Land off Higham Road, beside Eternal Lake Nature Reserve

Medway issued the decision notice refusing MC/26/0194 on 7 September 2026. It gives the six reasons agreed at committee, as amended on the day and says an appeal must be made within six months of the date of the notice. The draft minutes of the 26 August meeting are now published as well. They record the refusal and its reasons but not how the vote went, so the unanimity reported by members present remains the group’s own account rather than the official record.

Nine days after the committee refused MC/26/0194, Medway’s own file still shows no decision made date and no decision printed date, checked on 4 September 2026. The six-month period in which Gleeson Land can appeal runs from the date on the decision notice, not from the vote, so it has not begun. The minutes of the meeting of 26 August have not been published either, so the account of the vote on this page remains our own rather than the official record.

Medway’s Planning Committee refused MC/26/0194, Gleeson Land’s application for up to 100 houses on farmland off Higham Road, on the evening of 26 August, following the officer recommendation to refuse as amended on the day. Six reasons were given — among them the permanent loss of 5.18 hectares of Grade 3a best and most versatile agricultural land and a failure to address the effects on the Thames Estuary and Marshes and Medway Estuary and Marshes Special Protection Areas. That sixth reason was not in the published report: it was added by the Supplementary Agenda Advice Sheet on the day of the meeting. Members present report that the vote was unanimous. Medway had not published the minutes as at 27 August 2026, so that is our own account of the room rather than the official record. Councillor Elizabeth Turpin addressed the committee on behalf of herself and Councillor John Williams; Councillor Michael Pearce submitted 64 pages of representations. The officer report recorded 139 letters of objection. The applicant can still appeal.

Superseded by the decision on 26 August. MC/26/0194, up to 100 homes beside the Eternal Lake Nature Reserve, is Item 5 at Medway’s Planning Committee on Wednesday 26 August, 6.30pm at St George’s Centre, Chatham Maritime. Officers recommend refusal: they accept Medway cannot show a five-year housing land supply, but conclude the harm to the rural character of the area is unacceptable. The meeting is open to the public and the report is published.