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Projects

Innovation Park Medway – northern site (also known as Rochester Airport – Phase 2)

Categories

Approval Status

 

Fully Approved

Delivery Status

 

Construction In Progress

Expected Completion Date

 

Spring 2024

Medway Council adopted the Rochester Airport Master Plan in January 2014. The Master Plan area was also approved as an Enterprise Zone in November 2015 under the name of Rochester Airport Technology Park.

Phase 2

Onsite infrastructure to enable private development to come forward – site within an Enterprise Zone.

Summary
  • Initial site provision including access roads and infrastructure;
  • Encourage development of a high quality employment site on existing runway land within the North Kent Enterprise Zone (NKEZ);
  • Create 1,300 high GVA jobs.

Delivery of the Innovation Park Medway – northern site project is dependent upon successful completion of the Rochester Airport Phase 1 project, which delivers the required enabling works to facilitate delivery of Innovation Park Medway.

Funding Approval

The project was considered by Accountability Board on 15th February 2019 and the decision was made to approve the award of £3.7m LGF funding to this project, subject to the following funding conditions relating to the Rochester Airport Phase 1 project being met by 1st April 2019:

  1. The determination of the planning application for the control tower and hub building is not subject to a successful judicial review application; and
  2. A construction contractor is appointed, within the available budget, and a signed legal contract put in place between Medway Council and the construction contractor.

Medway Council provided the required evidence to demonstrate that the above funding conditions had been met by 1st April and as a result the award of £3.7m LGF funding to the project has been confirmed.

Project Update

At the February 2024 Accountability Board meeting the Board were updated with Medway Council’s decision to put the project on pause whilst work is undertaken to explore the best options for its future delivery.

Investment in Innovation Park Medway

The project is part of a wider package of SELEP investment in Innovation Park Medway, totalling £11,446,823.  This funding will:

  • enable reconfiguration of Rochester Airport to release the land required for the development of Innovation Park Medway;
  • deliver improvements to the airport infrastructure to help safeguard the future of the airport;
  • bring forward delivery of enabling infrastructure, including access road, signage and utilities, required to facilitate development of the first section of the northern site of Innovation Park Medway;
  • bring forward delivery of enabling works, including access road, shared footpath/cycle route and utilities, required to facilitate development of the southern site of Innovation Park Medway;
  • bring forward delivery of enabling infrastructure, including access road/footpath, utility infrastructure and primary/secondary substations as required, on a wider section of the northern site of Innovation Park Medway to allow accelerated development of commercial space;
  • bring forward delivery of pavements and footpaths, planting, street furniture and preparatory ground works to enable realisation of the Runway Park.

For further details on the other phases of the wider Innovation Park Medway project please follow the links below: Rochester Airport – Phase 1, Innovation Park Medway – southern site, Innovation Park Medway – northern site extension (also known as Rochester Airport – Phase 3) and Innovation Park Medway – Sustainable City of Business.

Capital Programme delivery update

Take a look at our update on the delivery of the Local Growth Fund (LGF) and Growing Places Fund (GPF) capital programmes.

SELEP Capital Investment Programme

£579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

In total the SELEP Growth Deal with Government has brought £579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal (2015-2021) we aim to deliver 78,000 jobs and 29,000 homes across the SELEP area, with the Deal set to attract a further £960m of investment into the South East over the six year period.

Find out more here
Funding value: £3.7m
Total Project cost: £48.9m
Return to Capital Investment