Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway City Status Bid 2012

www.cityofmedway.org

Medway City Status Bid 2012

Contents Medway’s location ...................................................2 Rich heritage, great future........................................3 Medway – our place.................................................5 Medway – our rich heritage .....................................7 Medway – our great future .......................................9 The people of Medway ..........................................11 Introducing our city centre .....................................13 A diverse and thriving economy ............................19 Visiting and enjoying Medway ...............................21

A busy diary of events and festivals ......................29 A natural environment to be proud of ....................31 Leisure and sporting opportunities for all .............35 Volunteering and community organisations...........39 The best start for our children and young people .....41 How the council works...........................................45 Backing the bid ......................................................46 Map ........................................................................47

Medway’s location

EBBSFLEET INTERNATIONAL

LONDON

ASHFORD INTERNATIONAL

EUROTUNNEL

Calais

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www.cityofmedway.org

Medway City Status Bid 2012

Rich heritage, great future We are proud to use this banner to promote Medway’s bid for city status.

It exemplifies the proud tradition and history of Medway and its ongoing development into a thriving 21st century home for a growing population of more than 250,000 people, the largest urban conurbation in the south-east outside London.

Medway is bidding to become a new city but its history as a place of national importance stretches back hundreds of years – Britain’s second oldest cathedral, the resting place of King Charles II on the night before he was restored to the throne, a 12th century Norman castle, the historic dockyard where Nelson’s flagship Victory was built, the home of the Royal Engineers, the place where Dickens wrote some of English literature’s greatest novels. These are just a few of the ways our rich heritage is part of our nation’s history.

From the past, to the present – and towards our future. In 2012, Medway will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen’s visit to open the new Universities at Medway campus. Ten years on and Medway has four universities with a growing student population totalling some 12,000 undergraduates. This increasingly skilled workforce underpins Medway’s long-term economic development, providing a catalyst for growth which will be further enhanced should Medway realise its ambition to become a city.

Whilst Medway has many of the features that make a city, being honoured with city status by Her Majesty in 2012 would be a new chapter in Medway’s great future. It would enable our transformation to continue and help us to respond to the challenges of the years ahead.

Through this document we hope you will enjoy your virtual visit to our home, and we look forward to being able to welcome you to the City of Medway.

Cllr Rodney Chambers Leader Medway Council

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

The River Medway with Rochester Castle and Cathedral during one of Medway's 28 days each year of free festivals and events.

The River Medway, Chatham, Chatham Maritime, Gillingham and the Great Lines Heritage Park - 70 hectares of open space at the heart of Medway.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway – our place To understand Medway – its rich heritage and great future – there is only one place to start. On the river that defines the place and gives Medway its name.

Fittingly, Medway’s city centre follows the flow of the river. At one end its gateway is marked by the iconic Rochester Castle, built in 1127, the tallest surviving Norman keep in the country at 113ft. This scheduled ancient monument is managed in partnership by English Heritage and Medway Council.

Travel two miles downstream and the historic castle is replaced by the symbolism of 21st Century Medway – the newly completed towers of Chatham Maritime stand grandly over St Mary’s Island with its award-winning housing development, luxury marina and new shopping and entertainment complex.

Sail between these gateways and the banks of the river reflect Medway’s evolution: l

the earliest use of the River Medway by the Royal Navy took place in the reign of Henry VIII and the Royal Dockyard at Chatham was founded in 1570 during the reign of Elizabeth I. This put Medway at the heart of naval shipbuilding for more than 400 years. The dockyard sits across the river from Medway’s largest modern economic hub; Medway City Estate, which is home to more than 500 businesses employing 6,000 people.

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upstream, and the University of Creative Arts – the newest of Medway’s four universities – overlooks Rochester railway station with its new high-speed service into London and the huge Rochester Riverside regeneration site where work is underway to create a community of 2,000 homes alongside schools, shops and other services.

Medway has a population of more than 250,000 and is larger than more than twenty other UK cities.

Its major centres of population† are Chatham (population 79,537), Gillingham (population 40,674) Rochester (population 20,314), Strood (population 27,000) and Rainham (population 55,121).

These are complemented by swathes of green spaces including our villages, the internationally renowned and scientifically important wetlands, a diverse range of country parks and the Great Lines Heritage Park – a part of Medway’s history since Napoleonic times and the heart of Medway’s world heritage site bid.

Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Engineers, celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2012

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The largest conurbation in the south-east outside London

† Source: Office for National Statistics 2009 mid year estimates

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

From the Spanish Armada to the Falklands Crisis ships built, repaired and manned from Chatham Dockyard secured and maintained Britain’s command of the world oceans and the global position it has today. Since the closure of the dockyard in 1984, the site has been transformed into one of the region's premier visitor attractions.

The Chatham Naval Memorial in the Great Lines Heritage Park unveiled by the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) on 26 April 1924. The extension to the memorial after the Second World War was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 October 1952.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway – our rich heritage The heritage of Medway lies behind much that defines the area and its place in the county of Kent. Indeed the River Medway acts as a dividing line between north and south Kent - its name probably has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon words for "middle way".

Chatham was established as a Royal Dockyard by Queen Elizabeth I in 1570

The walled settlement of Rochester (Durobrivae) was an important river crossing and road station in Roman times. When the Romans left England, Saxon incomers farmed and fished in Medway.

In 604 AD, Rochester Cathedral was founded and is the second oldest cathedral in England. But it wasn’t until the Norman invasion of England in 1066, which brought a new culture and style of architecture to Medway, that its distinctive shape took form. As well as constructing a new cathedral, the Normans also built Rochester Castle – one of the finest examples of Norman defensive architecture in the country. The castle was subjected to three sieges – the most famous being in 1215, re-enacted on international cinema screens in 2011 when James Purefoy starred in Ironclad.

Despite this siege, the castle remains standing today as an iconic building in Medway’s landscape.

Chatham was established as a Royal Dockyard during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and it quickly became the largest refitting and shipbuilding dockyard in England. Nelson's flagship HMS Victory was launched at Chatham in 1765.

The 19th Century – and 1812 in particular - proved seminal in Medway as it is known today.

The Royal Engineers established their regimental headquarters in Medway and Charles Dickens was born.

Rochester was the inspiration for many of Dickens' greatest works. Indeed, Restoration House was Satis House in Great Expectations, where Miss Havisham lived. As well as Great Expectations, Medway proved the setting and provided the characters for a number of his greatest novels including Pickwick Papers and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Charles Dickens spent his childhood years in Medway from 1817 to 1822 while his father worked at the naval dockyard in Chatham. He was a national legend when he returned for the last 13 years of his life, dying at Gad's Hill in 1870. One of Dickens’ most treasured possessions, the Swiss chalet in which he wrote while at Gad’s Hill, can be seen in the gardens of Eastgate House in Rochester.

Such is Medway’s historical importance that we are hoping to celebrate 2012 by receiving formal permission to submit a bid to become a World Heritage Site.

The proposed World Heritage Site includes the Historic Dockyard, Fort Amherst, Gun Wharf, Upnor Castle, the Great Lines, Brompton Village, the Royal School of Military Engineering (Brompton Barracks) and the River Medway.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

The new MidKent College campus in Gillingham, opened by HRH Princess Anne The Princess Royal in 2010, has more than 2,800 16-18 year old students studying for a range of vocational qualifications - an important part of helping Medway's young people get the best start in life.

Dominated by the towers of the Quays development the 140 hectare waterfront Chatham Maritime site has been transformed into a thriving business, education, leisure and residential community with 20,000m2 of office space providing more than 3,500 jobs.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway – our great future We are proud of our heritage and we are excited by our future. Nowhere is that more clearly expressed than in the development of skills and education as part of Medway’s regeneration. Since Her Majesty the Queen opened the Universities at Medway campus in 2002 in Chatham’s former Royal Naval College, Medway’s student population has grown significantly.

There are now four universities – University of Kent, University of Greenwich, Canterbury Christ Church University and the University for the Creative Arts. Together they have a student population of 12,000 and growing, offering a wide range of courses including law, sports science and therapy, natural sciences, nursing, teaching, journalism and fashion – in 2009 fashion student Myrto Stamou won the prestigious Gold Award at the national graduate fashion week in London and has a collection stocked in the High Street chain River Island.

Four universities with 12,000 students

The development of our universities is complemented by the excellent education provision in Medway: l in 2010, HRH the Princess Royal opened the new MidKent College campus, the largest further education establishment in Kent; l the £75m development of three new academies, each co-sponsored by one of Medway’s universities; l our primary schools have been granted an Olympic Inspire Mark for their work on the Our Medway: Counting down to 2012 curriculum project.

The burgeoning improvement in the skills of Medway’s people is a key factor in the ongoing development of Medway’s economy. It is worth around £3.3billion per year and has 13,000 businesses.

With a population of more than 250,000, expanding to around 280,000 by 2028, Medway’s economy has a targeted growth rate of twice the national average and is expected to create 40,000 jobs by 2026.† The projected growth in Medway’s economy is helped by Medway’s geographical position, benefiting from comprehensive transport links within the UK and Europe. Medway has good access to the M2, M20 and M25 motorways and the high speed train line linking Medway to London in 34 minutes. In addition it is near the UK’s largest passenger port at Dover and close to major international airports.

Medway also has its own airport at Rochester, close to the M2 motorway.

Excellent transport links have allowed us to welcome the world to Medway. In 2010, Medway celebrated the completion of its new regional centre of sporting excellence, Medway Park, by staging the Modern Pentathlon World Cup and this year will host an official Olympic qualifying competition when it stages the Modern Pentathlon European Championships. It is also an accredited training centre for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Not only has Medway Park brought Olympic and world champions to Medway, it is also a tangible sign of the physical and social regeneration in the area.

In Medway, regeneration is not a pipedream, it is a reality. Chatham Maritime, St Mary’s Island, the Universities at Medway, Medway Park and our new hi-tech business complex, the Medway Innovation Centre are all projects completed that form part of the dynamic development of Medway. The people of Medway recognise that city status is an important part of Medway’s future. More than two-thirds of people living in the area support our bid along with the area’s major employers and businesses.

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† Source: Medway Council estimates

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

A 21-gun salute fired from Fort Amherst in Chatham to celebrate the marriage of HRH Prince William of Wales to Miss Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. On the same day a new footbridge was unveiled at Fort Amherst and named as Prince William's Bridge in celebration of the couple's wedding.

The ÂŁ11m Medway Park regional centre of sporting excellence provides facilities for amateur and professional sportsmen and women. The centre is located next to the regimental museum of the Royal Engineers, of which HRH The Queen is the Colonel-in-Chief, and the Royal School of Military Engineering.

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www.cityofmedway.org

Medway City Status Bid 2012

The people of Medway Slovak, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Czech, Punjabi, Mandarin, Bengali, Portuguese, Romanian, Cantonese, Tamil, Kurdish, Vietnamese, Bulgarian… and, of course, English. Just a few of the 50 or more languages spoken in modern-day Medway – not surprising for a large urban area near London.

Diverse population from more than 50 different countries

Medway has a higher proportion of under 20-year-olds than the regional and national average, and a lower proportion of over 60-year-olds. However, population projections up to 2028† suggest that around 80 per cent of the increase in population for Medway will come from older age groups.

Those are the facts and figures about Medway’s population. Over the past year support for our bid for city status has been overwhelming at many of our city status events. But to explain more about what city status would mean to people in Medway, we asked a selection of notable local people to give their views.

The Very Reverend Adrian Newman, Dean of Rochester and newly appointed Bishop of Stepney “As befits people who live on an ancient pilgrims’ route, Medway residents are hospitable and welcoming. As people defined by the crossing of a river, they are used to overcoming obstacles and finding solutions to the problems they face. As part of a frontier county, a capacity for change and innovation is in their blood.”

Azhar Mahmood, Medway Human Rights and Equality Council “The cultural heritage of Medway has been enhanced by the many minority ethnic communities who have chosen to live and work in Medway.

“Their diverse and distinct community organisations, faith institutions and cultural groups have contributed immensely to harmony, peace and prosperity and make Medway a diverse and inclusive society.”

Professor Louis Passfield, Head of Sport Studies, University of Kent “Chatham Maritime provides a superb university campus for students to study in Medway. On one cosmopolitan campus staff and students from three different universities work and study alongside one another.

“The campus adds great diversity to Medway as students arrive from around the UK and the world.

“Living up to its moniker of the UK's European University, the department is staffed by academics from seven different countries. These staff and students have changed the face of Medway. Their success has created an increasingly regarded seat of learning. ”

Ian Kirkpatrick, Managing Director, The Fountain Workshop Limited “We have found Medway to be an excellent base for our business and the majority of our staff are residents of Medway. We have a policy of procuring from local sources wherever practical to ensure that we support the local economy.

“We have found Medway Council to have been particularly supportive over the years, particularly in their initiatives for small and medium sized enterprises.

“We wholeheartedly support the bid for city status which we feel will bring tangible benefits to the business profile within the area.”

Pat Sanford, Head Teacher, High Halstow Primary School “I have worked with many pupils within Medway and have found them to be eager and enthusiastic learners who respond to challenges in a positive way. Young

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† Source: Medway Council forecasts

people in Medway are concerned with their own lives but also show a desire to learn about other young people throughout the world. They are caring, compassionate and keen to become the next citizens who can make a difference to their future.”

Rachael Burford, England women’s rugby world cup finalist “I have been involved in sport for 18 years and I know Medway has the sport bug – there are so many sporting opportunities.

Medway’s community has supported me massively throughout my rugby career and without its help I would not be where I am today. People outside of Medway have commented to me on many occasions about how supportive Medway is of sport in its community.”

Bob Bounds, Editor, Medway Messenger “Medway is a great place to live and work. It has distinct communities, which will continue to flourish and thrive within the proposed city.

“Bidding for city status provides an opportunity to talk about who we are as a community, where we’ve come from, and most importantly where we’re going.

Having that debate and feeling confident and optimistic about the future can only be positive.”

†† Source: Office of National Statistics

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

The former Chatham Town Hall, now the Brook Theatre, looks over the open space of the Paddock and beyond to Chatham's new waterfront bus station and the River Medway itself.

Chatham Waterfront bus station, opening in late 2011, will act as a further catalyst to the regeneration of Medway's city centre and waterfront. The attractive, landscaped station will use GPS technology to track the progress of buses and provide customers up-to-the-minute arrival and departure times on digital display boards.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Introducing our city centre The city centre heart of Medway is Chatham - a diverse maritime destination with a rich history stretching back more than 400 years.

The great naval dockyard in Chatham produced many famous ships, including HMS Victory. Since the closure of the dockyard in 1984 Chatham has come through difficult times and subsequently emerged as the bustling commercial and transport centre of Medway.

Most of Medway’s bus routes will pass through Chatham’s brand new waterfront bus station, showcasing Chatham’s potential as a waterfront city centre. Chatham’s train station is also a short walk from the High Street and provides fast rail connections to Kent, London and the continent.

Chatham High Street features a mix of leading national retailers, such as Debenhams, Primark and Waterstones, as well as a large number of independent retailers. Also in the heart of Chatham is the Pentagon Shopping Centre where many leading brand name stores can be found. The centre has nearly 100 shops, restaurants, cafes and an indoor bowling alley.

But Medway’s city centre Chatham is about far more than shopping. Located in the High Street is Chatham’s Central Theatre – a beautiful 960-seat theatre that hosts national touring shows and local amateur productions alike. The old Chatham Town Hall is a thriving arts centre with a 400-seat auditorium offering professional theatre, community productions, jazz, folk and comedy.

Chatham’s Nucleus Arts Centre was opened in 2002 as a space for local artists to develop and display their talents. It has since grown into an award-winning arts and community base at the forefront of the cultural regeneration of Medway.

Much of Chatham is overlooked by Fort Amherst. This is Britain's best surviving example of a Napoleonic Fortress and is of international historical importance, built to protect the former Royal Dockyard at Chatham from a land-based attack.

Medway has the potential to be an exemplary 21st century sustainable city.

Sir Terry Farrell, Five Towns Make a City

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

The 300-berth marina at Chatham Maritime provides a stunning waterfront setting for the regenerated former dockyard site.

The Dickens World attraction, Dockside Outlet Centre and one of Medway's two multiplex cinemas attract thousands of visitors every day to Chatham Maritime.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Nowhere symbolises Chatham’s rebirth since the dark days following the dockyard closure better than the Chatham Maritime area. Part of the former dockyard now prospers as a visitor attraction and is home to a thriving business community with more than 140 small businesses employing more than 1,000 people.

It is also home to No.1 Smithery: National Treasure Inspiring Culture – a joint project between the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

A variety of companies are based at Chatham Historic Dockyard including high-tech design companies, management companies, solicitors, accountants, ship builders, sign writers and traditional craft businesses, such as wood carving and furniture restoration firms. More than 400 people also live within the site’s walls - in properties that range from historic residences, large and small, to modern new homes.

The skyline at Chatham Maritime is dominated by the new towers at the Quays. With its 334 apartments this development is part of the regenerated former dockyard site.

The site also features a 300-berth marina and has berths available for visiting vessels. It is built in a former dockyard basin originally used to build warships and submarines.

The former Boiler Shop, where boilers were made ready for installation in ships built at the dockyard, now bustles with activity as the Dockside Outlet Centre at Chatham Maritime. This regional shopping centre features more than 80 shops, restaurants, and Medway’s second multiplex cinema, and sits alongside the popular Dickens World attraction – bringing the area’s connections with Charles Dickens alive for visitors and locals alike.

As Medway’s city centre, Chatham also has spectacular open spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy. The Great Lines Heritage Park has 70 hectares of publicly accessible open space visible from much of Chatham. The Chatham Naval Memorial at its apex is one of Medway’s best-known landmarks and commemorates the 18,500 officers, ranks and ratings of the Royal Navy who were lost or buried at sea in the two World Wars.

"Fast trains and waterfront living" Evening Standard, 30 June 2010

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

The Pentagon Shopping Centre is at the centre of Chatham. With 33,900m2 of shopping it has nearly 100 shops, a 16 lane bowling alley and is an established and important local and regional shopping destination.

The ÂŁ63 million Dockside Outlet Centre at Chatham Maritime is a Grade ll listed building originally constructed at Woolwich Dockyard in about 1847 and then re-erected in Chatham in around 1876. The building is historically important as an early example of the use of cast and wrought iron and now thrives as a busy Medway shopping destination.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Chatham High Street is a pedestrianised area that features a mix of leading national retailers as well as a large number of independent retailers. Each summer it plays host to the Fuse Medway Festival - one of the region's highest profile street arts festivals.

Described as “the place to go� in Chatham by The Guardian, the cafe at Chatham's Nucleus Arts Centre nestles in a pleasant courtyard setting just off Chatham High Street.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway Innovation Centre, located at Rochester Airport, provides a home for hi-tech and innovative businesses and helps retain entrepreneurs and jobs in growing businesses in Medway.

Originally built in 1974 Gillingham's Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre was the first out of town shopping centre to be built in the south east and has more than 50 popular retailers under one roof.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

A diverse and thriving economy Medway’s economy is built upon a strong industrial heritage, with Chatham Dockyard’s ship building, Short Brothers aeroplanes, and Aveling & Porter steam rollers. Medway has also had a petrochemical industry on the Hoo peninsula since Victorian times.

This backdrop of industrial expertise resulted in a considerable modern manufacturing and engineering base. However, Medway, which is home to 13,000 businesses, is, and will continue to be, based on a broader and more diverse range of industry sectors.

Manufacturing, power generation, financial and business services, construction, ports and logistics and the creative industries and tourism sectors are all well represented in Medway. Medway’s major employers encompass BAE Systems, Delphi Diesel Systems, Veetee Rice, EoN, Scottish Power, Lloyds of London, BOSE, Jubilee Clips, London Thamesport, RBS, and the BP Aviation Fuel Terminal.

The Medway economy is worth more than £3.3billion per year, having grown at a rate of 31 per cent between 2001 and 2008† .

Economy worth more than £3.3bn per year

Between 2008 and 2010 growth in median weekly earnings for full-time employees in Medway exceeded growth in regional and national earnings resulting in the gap between earnings in Medway and the south east narrowing in the past three years.

Health is Medway’s largest employment sector, accounting for 15 per cent of all jobs, followed by retail with 12 per cent of jobs and education with 11 per cent. Employment in the construction industry in Medway exceeds the national level with 8 per cent of jobs. Manufacturing jobs account for 8.5 per cent, in line with the rest of the country.

By value construction is the largest sector in the economy. Other sectors that are proportionately larger in Medway than nationally are transport, health, retail, accommodation and food services.

Medway‘s commercial property stock is affordable compared to the south east and there is a wide selection of properties available. Its main business estates are Medway City Estate, Gillingham Business Park and Lordswood Industrial Estate. The largest retail centres in Medway are the Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham and Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Gillingham.

New employment land is currently being commissioned at Kingsnorth Commercial Park. Grain Business Park is also in the early stages of the planning process – this will see the largest new release of commercial land in Europe for many years and will realise the development of 465,000m2 of employment floor space. Lodge Hill in Medway will be the only new freestanding residential and commercial development in the UK, with up to 75,000m² of new, high value commercial employment space developed on former Ministry of Defence land.

Medway’s location is advantageous to businesses, being part of a new economic corridor that allows easy access and fast connections by road and rail to London and the continent. Eurostar is easily accessible from nearby Ebbsfleet in under 10 minutes by car or train and the new HS1 fast train service allows access to London from Medway’s five mainline stations in an average time of 35 minutes at peak times.

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† Source: Medway Council economic data

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway has a wide range of tourism and heritage attractions appealing to visitors and local residents, including Rochester Castle which is visited by up to 72,000 people each year.

As the second oldest cathedral in England, Rochester Cathedral was consecrated in 1130 by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the presence of Henry I.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Visiting and enjoying Medway Medway is a vibrant tourist destination steeped in history. It is one of the south east’s most dynamic destinations marrying its celebrated heritage with a rapidly emerging cultural scene.

Tourism in Medway is currently worth £286million per annum† to the local economy. There are an estimated 3.3million day trips made to Medway each year and visitors on overnight trips spend £88million†. Tourism is a key sector of the Medway economy and over the last five years visitor spend has increased by 13 per cent†.

Medway’s tourist offer encompasses world-class military and maritime heritage, a vibrant cultural and arts scene, major family attractions and spectacular urban and rural landscapes.

Its close proximity to both London and the continent also helps attract a variety of visitors. Twenty per cent of visitors are from overseas – mainly from western Europe and the USA. Domestic visitors to Medway come mainly from London and the south-east.

Medway has an array of iconic heritage attractions. These include: • Rochester Castle (1088): Built for William II by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester. In 1127, Henry I gave custody of the castle to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who built the central keep - the tallest Norman keep in the country.

• Rochester Cathedral (founded 604): England's second oldest cathedral, and has been home to community worship for more than 1,400 years. The cathedral houses the Textus Roffensis, the priceless 12th Century manuscript said to have inspired the Magna Carta.

• Temple Manor (1240): Designed to accommodate travelling Knights Templar, an order of monastic soldiers, Henry II gave Strood to the Templars in 1159.

• Upnor Castle (1559): Built on the orders of Elizabeth I to protect the Medway. The castle was tested in 1667 when a Dutch squadron stole the English flagship, the Royal Charles and burnt the fleet, although it failed to reach the dockyard.

• Eastgate House (1590s): Built by the Clerk of the Cheque at Chatham Dockyard, it is an excellent example of a Grade II listed Elizabethan town house. It is referred to by Dickens in the Pickwick Papers and is part of a Heritage Lottery Fund bid. Dickens’ writing chalet can be seen in Eastgate’s gardens.

• The Historic Dockyard and the Royal Engineers: For four centuries, Chatham Dockyard was one of Britain’s premier naval bases, defended by impressive fortifications. It is today the world’s most complete dockyard from the age of sail. The Royal Engineers were established in Medway in 1812, and Medway is proud to remain the home of the Royal School of Military Engineering. Chatham Dockyard and its Defences has been shortlisted by government as a potential World Heritage Site.

• Museums: Medway is home to several world-class museums, on a range of fascinating topics.

These include Dickens World, the Guildhall, the nationally-designated Royal Engineers Museum, and the varied attractions at The Historic Dockyard.

www.cityofmedway.org

† Source: Tourism South East

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Upnor Castle, now illuminated at night, was originally built on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 as a gun fort to defend her warships at anchor in the reaches of the River Medway and Chatham Dockyard.

Rochester Guildhall, built in 1687, is one of the finest 17th-century civic buildings in the south-east. The museum was founded in 1897, in honour of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Medway is home to the renowned Textus Roffensis, the priceless manuscript that inspired the world famous Magna Carta. The historic work was written in 1123 AD and contains the first written record of the English language. Written by a monk, the work – which has the full name of the Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum Episcopum meaning ‘the Book of the Church of Rochester through Bishop Ernulf' - is held at Rochester Cathedral.

Tourism worth £286m to the local economy annually

Another tourist attraction is Medway’s link to key historical figures such as Charles Dickens and Admiral Lord Nelson. Dickens lived in Chatham as a boy and returned in later life to live near Rochester.

Many of the buildings and landscapes of Medway feature in his novels and this is a key driver in attracting visitors. His legacy is celebrated with two large Dickensian festivals each year as well as the recent development of the £60 million Dickens World complex at Chatham Maritime. Medway will be heavily involved in Dickens’ bicentenary celebrations in 2012 as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

There are 800 hotel bedrooms in Medway with a further 500 bedrooms planned at hotel development sites. Business tourism remains a major element of the visitor economy and there are plans for a regional waterfront hotel and conference venue at Rochester Riverside. In recent years Chatham Maritime has emerged as a dynamic cultural waterfront dining area alongside leisure complexes, shopping outlets and marinas.

Medway has also invested heavily in visitor facilities. The award-winning Medway Visitor Information Centre is one of the largest and most prestigious information centres in the country welcoming approximately 300,000 visitors a year. This is linked to a coach drop-off point and coach park.

Medway has already won many awards for its coach park and its work with the travel trade. And it was voted the most coach friendly destination in the UK Coach Awards. Medway’s sustainability credentials are further enhanced through its marketing with train operators resulting in one in five visitors arriving by rail.

Medway is not just an urban destination, it includes spectacular rural alternatives for visitors to enjoy.

For instance, it has some of the best bird watching in the UK at RSPB sites on the Hoo peninsula.

These are complemented by several country parks, a large urban park in the form of the Great Lines Heritage Park and rural walks such as the Saxon Shore Way and parts of the Kent Downs.

The busy river Medway hosts a variety of marinas and boat clubs with regular regattas and river events. It is also home to several river trip vessels such the Kingswear Castle paddle steamer – the last surviving coal-fired paddle steamer in the UK. There are also several ships under restoration such as the LV21 lightship and the Medway Queen paddle steamer.

Iconic Norman castle and the country’s second oldest cathedral

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

Restoration House in Rochester was visited by Charles II in May 1660 en route from Dover to London for his restoration as King after 15 years in exile. It is believed to be the inspiration for Miss Havisham's house in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Simon Jenkins of the Times newspaper observed that "There is no finer pre-civil war town house than this in England".

HMS Gannet, a sloop of the Victorian Royal Navy, was built on the River Medway in 1878 and is now open to visitors as part of the Historic Dockyard, Chatham.

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Medway City Status Bid 2012

With such a vibrant and varied heritage, Medway is proud of its history and its close links to some of the United Kingdom’s most famous figures: • Medway was the birthplace of Will Adams (1564), the first Englishman to reach Japan and the inspiration for James Clavell’s Shogun. He was christened in St Mary Magdelene Church, Gillingham, which survives today.

• HMS Victory – Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar – was built at Chatham Dockyard in 1765.

• Medway is home to 780 listed buildings and 72 scheduled monuments. Grade I listed buildings include Restoration House (named because King Charles II stayed there on his way to reclaim England's throne), Cooling Castle, the Guildhall and Corn Exchange.

• The Historic Dockyard, Chatham has the greatest concentration of listed buildings in the country.

• Sir Francis Drake’s father was the vicar of Upchurch and prayer-reader to the fleet. Drake learnt his early sailing skills in the Chatham area – skills which eventually enabled him to sail round the world in the Golden Hind.

• The Chatham Naval Memorial is inscribed with the names of more than 18,500 Royal Naval personnel lost at sea.

• Medway welcomed 30,000 residents and visitors to the nation’s inaugural National Armed Forces Day in 2009, and was proud to host a parade and thanksgiving service celebrating the 150th anniversary of the cadet movement in 2010.

• Medway has a long and proud association with HMS Chatham, and hosted a Freedom March to commemorate her decommissioning in 2011.

Historic Dockyard which built Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory

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The Vines in Rochester is one of Medway's four parks and open spaces that have been awarded Green Flags as some of the best parks and open spaces in the country.

The old bridge at Rochester was built in 1856 by the Rochester Bridge Trust which has built and maintained numerous crossings of the River Medway since medieval times. Near the bridge lies the Royal and Victoria Bull Hotel, a coaching inn and posting house, where Princess Victoria stayed overnight in 1836 - the year before she became Queen.

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Rochester's Eastgate House was built in the 1590s and features as the Nun's House in Dickens's novel, The Pickwick Papers. Medway Council has received initial funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund as part of a ÂŁ1million bid to carry out work at Eastgate House and turn it into an exhibition space as part of the development of a cultural quarter in Rochester.

No.1 Smithery: National Treasure Inspiring Culture is a joint project between Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, the National Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum. It showcases unique and previously unseen maritime artefacts, national and international touring art, and education areas and interactive family learning and entertainment spaces that inspire visitors of all ages.

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Rochester Castle Gardens is the venue for the Castle Concerts series, culminating in a spectacular finale featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

A stunning finale to the Fuse Medway Festival 2010 featuring LV21 - a 40 metre steel-hulled lightship being transformed into a floating cultural facility in Medway.

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A busy diary of events and festivals Medway hosts more than 28 days of free festivals and events each year, comprising some of the region’s most renowned events. Medway’s festivals and events include:

28 days of free festivals and events each year

Dickens Festival: Now in it’s 34th year, the Dickens Festival is held over the first weekend of June and attracts more than 60,000 people to celebrate Medway’s association with one of England’s most respected and best-loved authors.

Castle Concerts: Regarded as one of the most successful music events in the regional calendar, the sell-out Castle Concerts regularly host chart-topping acts, such as Mcfly, Will Young and The Saturdays, as well as established performers like Van Morrison, Status Quo and Jools Holland.

The finale, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, lasers, water fountains, cannon and fireworks is a spectacular end to a great event. The concerts are enjoyed by more than 15,000 people each year.

FUSE Festival: A free, outdoor arts festival it combines “cutting edge with community”, drawing on the best talent Medway has to offer and showcasing the newest and most innovative arts from the UK and the rest of the world.

Sweeps Festival: The Sweeps Festival, held over the weekend of the spring bank holiday attracts more than 100 morris teams and 30,000 visitors each day, making it the biggest festival of its kind in the world.

Chinese New Year Celebrations: Organised by Medway’s Chinese community and one of the largest outside London. It involves hundreds of costumed characters who proudly parade and entertain visitors in the centre of Chatham, accompanied by dragons and lions.

The English Festival: Enjoyed by more than 11,000 people, The English Festival celebrates St. George’s Day through a series of events and activities, traditionally associated with all things English.

Will Adams Festival: The festival celebrates the area’s association with the famous mariner who first established trade links with Japan. More than 5,000 people attend the Will Adams Festival each year and participate in activities including martial arts, calligraphy, origami and our world famous tea ceremony. The festival also allows people to experience the cuisine and culture of Japan.

Dickensian Christmas Festival: Held over the first weekend in December, more than 80,000 attend this festival based on the Dickensian view of Christmas. It depicts all the activities associated with the build up to Christmas from the viewpoint of the Victorian era. The festival includes characters from Christmas Carol, the biggest German-style Christmas market in the south-east, carol concerts and a host of costumed characters.

2012 - Medway's year of celebrations: Dickens' bicentenary, 200 years since the founding of the Royal Engineers in Medway, potential submission of a World Heritage site bid, London 2012 and the Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee will mean a spectacular year of celebrations in Medway.

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David Bellamy OBE officially opening the 561 acre nature reserve and working farm at Ranscombe Farm and hailing it as "the Medway miracle".

Green Flag award winning Riverside Country Park covers 100 hectares alongside the Medway Estuary. There are various habitats within the park, including mudflats and salt marsh, ponds and reed-beds, grassland and scrub, which provide a haven for wildlife.

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A natural environment to be proud of Medway enjoys a stunning natural setting. The chalk slopes of the Kent Downs form the backdrop to the south, and the River Medway cuts through the chalk hills before opening up into the wide estuary and marshes that link to the River Thames.

Views of the hills, river and marshes accompany people as they move around Medway. The dramatic chalk hills of the downs and the wild open vistas of the estuaries and marshes define Medway’s sense of place. Our green spaces connect the city to the countryside.

Medway’s green spaces reflect its rich natural and cultural heritage, and offer great opportunities for local people and visitors to enjoy the landscape, wildlife and views, and to relax and exercise.

Our marshes and estuaries are of global importance and support around 300,000 wintering wetland birds, which feed on Medway’s mudflats and saltings.

The countryside of Medway supports numerous rare and protected species – including orchids on the chalk grassland and the corncockle at Ranscombe Farm.

Medway’s green spaces link the area to its past. The diverse sites include the ancient vineyards of the monks in Rochester, the forts built to defend the dockyard, and the old brickwork sites by the river.

Medway’s green spaces are also places for the future, with improvements to parks and open spaces catering for the needs of growing communities and visitors.

Recent green space improvements have seen the development of footpath and cycleway networks; provision of play facilities to cater for all – from toddlers to teenagers; community orchards; and improving areas for wildlife.

There is a strong and varied network of green spaces in Medway: • • • • • • •

1,900 hectares in size; 24 recreation grounds; 16 parks and gardens; two country parks and one farm reserve; 48 natural green space areas; 117 play spaces; 36 allotment sites with more than 1,200 allotments.

World-renowned marshes, estuaries and green spaces

The Great Lines Heritage Park exemplifies the link between Medway’s historic legacy and its ambitious future development. This key site, based on the historic fortifications of the Chatham Lines and their field of fire, is included in the proposed World Heritage Site, and forms a key part of the regeneration vision for the centre of the city of Medway. Investment of £2million in recent years has improved access, security and land management, increasing use of the site, and moving towards achieving our vision for a world-class park for Medway.

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The Medway estuary has special protection as part of the Medway Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is internationally important for wintering birds that thrive on the invertebrate-rich mudflats.

Cliffe Pools nature reserve on the Hoo peninsula offers a spectacular landscape of open water and big skies. The reserve is one of the most important places for wildlife in the UK with huge flocks of wading birds and waterfowl.

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Riverside Country Park covers 100 hectares alongside the Medway estuary. There are various habitats within the park, including mudflats, salt marshes, ponds, reed beds, grassland and scrub, all of which provide a haven for wildlife.

Capstone Farm Country Park covers 114 hectares of former farmland set on the North Downs.

There is a variety of habitats within the park, including ancient woodlands, old orchards, a freshwater lake, meadows and hedgerows. The park is typical of the rolling landscape of the North Downs and many of the woods and hedgerows are hundreds of years old. A range of new cycling, running and horse riding routes have been established at the park to broaden the range of leisure opportunities available.

Ranscombe Farm is 229 hectares in size. With more than six miles of public footpaths, it offers excellent opportunities to enjoy tranquil walks in an attractive rural landscape that is part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area was opened by Professor David Bellamy in 2005 and is now managed in partnership with Plantlife with the aim of improving opportunities for public access and conserving and enhancing biodiversity, while maintaining the working farm landscape and its historic pattern of woods and fields. Ranscombe Farm is one of British botany’s classic sites.

Green spaces in Medway are truly community venues, and are used to hold a range of events as varied as gardening, wildlife, BMX biking and arts and crafts. These events are attended by more than 25,000 residents annually. There is also an active education programme attached to the parks.

Medway’s green spaces are enjoyed by many, attracting more than 1.5million visitors annually. Four sites have achieved Green Flag awards – a nationally recognised scheme for high quality parks and open spaces.

The shared value felt for Medway’s green spaces is seen in the strong support of local people and reflected in the vibrant and expanding network of ‘Friends of Groups’. There are 23 ‘Friends of Groups’, made up of people passionate about their local green spaces, who work with the council in looking after the parks. Medway Council also works with environmental organisations, such as the RSPB and Kent Wildlife Trust, in opening access to other countryside sites and promoting the special qualities of the natural environment.

Medway’s two country parks attract more than 500,000 visits a year

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Medway is proud to be home to Gillingham Football Club - Kent's only team in the Football League. In 2012 the club will celebrate 100 years since it adopted the name Gillingham Football Club having originally been formed in 1893.

The Tour de France peloton passing Medway's new police station, part of the successful regeneration of Chatham Maritime and Gillingham waterfront, as part of the stage 1 route from London to Canterbury on Sunday, 8 July 2007.

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Leisure and sporting opportunities for all From Wembley to the World Cup…and now the Olympics. Medway has a burgeoning reputation as a sporting centre of international repute.

Since the introduction of Football League play-offs, Wembley has become a second home for Gillingham Football Club. Three times since 1999 the club has made it to the play-off finals, returning home victorious twice, the last in 2008.

While the Gills travelled to Wembley for their moments of glory, the sporting world has come to Medway for major competitions. In 2007, Medway’s cars gave way to the Tour de France as it raced through on the first stage of its annual sporting pilgrimage.

Then, in 2010, Medway played host to the Modern Pentathlon World Cup bringing Olympic and world champions here in the gruelling five-sport competition to find the ultimate sportsperson as described

by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games. The success of the world cup was such that in 2011 Medway will host the Modern Pentathlon European Championships – the most prestigious event in the sport’s calendar this year as it is an official Olympic qualifier with the top eight men and women booking their places at London in 2012.

Both pentathlon events were staged at Medway Park, the £11m regional centre of sporting excellence opened in April 2010. Built in partnership with the University of Kent – which has a specialist sports therapy and sports science centre on site - and part-funded by government and Sport England, Medway Park provides international quality facilities for use by the community.

It is a bricks-and-mortar demonstration of the commitment Medway has to delivering the sporting legacy so talked about when London won the bid to stage the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

That commitment is shown in a number of ways, including: • development of the Mini Youth Games series of competitions for primary school pupils; • launching the Medway Festival of Sport, combining competitive sporting events with opportunities to increase participation by all; • supporting Medway’s many sports clubs and introducing a range of new disability sport clubs; • continuation of free swimming for under 11s and over 60s, funded by the council; • launching the Medway Coaching Academy, which has been awarded a 2012 Inspire Mark; • launching the Medway Sporting Academy, to identify and nurture future sporting stars; • introducing the Our Medway 2012 schools curriculum, an Inspire Mark project with more than 70 Medway primary schools participating.

While Medway Park has become the focal point for much of this activity, it is one of seven leisure centres in Medway run by the local authority providing a wide range of activities. Medway's leisure centres attract over 2.5million visits per year. There is also an extensive range of private sector gyms and sporting facilities as befits a city of Medway’s size.

And, of course, there is also the river. Home to a range of watersports clubs whether for competitive purposes or merely for healthy relaxation. Medway even has its own boat race! It may not rival Oxford v Cambridge, but the annual inter-university competition has proved increasingly popular since its introduction four years ago.

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People in Medway are used to enjoying world-class sporting events, including the Modern Pentathlon World Cup 2010 when Medway Park was the venue for this event. In summer 2011 Medway Park will host the Olympic-qualifying Modern Pentathlon European Championships, while in summer 2012 the venue will welcome more than 700 competitors in the British Transplant Games.

Cozenton Wheel Park in Rainham, has been developed with in-line skaters, skateboarders, BMX and trial bikes in mind. It is part of Cozenton Park - a park and plant nursery where thousands of visitors each year attend the popular Medway Flower Fair organised by Hadlow College.

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Residents and visitors can relax in beautiful historic surroundings while enjoying one of Rochester’s many restaurants, bistros, cafes or tea rooms.

Situated on the Hoo peninsula, with breathtaking views of the Medway estuary, Deangate Ridge Golf Club is one of the finest municipal golf courses in Kent. It is one of two golf courses in Medway.

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The celebration of the Chinese New Year in Medway has emerged from a small Chinese community event into the third largest celebration of its kind in the United Kingdom, involving the whole Medway community.

In one of many street parties in Medway, the residents of Allington Drive in Strood celebrate the wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. Image courtesy of Medway Messenger.

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Volunteering and community organisations Medway has a vibrant and thriving voluntary and community sector. There are currently more than 580 voluntary and community organisations in Medway†; these organisations cover a wide range from small, grassroots community groups to branches of national charities.

While Medway Council provides funding support to these groups of more than ÂŁ2.3 million annually, there is a large number of organisations getting on with the job of supporting the people of Medway and providing opportunities for enjoyment and achievement without funding from the council and other statutory organisations in the city.

However Medway would not be the place it is today without the hard work and commitment of volunteers working in the sector. Voluntary and community groups are the glue that holds diverse communities together, working genuinely at the heart of their communities. They promote community cohesion, a sense of belonging and meet the needs of sometimes marginalised and disparate groups.

For a city with a population of more than 250,000 people Medway is distinct in the vibrancy of its community and volunteer groups. Indeed Martin Featherstone, Chief Executive of Medway's Council for Voluntary Service notes that "a key strength in Medway is its diversity and the many voluntary groups that were established to represent particular community or faith groups."

Organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), the Volunteer Bureaux in Rochester and Gillingham, Medway Carers Centre and the Medway Mediation Service form the backbone of the sector in Medway. They help smaller organisations emerge and grow through training, support and guidance in securing funding from a wide range of sources.

But Medway's commitment to volunteering and the "Big Society" concept goes well beyond these valued community groups. The city's hundreds of sporting clubs and teams help people of all ages in Medway learn and develop sporting skills and fitness thanks to the thousands of hours contributed by trained sporting coaches.

A good example of how volunteering makes a real difference to people living in Medway is the Medway SOS Bus. This is a converted single decked bus run by CVS Medway. Launched in 2009, it has the latest medical, counselling, chill out/waiting area, customer service and other community facilities including TVs on board. The bus delivers a daytime service providing a wide variety of information, support and help to community groups. However, its main role is to provide a safe haven for vulnerable people, irrespective of their age, race, sexual orientation or religion between 9pm and 3am on a Friday and Saturday night in Medway.

Medway's SOS bus service volunteers have saved the NHS significant sums in A&E admissions and ambulance call outs since the project launched. More than 1,000 people have used the services provided by the bus volunteers since 2009. The majority of visitors have used it as a safe refuge while they wait for taxis or lifts home while others have sought advice and information or used it as a landmark location for meeting up with friends.

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†Source: Medway Council Community and Voluntary Sector Strategy 2010

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The award-winning ÂŁ10million Drill Hall library at Chatham Maritime is open to Medway's students and residents.

The building, at 184 metres long, is the longest library in Europe and contains 2.7 miles of shelving.

Pupils at Thames View Infant and Junior Schools getting building under way as part of Medway's multi-million pound programme of primary school rebuilding work.

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The best start for our children and young people Our vision for children and young people as set out in our Children and Young People’s plan is: “Every child deserves to be safe and loved and have a happy and healthy childhood, free from harm.

Every child should also have the chance to make the most of their promise and potential.”

The city has around 65,000 children and young people. There are 82 primary schools, 17 secondary schools and four special schools.

Thanks to a £75million investment under the academy programme, major building work is underway to provide new buildings for the Strood Academy, Bishop of Rochester Academy and Brompton Academy.

Capital investment in Medway’s schools is planned, with a number of funding streams joined up to ensure the maximum value for our investment. We have recently begun projects to significantly remodel and rebuild seven primary schools in Medway, with more than £15million of combined investment.

All of these capital projects will deliver our aims of creating schools for the 21st century, with the very best learning environments and improved facilities that will benefit children across Medway, as well as their families and the community.

In addition, capital investment has developed a network of 19 Sure Start children’s centres, with all but one at primary schools, that host a range of health, learning, care and guidance services for very young children and their parents and carers. We have also expanded the proportion of schools offering an integrated Foundation Stage of learning from the age of three – helping to raise standards at Foundation Stage and ultimately Key Stage 1 and beyond.

But the strength of Medway’s schools isn’t just about the facilities they provide.

This year, Medway schools celebrated their best ever GCSE results - the sixth year in a row the results have improved. A greater number of Medway students have gained five or more GCSE (or equivalent) passes at A* to C grades than ever before, and have exceeded the national average.

In the exams taken in summer 2010, 77 per cent of Medway pupils achieved the target of five A* to C grades or equivalent at GCSE, compared to 71 per cent the previous year - a rise of six per cent.

This is higher than the national average for 2009/10 where 75 per cent in any given school achieved five A*to C grades at GCSE or equivalent.

Medway’s schools also exceed the national average for the number of students achieving five or more GCSE (or equivalent) grades at A* to C including English and Mathematics. At 53.6 per cent, the results are up on the national average of 53.4 per cent and almost two per cent higher than last year’s average for Medway of 51.7 per cent.

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The Pilkington Building at the Universities of Medway campus at Chatham Maritime, converted from the former naval canteen, contains a lecture theatre, exhibition space, teaching rooms, a bistro-style cafĂŠ and the base for the Universities at Medway Student Association.

The University for the Creative Arts has around 1,000 students in Medway. As well as specialist studios, equipment and software the campus boasts a wide range of industry standard facilities including state-of-the-art fashion technology - offered by only two other fashion departments in the country.

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The number of students achieving five or more GCSE (or equivalent) passes at A* to G grades.

At 95 per cent, this matches the national average and is higher than the regional average across the south-east of 94 per cent.

Medway’s results for post-16 exams were also the best Medway has seen, and improved for the fourth year in a row. On the measure of the average total points scored by each student, Medway’s performance improved significantly, with an increase of 35 points from last year. This took Medway’s average points per student to 733.2, higher than the national average of 726.

The educational opportunities for young people extend beyond Medway’s schools. MidKent College has more than 2,800 16-18 year old students studying at its brand new Medway campus in Gillingham.

This new £86million campus was inaugurated by HRH The Princess Royal in 2010. During her visit she viewed archive photographs taken of the Duke of Edinburgh when he officially opened the college’s former Fort Horsted site in Chatham in 1955.

The campus now houses state-of-the-art new buildings providing people living in and around Medway with access to some of the best vocational training facilities in the country, including those in hair design, holistic therapies, engineering, catering and performing arts.

Another of Medway’s education success stories has been the creation of the Universities at Medway.

In 1995, Medway had no university students and young people wanting to study at university had to leave Medway and study elsewhere. In 2002, Her Majesty the Queen inaugurated the new Universities of Medway campus at Chatham Maritime.

Since then, thanks to the unique partnership between the University of Greenwich, the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and MidKent College at the shared campus, and the University for the Creative Arts campus at Rochester, Medway now has about 12,000 students in higher education.

One of the driving forces behind the £120million Universities at Medway initiative was the common desire to open up higher education to as many people as possible. The partners welcome applications from people without traditional qualifications, as well as from those entering higher education through a more formal route. Each partner is also committed to the highest standards of teaching and support services expected by students in the 21st Century.

Apprenticeships are also an important part of improving the prospects of Medway's young people.

The area currently has around 1,500 apprentices aged 16 to 24 years old and more than 200 different types of apprenticeships in place. In May 2011 Medway launched a challenge to recruit 100 apprentices in 100 days.

These apprenticeships are split between the workplace and college or university, and can last from one to three years and cover an array of trades and professions, from accounting and administration to hairdressing and joinery.

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The crew of HMS Chatham parades through Medway in February 2011 before the ship was decommissioned.

The St George's Church at the former HMS Pembroke Royal Navy Barracks in Chatham Maritime has been converted into a conference and event centre. The building features many naval memorials including a stained glass window unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) on 29 October 1950 to commemorate Chatham-based ships that were lost in World War II. The centre is also now the venue for meetings of Medway Council.

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How the council works Medway Council is a unitary authority consisting of 55 councillors, representing 22 wards. These meet together as the full council. Here councillors agree the council’s overall policies and set the budget each year, as well as considering other matters that are reserved for the full council. Time is also set aside for local people to ask questions and for councillors to submit topics for debate.

Each year the councillors elect Medway’s mayor. The mayor is the civic figurehead and also chairs council meetings. Since October 2001, the council has had a Leader and Cabinet structure. The Cabinet is responsible for proposing the policy framework and budget to full council and for taking in-year decisions on resources and priorities.

The Cabinet consists of the Leader of the council and nine other elected members. Each Cabinet member has a portfolio of responsibilities although decisions are taken collectively at Cabinet meetings. The Cabinet’s Forward Plan gives residents the opportunity to comment on the issues that the Cabinet is tackling.

There are four Overview and Scrutiny Committees, which play a key role in developing and reviewing policy and holding the Cabinet to account. They allow councillors and local people to have a greater involvement in council matters by holding public inquiries into issues of local concern. The committees also have powers to scrutinise the activities and decisions of partner organisations, such as the NHS. Regulatory committees deal with matters that cannot be dealt with by Cabinet, such as the determination of applications for planning permission. There are also committees that must be set up under specific legislation, such as a licensing committee.

Providing services to Medway residents in partnership with other public sector bodies and the voluntary and community sector is fundamental to Medway’s success. Last year, all partners in the area agreed the Sustainable Community Strategy 2011-2026. This sets out the strategic direction for the area. To deliver on the priorities for Medway, partners have agreed to focus on outcomes, share information effectively, undertake effective engagement and communication with the community, and to ensure resources are being effectively deployed.

Medway also has 11 parish councils, covering the rural areas on the Hoo peninsula and the upper reaches of the River Medway. The Medway Rural Liaison Committee meets regularly to bring together elected members from both the council and the parish councils to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Importantly, the council welcomes participation by local people in its work and wants to hear their views.

Local residents are represented and involved in the work of the council and partners in a number of ways such as the Learning Disability Partnership Board and the Young Inspectors and Young Commissioners. In addition to a number of general rights, such as voting in local elections and contacting their local councillor about any matters of concern, the public are encouraged to attend meetings, participate in the council’s question time and contribute to investigations by the Overview and Scrutiny committees. They are also able to submit petitions to the council and receive responses under the council petitions scheme.

Medway Youth Parliament is an elected body that represents young people in Medway. With representatives from Medway's secondary schools and youth groups the parliament works with decision makers on different issues across a number of organisations. The parliament's main objective is to get young people’s voices heard in decisions in Medway.

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Backing the bid Here are just a few of the organisations that are backing Medway's bid for city status in 2012.

Kent Architecture Centre

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Medway City Status Bid 2012 Communications and Marketing, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TR. Email: communications@medway.gov.uk

Medway Council would like to thank Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc for their kind support of Medway's City Status Bid 2012.