Medway

The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Medwayappeal

Medway is a thriving 21st century home for a growing population of over 275,000people; one of the largest urban conurbation in the south-east outside London. Itsmajor towns are Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Rochester and Strood, and thevillages of the Hoo Peninsula.

With its unique combination of location, rich history, a vibrant cultural scene, greatamenities and continued progress, we hope through this brochure to give you ataste of the rich opportunities Medway has to offer.

Councillor Alan JarrettLeader, Medway Council

A unique combination of location, rich history, a vibrant cultural scene, great amenities andcontinued progress ■

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Location

RoadServed by the M2, and less than20 minutes to the M20 and M25motorways.Regular coaches from London Victoria.

RailFive mainline stations, with high-speed train (HS1) linkingMedway to London as little as 34 minutes.• Chatham• Gillingham• Rainham• Rochester• Strood

For European travel, EbbsfleetInternational (Eurostar) is around 10 minutes by car/train, and around40 minutes by car to the Eurotunnelat Folkestone.

AirOne hour from international airports.An hour from London’s Gatwick andStansted airports, and just over anhour from London Heathrow. Medwayalso has its own airport at Rochester,close to the M2 motorway, which isbeing improved to secure its long-term and profitable future andprovide up to 1,000 local jobs.

Sea40 minutes to the Channel portsincluding the UK’s largest passengerport at Dover, and Ramsgate,providing ferry services to Calais and Ostend.

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On the banks of the River Medway from which it takes its name, Medway is the second largestconurbation (after Brighton) between London andcontinental Europe. This combined with itscomprehensive transport links, makes it a gateway tothe capital, the county of Kent and the continent forbusinesses and visitors alike ■

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EbbsfleetInternational Stationand London

Ebbsfleet International Stationand London

River Thames

RiverMedway

CliffeCooling

Gads Hill

Strood

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St Mary’sIsland

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Canterbury/Dover

London

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Sittingbourne

Maidstone

MedwayTunnel

Rochester

Chatham

Cliffe PoolsRSPB Reserve Northward Hill

RSPB Reserve

RanscombeFarm Reserve

Capstone FarmCountry Park

■ Upnor Castle

■ Silver Blades Ice Rink

■ Arethusa Venture Centre

■ Innovation Centre Medway ■ Chatham Ski and Snowboard Centre

Hempstead Valley ■ Shopping Centre

Buckmore Park ■

■ Gillingham Football Club

■ Rochester Castle■ Rochester Cathedral■ Guildhall Museum■ Restoration House■ Eastgate House■ Medway Visitor Information Centre■ Huguenot Museum■ Rochester Art Gallery and Craft Case

■ The Central Theatre■ The Brook Theatre■ Dockside Outlet Centre■ The Historic Dockyard■ Nucleus Art Centre■ Pentagon Shopping Centre■ Fort Amherst■ Great Lines Heritage Park

Gillingham

■ Medway Park

■ Universities at MedwayRoyal Engineers ■

Museum

RiversideCountry Park

RochesterAirport

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M2Innovation Studios Strood ■

AshfordInternational

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MEDWAY

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HeritageCultureNatureLeisure

Rochester Castle © Visit Kent

Enjoy MedwayOne of the south-east’s most dynamic places to live,work, learn and visit ■

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† Tourism South East

This springs from its unique combinationof location, rich history, a vibrantcultural scene, great amenities andcontinued progress - explored indetail over the following pages.

For visitors - be they day trip orresidential, business or pleasure - theseassets are made even more attractivewith the addition of visitor facilitieswhich have seen heavy investment.

Medway's heritage continues toshape its future with Heritage LotteryFunding for The Historic DockyardChatham’s Command of the Oceansproject, the transformation of EastgateHouse, the exhibition of the TextusRoffensis at Rochester Cathedral plusfuture plans at the Royal EngineersMuseum, the Huguenot HeritageCentre and the Guildhall Museum.

Tourism is a key sector of the Medwayeconomy. With visitor spendincreasing by 13 per cent† over thelast five years, tourism in Medway iscurrently worth £290million perannum† to the local economy.

Historic Rochester including therenowned Rochester Cathedral andThe Historic Dockyard Chatham are

focal points for visitors, with the ExploreMedway open top guided tour busoperating between these attractions,and many others in between includingFort Amherst and the Royal EngineersMuseum, to offer a fascinating andvaried insight into the area.

There are an estimated 4million daytrips made to Medway each yearand visitors on overnight trips spend£88million†. Domestic visitors toMedway come mainly from Londonand the south-east. 20 per cent ofvisitors are from overseas – mainlyfrom western Europe and the USA.

Business tourism remains a majorelement of the visitor economy andthere are plans for a regionalwaterfront hotel at Rochester Riverside.

Medway and the surrounding areahas branded and independenthotels catering for all requirementsand budgets. There are currently 12hotels in Medway with a total of 800rooms concentrated aroundRochester, Chatham and Gillingham.Accommodation is mainly brandedthree star and budget, as well as anumber of bed and breakfasts andself-catering establishments. Brands

include Holiday Inn, Q hotels, RamadaEncore, Premier Inn and Travelodge.

Increasing investment andregeneration in Medway will in thenear future grow the number ofhotels, with a number of major hoteldevelopment sites planned inRochester and Chatham, including ahotel and conference and eventscentre proposed at Chatham Waters.

Bordering Medway, there are afurther 16 hotels in Maidstone with atotal of 1,100 bedrooms acrossbranded four star, branded andindependent three star andbranded budget hotels. Gravesendand Dartford to the north ofMedway have a further 14 hotelswith 1,100 bedrooms.

Medway’s award-winning VisitorInformation Centre is one of thelargest in the country, and reflectingthe area’s popularity welcomes300,000 visitors a year. Medway haswon many awards for its coach parkand its work with the travel trade,and has been voted the mostcoach-friendly destination in the UKCoach Awards.

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The heritage of Medway lies behind much thatdefines the area today ■

Rich heritage

604 ADRochester Cathedral is the second oldest cathedralin England, and is bidding to house the TextusRoffensis, the priceless 12th century manuscript thatcontains the first written record of the English languageand is said to have inspired the Magna Carta.

1088Rochester Castle boasts the tallest Norman keepin the country, making it an iconic building inMedway’s landscape.

1559Upnor Castle was built on the orders of Elizabeth I toprotect the Medway, and tested in 1667 when aDutch squadron stole the English flagship, the RoyalCharles and burnt the fleet.

1564Will Adams, the first Englishman to reach Japan andthe inspiration for James Clavell’s Shogun was born inMedway. His legacy is celebrated annually atGillingham’s popular Will Adams Festival.

1590sEastgate House was built for Peter Buck, Clerk of theCheque at Chatham Dockyard, and is an excellentexample of a Grade I listed Elizabethan town house.It is referred to by Dickens in The Pickwick Papers andThe Mystery of Edwin Drood, and has undergone anextensive programme of refurbishment as part of a£2.2million Heritage Lottery Funded project.

1667The Dutch launch an audacious raid on our ships at Chatham. The Battle of Medway led to therebuilding of our fleet and took England into thegolden age of sail.

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1765The building of Rochester’s magnificent Guildhall.Recognised as the finest 17th-century civic building inKent, the Guildhall is now home to a fascinatingmuseum showcasing Medway’s unique local heritage.

1765Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory,was launched at Chatham Dockyard in 1765. Chatham was established as a Royal Dockyard duringthe reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and quickly becamethe largest refitting and shipbuilding dockyard inEngland. For four centuries, Chatham Dockyard wasone of Britain’s premier naval bases, defended byimpressive fortifications. Today it is the world’s mostcomplete dockyard from the age of sail, and has thegreatest concentration of listed buildings in thecountry. Part of the former dockyard now prospers asThe Historic Dockyard Chatham visitor attraction.

1812The Royal Engineers established their regimentalheadquarters in Medway in 1812, and Medway isproud to remain the home of the Royal School ofMilitary Engineering, as well as the nationallydesignated Royal Engineers Museum. Links with theRoyal Engineers continue to this day, recognised bythe design and build of the RSME Bicentenary Bridgeat Fort Amherst in 2012 in commemoration of the200 years anniversary.

1817 - 1822Charles Dickens spent his childhood in Medway whilehis father worked at the naval dockyard in Chatham.One of Dickens’ most treasured possessions, the Swisschalet in which he wrote while at Gad’s Hill, can beseen in the gardens of Eastgate House in Rochester.

Did you know?Grade I listed building Restoration House, named sobecause King Charles II stayed there on his way toreclaim England's throne, is Satis House in Dickens’Great Expectations.

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HMS Cavalier, The Historic Dockyard Chatham© Robert Radford

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Rochester Castle Concerts

More than 30 days of

free festivals andevents each year.

CulturalcalendarRenowned for arts, festivals and events ■

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Chinese New YearCelebrationOne of the largest celebrationsoutside London, withhundreds of costumedcharacters, dragons andlions parading in Chatham.

Castle ConcertsOne of the most successfulopen air music events in theregional calendar enjoyed bymore than 15,000 peopleeach year. Past acts include Will Young, Status Quo and afinale night featuring the RoyalPhilharmonic Orchestra.

English FestivalEnjoyed by more than11,000 people, the festivalcelebrates St George’s Daywith events and activitiestraditionally associated withall things English.

Sweeps FestivalHeld over the weekend ofthe spring bank holiday, thefestival attracts more than100 Morris sides and 30,000visitors each day, making itthe biggest festival of its kindin the world.

Dickens FestivalHeld every June, this festivalattracts more than 60,000people to celebrateMedway’s association withone of England’s mostrespected and best-lovedauthors.

River FestivalCelebrating Medway’smaritime connections withexciting river displays andraces, plus familyentertainment, live music,exhibitions and food stalls onChatham Waterfront.

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The Central Theatre Top names in music andcomedy, and touring drama.

The Brook TheatreFrom intimate showcasetheatre to a regular comedyclub and a thriving arts centre.

Contemporary art and craftexhibitions at Rochester ArtGallery and Craft Case. Localartists at Nucleus’ Art CentreChatham and Rochester Shop.

Will Adams FestivalCelebrating the area’sassociation with the famousmariner who first establishedtrade links with Japan. Morethan 5,000 people experiencea mix of Japanese culture andtraditions and Tudor life.

DickensianChristmas FestivalHeld over the first weekend inDecember, more than 80,000people enjoy a Dickensian viewof Christmas with costumedcharacters, parades, carolsand festive food.

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Medway ArmedForces DayMedway joins the rest of thecountry to honour the armedforces with a day of familyevents including parades,displays, music andcompetitions.

The HistoricDockyard ChathamBritain's leading maritimeheritage destination and theworld's most completedockyard from the Age of Sail.Includes galleries, a ropery,historic warships and a numberof special events.

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NaturalattractionWild estuary and marshland vistas framed by thedramatic chalk slopes of the Kent Downs ■

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Medway enjoys a stunning naturalsetting. Wending its way between thehills of the downs and throughMedway, the River Medway fans intoa wide estuary and marshes that linkto the River Thames. These variedviews accompany people as theyjourney around the area.

The marshes and estuaries are ofglobal importance and supportaround 300,000 wintering wetlandbirds, which feed on Medway’smudflats and saltings.

Riverside Country Park covers 100hectares along the estuary, withmudflats, salt marshes, ponds, reedbeds, grassland and scrub, all ofwhich provide a haven for wildlife.

Medway’s countryside supportsnumerous rare and protectedspecies, including orchids on thechalk grassland and the corn cockleat Ranscombe Farm Reserve, oneof British botany’s classic sites. Thefarm is 229 hectares and with morethan six miles of public footpaths, it offers excellent opportunities toenjoy tranquil walks in an attractive

rural landscape that is part of theKent Downs Area of OutstandingNatural Beauty. Ranscombe FarmReserve conserves and enhancesbiodiversity, while maintaining itsworking farm landscape and historicpattern of woods and fields.

Capstone Farm Country Parkcovers 114 hectares of formerfarmland set on the rolling landscapeof the downs. Walking, cycling,running and horse riding routes trackthrough the various habitats within thepark, including ancient woodlands,old orchards, a freshwater lake,meadows and hedgerows.

The Great Lines Heritage Parkexemplifies the link betweenMedway’s historic legacy and itsexciting future. The historicfortifications of Fort Amherst and theChatham Lines have received aHeritage Lottery Fund grant of £1.8mto deliver ‘Command of the Heights’,a project that will be at the centre ofMedway’s archaeologicalexploration and heritageregeneration.

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With the equivalent of 13.3 Hyde Parks -

from children’s play areas to reserves you can

lose yourself in, with seven national Green Flag Award sites - it’s no wonder Medway’s

green spaces are enjoyed by more than

1.5million visitors annually.

Ranscombe Farm Reserve

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Medway’s leisure centresattract over 2.5million visits a year.

Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup

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From workouts at state-of-the-art facilities to shoppingon a picturesque historic high street ■

With so much on offer fromMedway’s leisure scene, there issomething for everyone to enjoy.

Medway is proud of its growingreputation as a sporting centre ofinternational repute. Medway Park,Medway's £11million centre ofsporting excellence, has played hostto events including the ModernPentathlon World Cup 2010 andEuropean Championships 2011, theBritish Transplant Games 2012 andthe Wheelchair Rugby League WorldCup 2013. It was also an official pre-games training camp for the London2012 Olympic and ParalympicGames. These events arecomplemented by an annualprogramme of national andinternational events in sports whichhave included handball, badminton,basketball, judo, fencing, tabletennis, and wheelchair rugby.

Beyond Medway Park, the Tour deFrance raced through Medway in2007 on the first stage of its annualpilgrimage, and in 2012 thousandslined the streets to see the Olympictorch weave its way through Medway.

If you prefer to watch theprofessionals, Medway is home toKent’s only professional football club,Gillingham FC, as well as the InvictaDynamos ice hockey team.

Medway has an extensive range ofsporting facilities, with six councilsports centres – including a £2mrefurbishment of Strood Sports Centre

officially opened by Sir Geoff Hurst in2016 - and numerous private gyms.There is also Chatham Ski andSnowboard Centre, outdoor activitiesat Arethusa Venture Centre andkarting at nearby Buckmore Parkinternational outdoor track, notforgetting Holcombe Hockey Club,home to Maddie Hinch as she wonOlympic gold in 2016.

And of course, there is also the river.Home to a range of watersportsclubs, it plays host to sailing regattasand an annual River Festival.

Shoppers will find leading nationalretailers in Chatham, enchantingindependents and a monthlyfarmers’ market in Rochester, andindoor comfort at Hempstead ValleyShopping Centre and DocksideOutlet Centre at Chatham Maritime;once Chatham Dockyard’s boilershop and now a regional shoppingcentre with restaurants and multiplexcinema. Plus it’s quick and easy toget to Bluewater, the most innovativeand exciting shopping and leisuredestination in Europe, and the newWestfield Stratford City shoppingcentre just 30 minutes away by train.

Take a culinary trip around the worldwith Medway’s vast array ofrestaurants and bars. Dine alfrescoon Rochester’s historic high street orwaterside at Chatham Maritime, orseek out a cosy traditional pub withlocally-brewed ales and home-cooked favourites.

Leisure time

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Industry on the River Medway © Angela Groom

Medway’s business growth rate between 2012 and 2017 stood at 31.1%

outstripping the south east rate of 19.5%, and the national rate of 24.8%.

Medway is expected to create17,000 jobs by 2035

Great futureThe Medway economy is worth inexcess of £4.8bn per year, and ishome to an estimated 13,705businesses. With a population ofmore than 275,000, expanding toaround 330,000 by 2035, Medway isexpected to create 17,000 jobs by2035.

Between 2012 and 2016 growth inmedian weekly earnings for full-timeemployees in Medway exceededgrowth in regional and nationalearnings, resulting in the gapbetween earnings in Medway andthe south-east narrowing in the pastfive years.

Medway’s economy is built upon astrong industrial heritage, withChatham Dockyard’s ship building,Short Brothers’ aeroplanes and Aveling& Porter steam rollers. Medway hasalso had a petrochemical industry onthe Hoo peninsula since Victoriantimes. This industrial expertise resultedin a considerable modernmanufacturing and engineering base.However, Medway is and will continueto be based on a broader and morediverse range of industry sectors.

By value, manufacturing andengineering is Medway’s largestsector, standing at 19%. Employmentin the construction sector exceedsthe national level, representing 15%of jobs. Health, transport,accommodation and food servicesare also proportionately larger inMedway than nationally.

Power generation, financial and business services, ports andlogistics and the creative industriesand tourism sectors are all wellrepresented in Medway. Creativeindustries grew in Medway by 76%between 2012 and 2017, outpacingwider business growth of 27% andreflecting the growing importance ofthe creative sector in Medway.

Medway’s major employersencompass BAE Systems, DelphiDiesel Systems, Veetee Rice, Lloyds ofLondon, BOSE, Jubilee Clips, LondonThamesport, RBS, and DovetailGames.

Where regeneration is a reality ■

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† Medway Council economic data †† Medway Council estimates

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Medway‘s commercial propertystock is affordable compared to the south-east and there is a wideselection of properties available. Its main business estates are MedwayCity Estate - home to more than 500 businesses employing 6,000people, Gillingham Business Park,and Lordswood Industrial Estate.

After the closure of ChathamDockyard in the early 1980s, the area has been brought into the 21stcentury as Chatham Maritime.The skyline is dominated by newtowers at the Quays (with 334apartments and a 300-berth marina),which stand grandly over St Mary’sIsland, an award-winning housingdevelopment, luxury marina andshopping (Dockside Outlet Centre)and entertainment complex. Otherlarge retail centres in Medway arethe Pentagon Shopping Centre,Chatham and Hempstead ValleyShopping Centre, Gillingham.

The Historic Dockyard is also hometo a thriving business community with more than 140 small businessesemploying more than 1,000 people,from wood carvers to high-techdesign. More than 400 people alsolive within the site’s walls - inproperties that range from historicresidences, large and small, tomodern new homes.

St Mary’s Island, the Universities atMedway, Medway Park, InnovationCentre Medway hi-tech businesscomplex and Chatham Waterfrontbus station are all completedprojects that form part of thedynamic development of Medway.

Rochester Cathedral and Castle © Russell Taylor

There is an active regenerationprogramme in Medway spanningalmost seven miles along the RiverMedway, including our flagship site,Rochester Riverside, where work isunderway to create a community of1,400 homes alongside schools,shops and other services. Furtheropportunities exist at the ChathamMaritime development and atChatham Waterfront, where followingpublic realm improvements there ispotential for a new leisure andcultural quarter.

New employment land has beencommissioned at KingsnorthCommercial Park. The 280-hectare Isleof Grain site will provide 6,000 jobs.Grain Business Park will see the largestnew release of commercial land inEurope for many years and will realisethe development of 465,000m2 ofemployment floor space.

Innovation Park Medway (formerlyknown as Rochester AirportTechnology Park), received over £8mgovernment investment, and willcreate 1,000 jobs through thedevelopment of managedworkspace, advanced manufacturingresearch and prototyping workshopsand industrial units.

The striking and ambitious ChathamWaters project at Chatham Docks,Gillingham will transform the areaand create almost 3,500 new jobs,hundreds of homes, a hotel, asupermarket and a conference andevents centre on the banks of theRiver Medway.

In addition to Medway’s location,the burgeoning improvement ineducation and skills is a key

factor in the ongoing developmentof its economy.

In 1995, Medway had no universitypresence, and young peoplewanting to study at university had tostudy elsewhere. In 2002, Her Majestythe Queen inaugurated the newUniversities at Medway campus atChatham Maritime. Since then,thanks to the unique partnershipbetween the University of Greenwich,the University of Kent, CanterburyChrist Church University and MidKentCollege at the shared campus, andthe University for the Creative Artscampus at Rochester, Medway nowhas a student population of 12,000and growing, offering a wide rangeof courses.

The development of the universities is complemented by the excellenteducation provision in Medway. In 2010, HRH The Princess Royalopened the new MidKent Collegecampus, which has more than 2,800 students. It is the largest furthereducation establishment in Kent andprovides some of the best vocationaltraining facilities in the country.

Apprenticeships are also animportant part of improving theprospects of Medway's youngpeople. The area currently hasaround 2,600 apprentices andmore than 200 different types ofapprenticeships in place.

Medway UTC Trust opened theUniversity Technical College inMedway with an engineering andconstruction specialism. Medway UTCoffers an employment-driventechnical and vocational educationto local students aged 14 to 19. 19

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Medway, rich heritage, great future.

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Upnor Castle © Sophie McCullough

www.visitmedway.orgwww.enjoymedway.co.uk

www.medway.gov.uk

© Wayne Huzzey

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