This is my round-up of what Medway Council decided over the last two months. It covers the meetings from the Annual Meeting on 13 May up to the Full Council meeting on 16 July 2026.
The plain-fact parts below are written to be neutral. They just tell you what happened, and they link to the council’s own papers at democracy.medway.gov.uk. My own opinions are kept in one place: the Conservative View at the top. That way you can read the facts, the opinions, or both.
One thing is different this time. The 16 July meeting had not yet taken place when I wrote this. So instead of a report, the last section is a look at what is on that agenda.
First, a word about a colleague. Councillor Phil Filmer died on 5 May 2026. Phil served Medway for 25 years. He was in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2023, and more recently he was our lead councillor on the Planning Committee. Councillors from every party paid tribute to him. He is much missed.
The Conservative View
Four things this cycle are worth a closer look.
The first is money. On 2 June the Cabinet closed the books on last year, 2025/26. The council spent more than it planned. To cover the gap, it agreed to take £3.743m out of its savings, known as reserves. That is more than the £2.825m it had already set aside in February. It leaves the council’s general savings at £10.012m. The council’s own report admits this is “just above the minimum level” the finance chief says it must keep. In plain terms: the council overspent, and its rainy-day fund is now only about twelve thousand pounds above the line it is not allowed to cross. That is no room at all. I have made this point before, in The £46m Gamble and in my last round-up. The council’s glossy plans say one thing. Its actual spending says another.
The second is the cost of scrapping the council. Medway Council is going to be abolished and merged into a new, larger North Kent council. On 2 June the Cabinet agreed to set aside £7m to pay for that work — both Medway’s share of a Kent-wide team and its own project team. I understand the job is huge and has to be paid for. But residents should see that £7m for what it is: millions of pounds that could have gone on roads, schools or housing, now spent on the work of closing the council down — at the very moment the council is scraping its savings. We will watch every penny.
The third is decisions being made and then quickly unmade. Last time I flagged a contract that was awarded in January and cancelled by March. It happened again. On 5 May the Cabinet agreed a full plan to find a business partner to build out Innovation Park Medway North, a big regeneration site. It even set out the terms and an expected £120m of partner money. Just eight weeks later, on 30 June, it dropped that plan. Instead it agreed to lease the site directly to a buyer who had come forward with an offer. The new deal may well be better. But a flagship site should not have its whole plan set and then torn up inside two months, and we should be told why. There was a similar rush to avoid open competition elsewhere: the new recycling contract worth £1.94m a year, given to Veolia on 5 May, drew only one valid bid.
The fourth is the 16 July agenda itself. One item asks councillors to set their own pay and allowances for the next few years, based on advice from an independent panel. I have no quarrel with the panel; that is its job. But councillors will vote on their own allowances at the same meeting where they draw down savings to cover an overspend and sign off £7m for the merger. The least residents should expect is restraint. It is also worth noting a change in the council chamber. The papers now list a Reform UK group of councillors, alongside Labour, the Conservatives and the independents. Medway’s politics are shifting, and the next two years will be unlike any before.
Cabinet
The Cabinet is the council’s main decision-making group. It is led by the Leader, Councillor Vince Maple. It met three times this cycle — on 5 May, 2 June and 30 June — and took more than thirty formal decisions. Each decision has a number, which I give below so you can look it up.
Cabinet, 5 May 2026
The Cabinet confirmed new rules, called Article 4 Directions, in seven areas: Chatham Central and Brompton, Fort Pitt, Gillingham North, Gillingham South, Luton, Strood North and Frindsbury, and Watling. These rules mean a landlord now needs planning permission to turn a family home into a small shared house, known as an HMO (a house in multiple occupation). The change followed a long public consultation (decisions 72 and 73/2026).
It approved Medway’s Better Care Fund plan for 2026/27. This is a shared pot of money between the council and the local NHS for health and social care (decisions 74 to 76/2026).
On regeneration, the Cabinet agreed to start looking for a business partner to build Innovation Park Medway North, with an expected £120m of partner investment (decisions 77 and 78/2026). It gave the recycling contract — worth about £1.94m a year and covering around 40,000 tonnes of kerbside recycling — to Veolia, the only firm to put in a valid bid (decision 79/2026). It also chose the care providers for a new list, or framework, for residential and nursing care for people aged 65 and over (decision 80/2026).
Cabinet, 2 June 2026
The Cabinet looked at how last year’s budget ended up. It agreed to ask Full Council to cover the overspend by taking £3.743m from savings. That figure includes the £2.825m set aside in February. It leaves the council’s general savings at £10.012m, just above the minimum the finance chief requires (decision 82/2026). It also agreed to remove some school and building projects from the capital programme where they had cost less than expected (decisions 83 and 84/2026). It agreed the updated list of the council’s biggest risks (decision 81/2026).
The Cabinet agreed to set aside £7m to pay for Local Government Reorganisation — the work of merging Medway into a new council — spread over two years and funded from money the council raises by selling assets (decisions 85 and 86/2026). It started the search for a builder for Innovation Park Medway South (decision 87/2026), gave a support contract for parents to Libra Partnership (decision 88/2026), and approved a report on adult education (decision 89/2026).
Cabinet, 30 June 2026
The Cabinet agreed the Sufficiency Strategy 2026–29, the council’s plan to make sure there are enough good homes for children in its care (decision 90/2026). Facing a government deadline of 30 June, it approved a new guide on what money developers must pay towards local services. Because of the deadline, it used an urgency rule so the decision could not be paused or “called in” for review (decisions 91 to 94/2026). It approved a new fee policy for mobile home sites (decision 95/2026) and agreed to allow lower council tax bills for some people on Universal Credit (decisions 96 and 97/2026).
Then came the U-turn on Innovation Park Medway North. Eight weeks after agreeing to look for a business partner, the Cabinet changed its mind. It agreed the site could instead be leased directly to a buyer who had made an offer (decisions 98 to 100/2026). It agreed to set aside £1.8m to move planning work forward on the Medway Development Company’s next set of building sites (decisions 101 and 102/2026), and to start the search for a new contract to look after Medway’s roads and the Medway Tunnel (decision 103/2026).
Full Council — Annual Meeting, 13 May 2026
The Annual Meeting began with tributes to Councillor Phil Filmer and a minute’s silence. Councillors then chose Councillor Hamandishe as the new Mayor of Medway for 2026/27, with Councillor Jackson as Deputy Mayor. The Reverend Canon Gordon Giles was named the Mayor’s Chaplain. The outgoing Mayor, Councillor Clarke, was thanked for his year of service.
The main business was the yearly job of setting up how the council runs. Councillors agreed which committees would exist, who sits on them, and the timetable of meetings for the year ahead. They also agreed to close down the School Transport and Curriculum Appeals Committee (item 7). They noted the Leader’s choice of Cabinet members and their jobs (item 8). The meeting ended with a cross-party thank you to council staff, led by the Leader and backed by the Conservative group leader, Councillor George Perfect. Both noted the huge extra work the merger will bring.
Planning Committee
The Planning Committee met on 6 May, 3 June and 1 July 2026. Much of its work now involves the new rules on shared houses (HMOs).
On 6 May the committee turned down two proposed shared houses in Gillingham because they were too cramped (7 Camden Road and 53 Imperial Road). It approved a third with an added rubbish-storage condition (3 St George’s Road). It also received a report on the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, a new law that will change how planning works and cut the maximum size of a planning committee to 13 members. Medway’s has 15.
On 3 June the committee approved three shared houses in Gillingham and one in Strood, and turned one down for lack of shared living space. A plan to turn an empty care home in Park Avenue, Gillingham, into a shared house drew objections from the local councillor over the loss of care beds.
The 1 July meeting started later than usual, at 7.30pm, so members could watch England in the World Cup first. It had a full list, including more shared-house plans, an outline scheme for up to 150 homes at Moor Street in Rainham, a self-build plan at High Halstow, and two smaller applications in our own Hempstead and Wigmore ward — to replace a conservatory at The Old Farm House, Harrow Road.
Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 16 June 2026
This committee checks the work of health and social care services. It heard from the local ambulance service about its plans to team up with a neighbouring service. It returned to a plan, first delayed in March, to merge two community health providers, Kent Community Health and Medway Community Healthcare. It also looked at changes to NHS-funded IVF (fertility) treatment that began on 1 April 2026, a plan to close a mental health ward in Maidstone, and the new care framework for older people. It reviewed the council’s performance figures for the last three months of the year.
Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 10 June 2026
This committee checks services for children. It is chaired by Councillor Joanne Howcroft-Scott. Members praised a report by the Medway Youth Council on young people and technology. As an urgent item, they questioned leaders of the Oasis Restore secure school about a poor Ofsted rating, delays to repairs, and the government’s role after the site briefly closed in 2025. Members also looked at health checks for children in care, and at long waiting times for assessments of children who may be neurodivergent. They noted that Medway spent about £3.5m last year supporting young asylum seekers, but only received £2.4m from the government to do so. They also heard that £250,000 of extra council money would help 16- and 17-year-olds into education, work or training.
Looking ahead — Full Council, 16 July 2026
The cycle ends with the first ordinary Full Council meeting of the new year. It starts at 7.00pm on Thursday 16 July at the St George’s Centre. As well as questions, petitions and debates, three bigger items stand out:
- Changes to the Budget and Capital Programme (item 11) — this is where the Cabinet’s decisions this cycle go for final sign-off, including the £3.743m taken from savings to cover last year’s overspend.
- A review of the council’s Petitions Scheme (item 12) — the rules for how residents can petition the council, first proposed back in April.
- Councillors’ allowances (item 13) — recommendations from an independent panel on how much councillors should be paid over the next few years.
There is also a report on the use of urgency rules, and one private item. I will report on what was actually decided in my next Cycle Watch.
Source documents
The papers and minutes for every meeting above are at democracy.medway.gov.uk:
- Cabinet, 5 May 2026 — agenda and draft minutes
- Cabinet, 2 June 2026 — agenda and minutes
- Cabinet, 30 June 2026 — agenda and draft minutes
- Annual Meeting of Council, 13 May 2026 — agenda and draft minutes
- Full Council, 16 July 2026 — agenda
- Planning Committee, 6 May 2026 — agenda and minutes
- Planning Committee, 3 June 2026 — agenda and minutes
- Planning Committee, 1 July 2026 — agenda
- Health and Adult Social Care O&S, 16 June 2026 — agenda
- Children and Young People O&S, 10 June 2026 — agenda and draft minutes
