Medway's train connectivity powers regeneration
Medway Council is looking to its high speed connectivity through HS1 enabling journey times of just an hour to the City of London and its housing regneration programme, to help attract both London workers to settle in the area and encourage significant firms to invest around its five towns.
House building is taking place on the brown field sites around the Rochester riverside and a brand new station is to be built to serve commuters. There are also moves to campaign for city status where the Medway towns can be linked.
Medway Council's Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Hicks, will be speaking at our next Future Cities Forum in May at City Hall. Richard supports the delivery of the Council’s placemaking agenda, seeking to establish Medway as a great place to live, to work, to learn and to visit.
The Medway towns are steeped in history and offer a rich number of visitor attractions including Chatham Dockyard and Rochester Castle.
Recently some rare wall paintings were uncovered in a Grade 1 listed Elizabethan mansion, Eastgate House, which sits in the High Street, Rochester and was opened last July after extensive refurbishment from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Built in 1590, the house was once owned by Sir Peter Buck, a senior officer at the Royal Tudor Dockyard in Chatham. In the past, it was a Victorian school and Charles Dickens featured the house in The Pickwick Papers.
As Director, Richard’s role includes responsibility for Frontline Services, Physical and Cultural Regeneration and Transformation. The Front Line Services division provides essential services for customers and residents, such as Waste, Safer Communities, Highways and Transport.
The Transformation division is involved with all change projects across the Council, looking to establish Medway as a smart city, fit for the future, while the Physical and Cultural Regeneration division is key to delivering our ambitious regeneration programme and one of the largest free events and festivals programmes in the country.