North Kent

Medway: Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester and Strood

The Medway towns and the Hoo Peninsula: the former dockyard, Medway City Estate, Kingsnorth and Grain, industry and regeneration side by side.

The patch

Medway and the sites it holds

Medway is a unitary authority of five towns, Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham, on the tidal Medway about twelve miles north-east of Wrotham. Since the Royal Dockyard closed in 1984 the area has been in continuous regeneration: Chatham Maritime and the universities’ Medway campus on the dockyard site, Rochester Riverside, and the housing schemes that follow.

The industrial estates are extensive. Medway City Estate at Frindsbury is one of the largest in the South East; Gillingham Business Park serves the east of the conurbation; Kingsnorth on the Hoo Peninsula has moved from power generation to commercial and logistics use; and the Isle of Grain holds the LNG terminal, the port and the heavy industry of the estuary.

The HSE enforces at the port, the estuary sites, construction and manufacturing; Medway Council covers offices, retail, warehousing and hospitality. Kent Fire and Rescue Service covers Medway as part of the county.

Typical site types

Heavy industry and energy on the estuary
Industrial estates and fabrication workshops
Regeneration and residential schemes
Riverside and marine civil engineering
Retail and commercial units in the five towns

Sectors

The sectors that matter around Medway

Construction and housing developmentClients, principal contractors and contractors on commercial and housing projects, from demolition and groundworks through to completion, under CDM 2015.Read more Fabrication and process operationsWorkshops, fabrication shops and process plants: machinery, hot work, hazardous substances and the management systems that hold up on the shop floor.Read more Civil engineering and groundworksGroundwork and reinforced-concrete-frame contractors on highways, footings and deep excavation works, from a background in plant operation.Read more Retail fit-outFit-out projects from shell and core through to Category B: short programmes, trading neighbours and the public a hoarding away.Read more

Disciplines

The disciplines these sites call for

Questions about Medway

Which towns make up Medway?

Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham, together with the Hoo Peninsula and the Isle of Grain. Medway Council has been a unitary authority, separate from Kent County Council, since 1998.

How far is Medway from Wrotham?

About twelve miles: the A20 or M20 to junction 4, then the A228 north through the Malling villages to Strood and Rochester.

What are the largest industrial areas in Medway?

Medway City Estate at Frindsbury, Gillingham Business Park, Kingsnorth Commercial Park on the Hoo Peninsula, and the Isle of Grain with its LNG terminal and estuary industry.

Go deeper

The sectors and disciplines that matter most around Medway, and the neighbouring patch.

Construction and housing sites and what was done on themClients, principal contractors and contractors on commercial and housing projects, from demolition and groundworks through to completion, under CDM 2015.Inspections and audits, on the recordSite and premises inspections with reports and closeout, compliance auditing and gap analysis, for construction, retail and process clients since 2011.Maidstone, on the mapThe county town and its industrial hinterland along the Medway valley: Aylesford, Larkfield, Parkwood and the M20 junctions 5 to 8.Who delivered itStephen’s career, qualifications and memberships, in his own record.