Medway's Local Plan for 24,540 homes reaches its public examination: hearings open 15 September 2026, sign-up closes 20 August, plus Chatham Docks and The Brook.

Medway is planning its future with a rulebook written in 2003. The council’s adopted Local Plan, the document that decides where homes, jobs and green space go, predates the smartphone, and the long effort to replace it has now reached its most important stage: an independent examination in public, with hearings opening in Chatham on 15 September 2026. Here is where the new plan stands, the housing numbers behind it, and the big schemes moving through the system right now, all from the council’s own documents.

The Local Plan: 24,540 homes, and an examiner’s microscope

The draft Medway Local Plan 2041 sets out where the towns and the Hoo Peninsula grow over the next fifteen years. The headline number: 24,540 new homes by 2041, or 1,636 a year (Medway Council, June 2025).

That number is not plucked from the air. Under the Government’s standard method, Medway needs 1,619 homes a year just to maintain a five-year land supply, rising to 1,943 a year with the 20% buffer imposed because the area has under-delivered: Medway scored 72% in the December 2024 Housing Delivery Test, which triggers both the buffer and the “presumption in favour of sustainable development” that makes it harder for the council to refuse schemes (Housing Delivery Test Action Plan 2025). Delivery has been climbing, from 647 net new homes in 2018/19 to 1,300 in 2023/24, but still short of the requirement, which is exactly why the new plan matters.

Timeline of the Medway Local Plan 2041: Regulation 18 consultations in 2023 and 2024, the Regulation 19 draft consultation closing 11 August 2025, submission to the Secretary of State on 18 December 2025, inspectors' questions through spring 2026, public hearings opening 15 September 2026 with a second phase in November, then the inspectors' report and adoption
The road to a new Medway Local Plan. Chart by Medway Live from the council's examination pages.

Where the plan is now

After two rounds of early consultation in 2023 and 2024 and a final-draft consultation that closed on 11 August 2025, the council submitted the plan to the Secretary of State on 18 December 2025. Two Planning Inspectors, D Hendley and A McCormack, were appointed in January 2026 and have spent the spring and summer testing the evidence in writing, including follow-up work on Green Belt and on Gypsy and Traveller accommodation, where they asked the council for a fresh call for sites (examination latest news).

The public part starts soon. Phase 1 hearings run 15 to 18 and 22 to 25 September 2026 at St John’s, 18 Railway Street, Chatham, with a second phase pencilled in for the weeks of 16 and 23 November (hearing sessions). When the council approved the draft it hoped for adoption by the end of 2026; with hearings running into November, that timetable has clearly slipped into 2027, though the council has not published a revised date.

What it means for you: anyone who commented at the final-draft stage and wants to speak at the September hearings had to register by 20 August 2026 (22 October for phase 2). More practically, until the new plan is adopted, the old 2003 plan plus the delivery-test “presumption” means developers hold stronger cards on appeal, which is part of why contentious schemes keep getting through. Where those homes land will eventually feed through to house prices and to the size of the council tax base.

Three schemes to watch

Chatham Docks. The long-fought application to redevelop the south side of Chatham Docks Industrial Estate, reference MC/23/2461 from Peel Waters, was approved by the Planning Committee on 30 May 2024, and the Government confirmed it would not call the decision in, so the approval stands. The council’s position is that the site stays in employment use, bringing “new jobs and economic growth” plus a waterfront footpath and cycleway (council statement).

Innovation Park Medway, Rochester Airport. The employment flagship has shifted shape: the northern site is leased to BAE Systems until the end of 2028 as a temporary car park while BAE invests £220 million in a new Rochester factory expected to create 300 jobs over five years, and the council is procuring a development partner for industrial and mid-tech space, with a care home and retirement housing explored on the southern site (Innovation Park Medway).

The Brook, Chatham. The newest one: the Brook multi-storey and Solomons Road car parks close at midnight on Sunday 6 September 2026 to make way for around 100 new homes from the council’s Medway Development Company, with demolition due by spring 2027 and a planning application to follow (Medway Council, 31 July 2026). If you park there, our parking in Medway guide covers the alternatives.

On the Hoo Peninsula, the council’s Future Hoo infrastructure programme lost its Housing Infrastructure Fund backing when the Government withdrew support (council statement, 2023), but Hoo remains one of the draft Local Plan’s named growth locations, so the peninsula’s share of the 24,540 homes is one of the questions the September hearings will test.

How to follow the planning record yourself

Every live application, big or small, is on the council’s Public Access portal, searchable by keyword, reference, postcode or address, and the weekly lists show everything validated or decided each week, filterable by ward. Our Medway planning applications page explains how the portal, the comment process and the committee system work, and our news pages report the notable applications and decisions as they happen.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Medway Local Plan and why does it matter? It is the legal document deciding where homes, workplaces and protected land go across the five towns and the Hoo Peninsula. Medway’s adopted plan dates from 2003; the replacement, the Medway Local Plan 2041, plans for 24,540 homes and is now at examination.

How many houses are planned for Medway? The draft plan provides for 24,540 new homes by 2041, about 1,636 a year. The Government’s standard method puts Medway’s need at 1,619 a year, rising to 1,943 with the under-delivery buffer.

When are the Local Plan hearings? Phase 1 runs 15 to 18 and 22 to 25 September 2026 at St John’s, Railway Street, Chatham, with phase 2 expected in the weeks of 16 and 23 November. Sessions are public.

When will the new Local Plan be adopted? No confirmed date. The council originally hoped for the end of 2026, but with hearings running into November 2026, adoption now realistically falls in 2027, after the inspectors report.

Where can I see current planning applications? On the council’s Public Access portal; our planning applications page walks through how to search and comment.

Sources

For the day-to-day essentials alongside the big picture, see planning applications, council tax bands and house prices. More Medway information is on the Medway Live home page.

Stages, dates and housing figures are those published by Medway Council as of early August 2026; the examination pages above carry the latest position. Last updated August 2026.