Futurecity developed the Chatham Placemaking Strategy for Medway Council, setting out a long-term vision to reposition Chatham as a centre for cultural production, creative innovation and civic life within Kent and the wider South East.

Conceived as an integrated framework, the strategy strengthens collaboration between the council, local communities, cultural and education sectors, and private investors. Its ambition is to establish a distinctive cultural identity for Chatham - one that differentiates the town from regional and national competitors while building on existing assets, heritage and creative capacity.

The strategy positions culture, and in particular the performing arts, as a central driver of regeneration. Chatham is framed as a focal point within the Thames Estuary Production Corridor, with culture acting as both an economic catalyst and a civic connector. It emphasises cross-disciplinary collaboration between universities, museums and growing creative industries including gaming, animation and digital production.

Futurecity’s approach focuses on creating the conditions for a new collaborative ecology - bringing developers, businesses and investors into dialogue with artists, designers and makers to support experimentation, enterprise and long-term growth. Culture is embedded as a structural layer across planning, development and public life.

The strategy proposes a network of cultural and creative programmes across four interconnected “Creative Docks”: Intra, with its workshops and studios; Chatham Town Centre as the civic and theatrical heart; the Historic Dockyard Chatham, supporting creative industries around the Docking Station; and Chatham Maritime, combining new homes, a university campus and a future event space.

Images from Medway Council