On Thursday 16 February, Housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell MP visited Medway to see how the area is leading the way with ambitious efforts to fix the broken housing market.
I was pleased to welcome the Minister to Kitchener Barracks in Rochester and Strood, one of the largest new developments of carbon-zero homes in the country, where Latis is delivering nearly 300 homes on public sector land formerly owned by the Ministry of Defence.
The scheme will include the construction of 94 houses and 101 apartments, as well as the conversion of 72 flats in the historic barracks building at the centre of the site. The development was awarded £14.4 million from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), through the Home Building Fund.
We have to accept that some development must take place to some extent across Medway, and I am pleased that many of our local brownfield sites are being used for this purpose. However, we must be cautious when it comes to building on our beloved green spaces.
The proposed number of almost 30,000 homes by 2035 is unsustainable and will blight large parts of our community, bring more suffering to our infrastructure and risk Medway losing all of its charm and character. I will be continuing to work with Medway Council when it comes to larger developments to ensure we do not expense our community and heritage.