Chatham Waters: Medway, Kent

BIG construction milestones, new lettings and new events for our local community to enjoy, take a look back at some of our best Medway moments from 2023.

Affordable housing scheme ‘Cavalier Court’ tops out.

In June, we celebrated the ‘topping out’ of Cavalier Court, a much-needed affordable housing scheme we are delivering in partnership with Legal & General Affordable Homes. Offering 1- and 2- bedroom apartments, as well as 3-bedroom townhouses, the Shared Ownership homes at Cavalier Court aim to help buyers take their first step on the property ladder.

Reflection from James

“The topping out of Cavalier Court was a big milestone for Chatham Waters and it would not have been achieved without us working in partnership with Medway Council, O’Halloran & O’Brien and Legal & General Affordable Homes.

“Chatham Waters is all about creating a diverse and sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood which offers something for everyone. We set ourselves a target of creating 25% affordable housing on site at Chatham Waters and we have worked closely with Medway Council to find a structure that works, enabling us to create these 237, high-quality, new and affordable homes which is one of L&G’s largest affordable housing schemes in the UK and shows strong faith in Chatham Waters.”

First ‘Summer Social’ held at Chatham Waters

In partnership with local Kent based contractor O’Halloran & O’Brien and award-winning property developer X1 Developments, we hosted a memorable waterside event which brought together the Chatham Waters community. Over £125 million has been invested into Chatham Waters to create new public realm, improved infrastructure and plenty of spaces for the community to use including the waterfront boulevard and dock gardens, which were the hub of activity during the Summer Social.

Reflection from local resident Samuel Ashaye, who attended the event with his family:

“I have lived in the X1 Chatham Waters building for over two years and the recent Summer Social was the most fun we have had as a community so far!

“It was a pleasure to meet Peel and the different teams involved in growing our neighbourhood. It was a day to remember for me and my neighbours, we all had fun, we all feel more united and shared the love, creating new friends and new memories.”

Cllr Lia Mandaracas, Member for Gillingham North ward added:

“It was lovely to meet the team at Peel and residents of Chatham Waters. It is great to see multi agency collaboration working so well and opening up interesting conversations about future employment prospects in Medway.”

Londis announced a brand-new waterfront convenience store at Chatham Waters

The celebrations and announcements continued throughout summer when one of Britain’s leading convenience store brands, Londis, announced it would be opening a brand-new store at Chatham Waters.

The well-known retail franchise will bring a great choice of big brands and daily essentials to Chatham Waters. The new 2,102 sq. ft waterside store is in the ground floor retail unit of The Kell which is home to over 200 residents. The arrival of Londis in Chatham Waters also means the creation of 15 new jobs in the retail sector for the local community.

The store is currently in its soft launch stage and is set to have its official opening ceremony in early 2024.

Reflection from Pradeep Kumar Velayudan, Franchise Manager for Londis, Chatham Waters:

“Londis is a well-known, trusted brand that has continuously proven to have a positive impact on many local communities and we are really looking forward to working with Peel to bring this new and convenient offering to Chatham Waters.

“Being part of the community is really important to us and we have already started getting to know our neighbours, hearing from them directly about what they want and need in their local store; we will keep evolving our offer to keep it fresh and interesting for our community. We can’t wait to welcome customers into their new local Londis store at Chatham Waters.”

We revealed plans for Basin3, a brand-new employment and enterprise and campus on the waterfront.

We recently revealed our plans to transform an existing brownfield land into ‘Basin3’ a circa 31,000m² enterprise and employment campus, made up of adaptable workspace and the opportunity to create hundreds of new jobs and apprenticeships. The proposed Basin3 development would also open up part of the Medway waterfront for the first time in its history, which would connect up Chatham Waters with the wider local community, offering brand new routes for walking, cycling and socialising along the waterside.

Reflection from James

“Last year we took our early vision for the Industrial Estate to the community and quickly learnt that employment opportunities were the key priority for people. There is a desire to encourage talent to stay and grow locally, we have listened and shaped plans that meet this need and want to understand what you think about them.

“For more than a decade, our commitment to regenerating Chatham Waters has been a transformative journey. With an investment exceeding £125 million, we’ve not only cultivated 750 job opportunities but also delivered 391 new homes and landmark developments such as the Asda Superstore, Waterfront UTC, and the Mast and Rigging Pub. Yet, this is just the beginning, and our vision promises an even more exciting chapter in the evolving narrative of the brownfield land.”

Read more.

What to look out for in Winter and early 2024

Heading into winter and the new year, some key early milestones to look out for will be:

• We will be submitting our plans for Basin3.
• Block A at Cavalier Court will reach practical completion.
• Londis will host their official opening event.
• Montpelier will officially start on site to start building their 74-bed care home.