kemp, Potter, Rupert Turpin and Wildey (16)

Abstain – Pendergast, Sands and Tejan (3)

Decision:

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was lost.