Medway Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1998 (1998-04-01) |
| Preceded by | Rochester-upon-Medway City Council andGillingham Borough Council |
| Leadership | |
Richard Hicks since 1 August 2023 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 59 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Motto | |
| Forward Together | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| St George's Centre, Pembroke Road,Chatham, ME4 4UH | |
| Website | |
| www | |
| Constitution | |
| Constitution of Medway Council | |
Medway Council is thelocal authority ofMedway, a local government district in theceremonial county ofKent,England. The council is aunitary authority,[2] being adistrict council which also performs the functions of acounty council;[3] it is independent fromKent County Council.[4] The council was created on 1 April 1998 and replacedRochester-upon-Medway City Council andGillingham Borough Council.[3][5][6]
The council has been underno overall control since by-elections in February 2025, being run by a minorityLabour administration. It meets at theSt George's Centre in theChatham Maritime area of the borough and has its main offices at Gun Wharf in Chatham.
Throughout the 19th century there had been proposals to join theMedway towns under a single authority. By 1903 moves began to take place: that year saw the creation of the Borough of Gillingham, to which, in 1928, the adjoining parish ofRainham was added.
In 1944, a Medway Towns Joint Amalgamation Committee was formed by the borough corporations ofChatham,Gillingham andRochester, to discuss the possibility of the towns forming a singlecounty borough. In 1948 theLocal Government Boundary Commission recommended that the area become a "most purposes" county borough, but the recommendation was not carried out. In 1956 the Joint Amalgamation Committee decided in favour of the amalgamation and invited representatives fromStrood Rural District Council to join the committee.[7] In 1960, a proposal was made by Rochester Council that the merger be effected by the city absorbing the two other towns, in order to safeguard its ancient charters and city status. This led to Gillingham Council voting to leave the committee, as it believed the three towns should go forward as equal partners.[8] On 9 March, the committee held its last meeting, with the Chatham representatives voting to dissolve the body and those from Rochester voting against. The motion to disband was passed on the casting vote of the chairman, Alderman Semple from Chatham.[9]
Under theLocal Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 the City of Rochester, the Borough of Chatham and part ofStrood Rural District were amalgamated to form theBorough of Medway, alocal government district in the county of Kent. Gillingham chose to remain separate. Underletters patent the former city council area was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said city".[10] The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979, the Borough of Medway was renamed asRochester-upon-Medway, and in1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough.[11]
On 1 April1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway andGillingham were abolished under thelocal government review and merged to become the newunitary authority of Medway, administratively independent fromKent County Council.[3] TheLieutenancies Act 1997 was amended to keep Medway inKent forceremonial purposes.[12][13] With effect from 1 April 1998, the incoming council changed the borough and non-metropolitan county's name from Medway Towns to just Medway.[14]
Since it was the local government district of Rochester-upon-Medway that officially held city status under the 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. The other local government districts with city status that were abolished around this time (Bath andHereford) appointedcharter trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty. However, Rochester-upon-Medway City Council had decided not to and as a result their city status was rescinded. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when they discovered that Rochester was not on theLord Chancellor's Office's list of cities.[15][16]
Medway applied forcity status in the2000 and2002 competitions, but was unsuccessful. In2010, it started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by theAdvertising Standards Authority.[17]
Medway Council made a further bid for city status in2012, when three cities were afforded the honour as part of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee civic honours competition.[18] Ultimately Medway was unsuccessful with the eventual winners beingChelmsford (Essex), Perth (Perthshire), andSt Asaph (Denbighshire).[19]
As a unitary authority, the council provides both district-level and county-level services. Parts of the borough (generally the more rural north and south-west) are included incivil parishes, which form an additional tier oflocal government for their areas.[20]
Following the2023 election, the council was under Labour majority control.[21] Labour lost their majority following two by-elections in February2025, both of which were won byReform UK at the expense of Labour. Labour continued to run the council as a minority administration, partly assisted by the fact that two of the independent councillors were former Labour councillors who were suspended from the party. These two councillors have subsequently been readmitted to Labour, returning the council to a Labour majority.[22][23]
The first election to the council was held in1997. It acted as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements formally came into effect on 1 April 1998. Political control of the council since 1998 has been as follows:[24][25]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1998–2003 | |
| Conservative | 2003–2023 | |
| Labour | 2023–2025 | |
| No overall control | 2025 | |
| Labour | 2025-present | |
The role ofMayor of Medway is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The first leader, John Shaw, had been the last leader of the old Rochester-upon-Medway City Council.[26] The leaders since 1998 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Shaw[26] | Labour | 1 April 1998 | Apr 1999 | |
| Paul Godwin[27] | Labour | May 1999 | May 2000 | |
| Rodney Chambers[28] | Conservative | May 2000 | May 2015 | |
| Alan Jarrett[29][30] | Conservative | 27 May 2015 | May 2023 | |
| Vince Maple[31] | Labour | 24 May 2023 | ||
Following the2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[32][33]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 31 | |
| Conservative | 20 | |
| Independent | 6 | |
| Reform | 2 | |
| Total | 59 | |
Five of the independents sit together as the 'Independent Group'.[34] The next election is due in 2027.[33]
Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 59councillors representing 24wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[35]
Full council meetings are generally held at theSt George's Centre, along with some committee meetings.[36] It was completed in 1906 as a chapel for theRoyal Naval Barracks, Chatham.[37] The building has a Chatham postal address, but was in the borough of Gillingham prior to the creation of Medway in 1998.[38]
The council's main offices are usually at Gun Wharf on Dock Road in Chatham.[39] The building was completed in 1978 as offices forLloyd's of London. They vacated it in 2006, after which the council bought the building to use as its headquarters.[40] The building was temporarily closed in 2023 following the discovery of problems with parts of the building'sreinforced autoclaved aerated concrete structure. The building is not anticipated to reopen until 2026.[41]
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Medway Council, responsible for local services in theMedway region ofKent,[43] has been grappling with significant financial difficulties in recent years,[44][45] leading to growing concerns about its ability to continue providing essentialpublic services.[46][44] In early2024, the council faced a projected budget gap of £28 million for the 2024/25 financial year,[47] with projections indicating even larger shortfalls in subsequent years.[48][44] By 2025/26, the gap could reach £49 million, and by 2026/27, £65 million.[44] This alarming situation led some to predict that the council might be forced to declarebankruptcy or issue aSection 114 order, restricting spending to only essential services.[49][44][50] These concerns were further exacerbated by the council's rising debt levels, which had already reached £225 million by 2024, the highest of any district council in Kent.[51] While the debt was accumulated through large capital projects aimed at regenerating Medway, such as the redevelopment of Mountbatten House and thePentagon Shopping Centre,[52][53][54] the financial burden has placed significant strain on the council's ability to meet its obligations.[51][44]
Medway’s financial challenges are compounded by the increasing demand for social care services, which have become one of the primary drivers of the council's overspending.[55] Adult and children's services, both of which are demand driven and costly, have put immense pressure on the budget.[55] The council has been forced to allocate significant additional resources to meet the rising costs of out-of-area placements for vulnerable children and the high cost of agency workers needed to fill staffing shortages. In the case of adult social care, the council was found to require an additional £4 million to address the growing need, while children's services were facing an overspend of £7.6 million. Inflation has also played a key role in exacerbating these pressures, as the rising costs of goods and services have made it more expensive for the council to deliver its services. The council’s budget for children's services, initially set at £57 million, was strained by these unforeseen costs, further deepening the financial crisis. In response to the growing budget shortfall, Medway Council has proposed several measures to address the situation.[56][57] Among these measures, the council has considered borrowing an additional £30 million over the next two years to shore up its finances and cover immediate shortfalls.[57] There have also been discussions about using £5 million in reserve funds to cover a projected £12 million overspend for the current financial year.[56] Additionally, the council has considered borrowing another £20 million to refurbish its headquarters, which has been temporarily closed due to structural issues with the building.[58] However, these efforts to address the financial gap have raised concerns about the council's long-term financial sustainability, as continued borrowing only adds to the council's already substantial debt burden.[57] Medway is not alone in facing financial difficulties; many other councils across Kent and the UK are grappling with similar issues.[59]Kent County Council, for example, has issued warnings about its financial situation, stating that it could face bankruptcy within two years without substantial government intervention.[60] Medway Council’s situation is a reflection of the broader financial challenges faced by local governments, which have been caused by a combination of inflation, rising demand for services, and cuts to central government funding.[59] As local authorities continue to struggle with these pressures, the financial outlook for Medway remains uncertain. While the council's newLabour administration, which took power in May2023, has expressed confidence that bankruptcy is not imminent, it is clear that significant efforts will be required to stabilize the council’s finances.[61]
In light of the ongoing financial crisis, Medway Council has been lobbying thecentral government for additional funding to help ease the burden.[55] Council Leader Vince Maple has called for more financial support, particularly for demand-led services like adult and children's social care, which are placing the greatest strain on the council’s budget.[55] Maple has also advocated for more flexibility in how funding can be allocated to meet the growing pressures, arguing that the current funding arrangements are insufficient to cope with the demands placed on local authorities.[46] Despite these efforts, the council's ability to secure the necessary funding remains uncertain, and the financial outlook for Medway continues to be a cause for concern. As the council faces difficult decisions about how to balance its budget and manage its debt, the future of local services in Medway is at risk.[55] The Labour administration has committed to finding a solution, but it is clear that significant reform and support from the government will be necessary to address the underlying financial challenges.[61]
Kyndi Limited is a Local authority trading company wholly owned by Medway Council. It was established in 2015 as Medway Commercial Group to deliver services such as CCTV monitoring, telecare, and out-of-hours call handling.[62] In 2019, the company became subject to an ongoing investigation by Kent Police into historical financial transactions between 2017 and 2019.[63]
Media related toMedway Council at Wikimedia Commons
