Chatham Waters
breaking ground and starting works on a brand-new public park at Chatham Waters
The new park will include natural play areas, landscaped lawns, a community kitchen garden, fruit orchard and enhanced connectivity through the site.
Waterside regeneration specialists, Peel Waters have marked a construction and placemaking milestone by breaking ground and starting works on a brand-new public park at Chatham Waters in Medway, Kent.
The new park will create landscaped lawns and social spaces through the centre of Chatham Waters stretching down to the waterfront. More than £125million has already been invested into Chatham Waters by Peel to create over 600 new homes, the Waterfront UTC, improved infrastructure, a large ASDA Superstore and a Marston’s family pub and restaurant. The new park will add to existing green spaces, the dock gardens and the waterfront promenade which have also been delivered at Chatham Waters by Peel Waters as part of their ambitious regeneration of the former industrial site.
a network of new accessible paths
Located at the centre of Chatham Waters, the park will include a network of new accessible paths providing attractive and convenient routes across the growing neighbourhood.
Over 80 new trees will be planted, with species chosen to provide habitats and pollinators for bees. An area of almost 1,000m² will be planted with 15 different varieties of shrubs, providing further habitats for wildlife.
Plenty of open space for residents and the community to enjoy has been designed into the scheme. Over 1,000m² of lawn will be laid, providing areas for residents to relax in and space to play games on. Benches and picnic areas will be installed encouraging residents and users of the park to sit, socialise and utilise the park.
Two circular feature benches which will wrap around semi-mature trees and shrub planting will be the focal point of the park. The feature benches will not only be attractive points of interest but also provide additional spaces for residents, workers and visitors to mix and socialise in.
new areas for active play
Families will be able to enjoy new areas for active play, with a timber rope bridge, stepping stumps, climbing net, play boulders, balance beam and see-saw all set to be installed with the park.
A community garden area, including a fruit orchard and raised planters for residents to grow herbs and vegetables in, has also been designed into the park. The area will be named ‘Andrew’s Allotment’ after Andrew Malcolm Dickson who was part of the Peel Waters team and project managed several of the developments at Chatham Waters for many years. Andrew sadly passed away unexpectedly last year; this new space will be a tribute to the lasting legacy he helped create at Chatham Waters.
Local contractor O’Halloran & O’Brien Group, who have already successfully delivered over 400 of the homes at Chatham Waters on behalf of Peel Waters for Legal and General Affordable Homes and X1 Developments; will create the park delivering new green space in place of former industrial brownfield land.
The start on site of the new park follows on from what has been an exciting year of delivery for Chatham Waters. Earlier this year Peel Waters marked Londis officially opening their first store at Chatham Waters and more recently celebrated reaching practical completion on 237 new homes they developed for Legal and General Affordable Homes.
James Whittaker, Managing Director, Peel Waters said: “Creating high-quality public realm, parks and outdoor space for our community to enjoy is so important to our vision for Chatham Waters.
“Chatham Waters is a neighbourhood which is growing at pace and for us it’s not just about delivering fantastic buildings, we want to build a community. We want neighbours to have opportunities to mix and make friends, we want different ages to socialise with each other and we want children to have safe spaces to explore and play in.
“The park will be a fantastic addition to the existing green spaces, dock gardens and the waterfront promenade we have delivered so far. The scale of the park and the amount of space the community will have will be pretty special, let’s get building!”
Pictured above: L-R Leigh Thomas, Paul Chappels, Zaid Abioye, James Whittaker, Nick Hey
The new park at Chatham Waters is expected to be completed by January 2025.
For general enquiries please contact hello@peelwaters.co.uk
For press and media enquires related to Peel Waters, please email: Emma Green egreen@peel.co.uk or Kate Holland kholland@peel.co.uk