The Medway Labour and Co-operative Group are issuing the following statements in response to the Chatham Docks redevelopment plan released by Salford Quay and Peel L&P this week.

Cllr Simon Curry, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Regeneration, Culture and the Environment said:

“Nothing in this redevelopment plan will do anything to allay the fears of the local people who have tirelessly campaigned to keep Chatham Docks as employment land for local firms.

“Medway Labour is all about local jobs for local people. This makes sense for our communities and for our local environment.

“Building housing on Chatham Docks will only lead to more lorries and cars on our already overcrowded roads and damaging our air quality. Research has shown the closure of the Docks would worsen our air quality by 300%, causing us to be one of the worst affected areas in the UK outside of London.

“There is a collective view across the whole Council that piling thousands more houses right into the centre of an already densely populated Chatham wouldn’t be a good idea for our economy, our community or our environment.”

Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of the Medway Labour and Co-operative Group said:

“I continue to be of the view that defending the 1400 jobs linked to the current operations at Chatham Docks is critical.  There continues to be a majority of Medway Councillors who also share my view on this as well.  Whilst we continue to deal with critical issues like climate emergency and the ongoing global pandemic, losing high skills jobs from our community would be a mistake.”

Link to Instagram Link to Twitter Link to YouTube Link to Facebook Link to LinkedIn Link to Snapchat Close Fax Website Location Phone Email Calendar Building Search