We have recently recruited and inducted a new Medway Design Review Panel to be managed by Design South East on behalf of the Council.
Medway is located approximately 35 miles east of central London and is home to five historic towns: Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham all connected on the high speed train line (HS1) to London.
There are many conservation areas and listed buildings, and it boasts a rich historic environment with important military and maritime heritage assets, such as Chatham Dockyard, Fort Amherst, Great Lines and Rochester Castle.
It also has a unique landscape character and topography of which the Hoo peninsula forms a big part with its rural settlements and nationally important landscape character. The River Medway runs through Medway with the predominantly rural area to the north and the more urban area to the south of the river.
Following the Council’s adoption of the Chatham Design Code in 2024, and with their ambition to develop additional area design codes for other Medway towns and strategic allocations to be included in the emerging Local Plan, the Design Review Panel will play a key role in the implementation of this key policy document via an Exemplary Design Process, which is based on a robust and considered design review process as defined within the code.
Design South East worked closely with Medway Council to develop the Exemplary Design Process ahead of the code being adopted. In exceptional circumstances, it may be beneficial to allow for limited code-breaking where one or more design code rules may be purposefully stretched or broken to deliver exemplary, innovative design.
In addition, the panel will be working hard to support the development of high-quality, well-designed and characterful places across the wider borough. Their insights will help the Council to ensure that growth is well planned and offers sustainable solutions which celebrates the unique character and rich natural and historic heritage of Medway.
The panel brings together leading experts in architecture, urban design, landscape, sustainability, heritage, transport, community engagement, viability and regeneration, and– crucially, many have personal or professional ties to the borough and experience in the implementation of design codes. This helps to ensure that our advice is multi-disciplinary and place-specific, aspirational, yet pragmatic.
At Design South East, our role will be to deliver independent design reviews for the Council as part of the pre-application process, to uphold design quality and provide clarity of recommendations for applicant teams, leading to the creation of successful places.
- See here for more information about Design South East’s design review service or to discuss a project
