Hello Medway investors,

As the summer starts drawing to a close, I feel like I’m writing a lot about development within Medway and this is just such a positive sign for property investors.

Perhaps what we are seeing this year is plans which were underway during 2020 now coming to fruition a little later than planned, however, they really are a good sign of how Medway is an excellent place for future investment.

So, in the latest announcement, plans have been revealed for a massive redevelopment of Chatham town centre. This follows the announcement of plans to redevelop Mountbatten House at the end of 2020!

This long-overdue redevelopment of a relatively drab town centre including some large vacant spaces such as the Debenhams store will include five main points:

• Transformation of the first floor of the Pentagon centre
• Creation of a flexible working space for the creative sector at Brook Theatre
• Providing up to 760sq m of work space in the Pentagon through ‘Innovation Hub Medway’
• Converting St John’s church into a co-working, conference and events hub to create a ‘strategic gateway’
• A whopping £2.7m to create a new city square, civic hub and recreational space

In order to achieve this, Medway council will compulsorily purchase a number of undisclosed locations within the town centre using an additional £2.4m of funding. It is, however, expected that this will include the empty Debenhams building.

The question is… following the losses due to COVID-19, where is the money coming from? It’s not coming directly from Medway council’s coffers, but directly from central government under a scheme called the Future High Streets Fund.

What’s next I hear you cry! Well, the initial proposal is being submitted for funding to be approved and following this, plans will be drawn up for the development to move forward.

Whilst not part of this development, works have started on Chatham Waterfront which is a development of 175 homes on the riverside. The CGI below gives you an idea of this development and I am hoping that outline plans for the council’s £9.5m scheme will be well underway when the waterfront development is completed.

I think that as the world starts getting back to normal after the craziness of COVID-19, we will continue to see a high level of remote working and the council’s plans for large co-working spaces just help to reinforce this. This is particularly prevalent for Chatham given its proximity to London and should not be underestimated in terms of future potential.

If you are an investor, Chatham really is one to watch! Overall, property prices are 9% up on the previous year. This compares to just 7% for neighbouring Rochester and this helps to illustrate how investors will certainly want to get in sooner rather than later and potentially miss out!

If you are considering expanding your portfolio or starting out as an investor within the Medway Towns, I will be more than happy to help. I provide a two hour, in depth discovery session that covers everything you need to know and the best way to find out more is by contacting me via LinkedIn.

Hasan