Innovation Park Medway is sited within the North Kent Enterprise Zone.  The vision for Innovation Park Medway is to attract high GVA businesses focused on the technological and science sectors – particularly engineering, advanced manufacturing and digital creative industries.  These businesses will deliver high value jobs in the area and contribute to upskilling the local workforce.  This is to be achieved through general employment and the recruitment and training of apprentices including degree-level apprenticeships through collaboration with the Higher Education sector. It is vital to develop Innovation Park Medway as soon as possible to ensure that businesses have the greatest opportunity to benefit from Enterprise Zone status, which commenced in April 2017. The GPF funding will allow enabling works to be completed on the southern site of the Innovation Park, which is required to bring forward development. These works will de-risk the site for potential occupiers. The funding will allow the following works to be completed:

• Access road with shared footpath, cycle route, lighting and signage;
• Utility ducting/service strip;
• Fencing around site boundary (as required);
• Demolition of unused building.

Completion of works will make the site attractive to businesses looking to relocate to Medway and to expand within Medway. The site will be actively marketed prior to and during the construction of enabling works to attract companies looking to build their own premises on the site (subject to the outcome of the development options consultancy work currently being developed in conjunction with the Masterplan). Businesses investing in the site will benefit from being within the Enterprise Zone and from potentially being able to custom design their own buildings (subject to site design guide compliance). Delivery of the Innovation Park Medway – southern site project is dependent upon successful completion of the Rochester Airport Phase 1 project, which delivers the required enabling works to both facilitate delivery of Innovation Park Medway and to release the southern site from current flightpath safeguarding restrictions, allowing development on the site.

Investment in Innovation Park Medway

The project is part of a wider package of SELEP investment in Innovation Park Medway, totalling £11,046,823.  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 – northern site (also known as Rochester Airport – Phase 2), Innovation Park Medway – northern site extension (also known as Rochester Airport – Phase 3) and Innovation Park Medway – Sustainable City of Business.

Growing Places Fund

The Growing Places Fund (GPF) was established by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (formerly the Department for Communities and Local Government) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2011. The aim of this funding is to unlock economic growth, create jobs and ‘kick-start’ house building at stalled development sites.