Farmers and landowners must prepare themselves for Medway Council’s extensive development plans for the Hoo Peninsula

BTF Partnership urges farmers and landowners on the Hoo Peninsular to consider whether their land might be affected by the major infrastructure and development proposals which will be needed to enable Medway Council’s vision for Hoo St Werburgh to become a major town by 2037.

The consultation document published by Medway Council sets out in detail plans for new housing, transport hubs, neighbourhood centres, employment areas and green spaces and there will be considerable infrastructure changes needed to enable the plans to go ahead.

In due course compulsory purchase powers maybe sought in order to press on with the infrastructure projects and it’s a complex area where advice should be taken. In addition, whereas large scale development of areas may not be welcome, these can give rise to opportunities, whether that be development of land for housing or commercial use, diversification to aid farming incomes or even ‘spin-offs’ such as providing land for environmental purposes, which is referred to as Biodiversity Net Gain.