🌿 PHASE 1:  YOUR SUPPORT IS ALREADY MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Over the past two weeks, Save The Hoo Peninsula has been represented at the first phase of the independent Examination of Medway Council’s Local Plan, which includes proposals for thousands of new houses across the Hoo Peninsula.  

Thanks to our supporters, STHP has been able to put specialist environmental lawyers, ecological expertise and experienced planning barristers into the Examination to make sure the Council’s proposals - and the evidence behind them - are properly scrutinised.

And Phase 1 has already produced some important results.  

⚖️ THE COUNCIL’S LATE EVIDENCE WILL NOW FACE PUBLIC SCRUTINY

During the hearings, the Council unacceptably introduced a number of last-minute new documents that had not previously been available to everyone or consulted upon.  

The Inspectors have now made clear that the Examination can only move forward subject to further consultation on that evidence.   

A public consultation is expected to run from 5th to 26th October 2026, giving interested parties the opportunity to examine and respond to those documents.

The Inspectors say this is necessary to ensure fairness, openness and transparency in the Examination process.  

They have also told the Council that, wherever possible, it should not keep introducing further supporting evidence, making clear that the evidence relied upon should already have been before the Examination.  

🌿 CHANGES TO THE LOCAL PLAN ARE NOW BEING PREPARED

The Council is also compiling a schedule of proposed Main Modifications - formal changes to the Local Plan arising through the Examination process - which the Inspectors have asked to see following the Phase 1 hearings.

We also understand from the hearing process that changes are being prepared to important environmental policies, including Policies S2 and S3.

Policy S2 concerns the protection and enhancement of the natural environment, including important habitats and wildlife on the Hoo Peninsula.

Policy S3 deals specifically with the internationally important estuary and marshland habitats around North Kent - habitats of particular importance to the Hoo Peninsula.

🌍 THE ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE IS BEING LOOKED AT AGAIN

Further environmental assessment work is also expected, including a new Habitats Regulations Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal.

In plain English, important parts of the environmental evidence underpinning the Local Plan are going to be reassessed.  

Depending on what that new work finds, it could have implications for some of the development sites proposed in the Local Plan, including whether some sites can remain in the Plan as currently proposed.  

🦆 NATURAL ENGLAND STILL REQUIRES FURTHER WORK

Natural England has not given the Council’s environmental approach an unconditional sign-off.  

Its position supports the principle of strategic environmental measures for the Hoo Peninsula, but further work and agreement are still required before matters are finally resolved.  Formal Statements of Common Ground also record that the Hoo Peninsula strategic environmental programme remained under discussion with Natural England.  

The environmental case is therefore far from closed.

💚 THIS IS WHAT YOUR SUPPORT HAS ENABLED

The Examination is not over and the Inspectors have made clear that they have not yet reached final conclusions on whether the Local Plan is sound.  

But Phase 1 has already demonstrated why professional representation matters.  

The Council’s late evidence is being subjected to public consultation.  Changes to the Plan are being prepared.  Important environmental evidence is being revisited.  And outstanding environmental issues remain under scrutiny.

Your donations have enabled Save The Hoo Peninsula to be in the room, properly represented, challenging the evidence and making sure the future of the Hoo Peninsula is not decided without robust scrutiny.

We now need your help to continue that work through Phase 2 of the Examination.

💚 Please support our legal fundraiser and help us keep fighting for the Hoo Peninsula.

Thank you!

Over the past two weeks, 15th - 18th September and 22nd - 25th September, the first phase of the independent Examination of Medway Council’s emerging Local Plan (to allocate thousands of houses on the Hoo Peninsula) has taken place.

Across Phase 1, Save The Hoo Peninsula has been represented before the Planning Inspectors by two specialist planning and environmental barristers:

⚖️ Jack Parker of Cornerstone Barristers

⚖️ Ben Fullbrook of Landmark Chambers

Their involvement has meant that important concerns raised by our campaign have not just simply been submitted in writing - they have also been put directly before the independent Inspectors by specialist legal counsel during the Examination hearings.

This represents a significant step for Save The Hoo Peninsula.

Over many months, we have worked with Richard Buxton Solicitors, specialist barristers and ecological experts to scrutinise Medway Council’s emerging Local Plan and ensure that the potential consequences for the Hoo Peninsula are properly examined.

Phase 1 has now concluded, and over the next few days we will provide a fuller update on what happened at the hearings, the arguments that were made on our behalf and what comes next for the campaign.

For now, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has so far donated and supported us.

Professional legal and ecological representation comes at a considerable cost, and your donations are what have enabled Save The Hoo Peninsula to take our case into the Examination hearing room at this level.

The Examination is not over, and neither is our work.

💚 Please support our legal fundraiser and help us continue the fight to protect the Hoo Peninsula.

Thank you!

Stretch Target Increased to £30,000

We have increased our CrowdJustice stretch target from £20,000 to £30,000 to reflect the estimated legal costs of taking part in the next stage of the Medway Council Local Plan Examination.

Phase 1 of the hearings takes place over the weeks commencing 14th and 21st September 2026, with hearing sessions running from 15th to 25th September. Thanks to your support, Save The Hoo Peninsula has been able to secure specialist legal, ecological and barrister representation during this first phase.

Phase 2 is currently scheduled for the weeks commencing 16th and 23rd November 2026, with hearings running from 17th to 27th November. Of particular importance to STHP is Matter 13 - Site Allocations, currently scheduled for 24th and 25th November, when the proposed individual development sites will be examined.

We want to ensure that the Hoo Peninsula is professionally represented during this crucial stage. Increasing the stretch target to £30,000 reflects the estimated additional legal and barrister costs involved in preparing for and participating in Phase 2.

Thank you to everyone who has donated and supported the campaign so far. Your contributions are enabling us to give the Hoo Peninsula a strong, properly evidenced and professionally represented voice.

Following our major campaign update, we wanted to highlight one further important piece of legal work undertaken on behalf of Save The Hoo Peninsula.

When Medway Council carried out its additional consultation on supporting Local Plan evidence between 8th June and 6th July 2026, we did not simply accept the newly published material at face value.

On 6th July 2026, Richard Buxton Solicitors submitted a further detailed representation to Medway Council on behalf of Save The Hoo Peninsula.

They also wrote separately to the independent Planning Inspectors to ensure that the concerns raised were brought directly to their attention.

A key issue was Medway Council's Habitats Regulations Assessment, which is intended to assess whether the development proposed through the Local Plan can proceed without adversely affecting internationally protected wildlife sites.

Our lawyers raised serious concerns about whether there was sufficiently robust evidence to demonstrate that the recreational pressure created by thousands of additional homes could be adequately mitigated.

Particular concerns were raised about reliance on the North Kent Strategic Access Management and Monitoring Strategy, operated through the Bird Wise partnership, and whether the available evidence demonstrated the effectiveness of that mitigation to the high level of scientific certainty required.

This is especially important for the Hoo Peninsula because the proposed housing allocations sit close to internationally protected estuarine habitats supporting important populations of wintering and migratory birds.

The submission argued that the issues identified had implications both for the Habitats Regulations Assessment and for the soundness of the Local Plan itself.

This was another substantial piece of specialist legal work carried out on behalf of our campaign.

It also demonstrates that our involvement did not end after our lawyers first raised concerns about the Local Plan evidence earlier in the year.

We have continued to scrutinise the evidence, obtain specialist advice and make detailed legal representations wherever we believe important environmental or procedural issues remain unresolved.

YOUR DONATIONS MAKE THIS POSSIBLE

Work of this nature requires specialist legal and ecological expertise.

Every donation helps us continue to scrutinise the Local Plan properly and ensure that the proposals affecting the Hoo Peninsula are subjected to the level of professional examination they deserve.

If you are able to contribute, please continue to support our CrowdJustice campaign.

And if you cannot donate, please share the campaign with others.

The more support we receive, the stronger our ability to keep fighting for the Hoo Peninsula.

Thank you again to everyone who continues to support us.

When we launched this CrowdJustice campaign, we asked for your help to give the Hoo Peninsula's wildlife, countryside and farmland a strong professional voice against the scale of development being proposed.

Thanks to you, that is exactly what we have been able to do.

A huge amount has happened since this fundraiser began, and with the formal Medway Council Local Plan Examination hearings now about to start, we wanted to give everyone who has supported us a comprehensive update.

Your donations have helped us move beyond simply campaigning against these proposals.

We have instructed specialist environmental and planning lawyers, obtained expert ecological advice, made formal representations directly to the independent Planning Inspectors, submitted a Hearing Statement and have now instructed a specialist planning barrister to represent our case at the Examination.

Here is what has happened.

18TH DECEMBER 2025 - MEDWAY'S LOCAL PLAN WAS SUBMITTED FOR INDEPENDENT EXAMINATION

Medway Council submitted its Local Plan 2041 to the Secretary of State for independent examination.

The Plan proposes major development across Medway, including approximately 6,000 new houses around Chattenden, Hoo and High Halstow, in an exceptionally sensitive part of the Hoo Peninsula.

The areas affected include productive agricultural land and countryside close to nationally and internationally important wildlife habitats.

For Save The Hoo Peninsula, this marked the beginning of a new and extremely important stage of the campaign.

JANUARY 2026 - TWO INDEPENDENT PLANNING INSPECTORS WERE APPOINTED

Planning Inspectors D Hendley and A McCormack were appointed to examine the Local Plan.

Their task is to determine whether the Plan has been prepared in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and whether it is sound.

This is not simply another Council consultation.

The Examination is the formal independent scrutiny of the Plan before it can be adopted.

19TH MARCH 2026 - OUR LAWYERS WROTE DIRECTLY TO THE PLANNING INSPECTORS

Because of the complexity and seriousness of the issues involved, Save The Hoo Peninsula had instructed Richard Buxton Solicitors, specialists in environmental, planning and public law.

On 19 March 2026, Richard Buxton Solicitors wrote directly to the appointed Planning Inspectors on behalf of Save The Hoo Peninsula.

The letter raised concerns about the Local Plan process and, in particular, important supporting evidence that had not been available to the public during the Regulation 19 consultation.

The issues included evidence relating to environmental and habitats assessment, flood risk, transport, infrastructure and the proposed environmental programme for the Hoo Peninsula.

This was an important step.

We were no longer simply raising concerns publicly. Specialist lawyers acting for our campaign were putting those concerns directly before the independent Inspectors responsible for examining the Plan.

24TH MARCH 2026 - OUR INTERVENTION ENTERED THE FORMAL EXAMINATION RECORD

Medway Council's own Local Plan Examination website published the Richard Buxton Solicitors letter as official Examination document MLP/ED4.

Importantly, the Examination website recorded that the Inspectors were considering the points raised and would request a response from Medway Council on those points alongside other matters.

30TH MARCH 2026 - THE INSPECTORS' INITIAL QUESTIONS REFERRED SPECIFICALLY TO OUR LETTER

The Inspectors subsequently issued their initial questions to Medway Council.

One of those questions asked the Council to clarify which submission documents had not been available during the Regulation 19 consultation and how the Council proposed to address the issue.

In doing so, the Inspectors specifically referred to the points made in the 19 March letter received from Save The Hoo Peninsula through Richard Buxton Solicitors.

We do not claim that every subsequent action taken by the Inspectors resulted solely from our intervention.

However, what this clearly demonstrates is that the concerns raised using the professional legal advice funded by our supporters became part of the formal Examination process and required consideration.

This is exactly why having access to specialist legal expertise matters.

JUNE 2026 - FURTHER CONSULTATION WAS REQUIRED ON SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

The Examination subsequently progressed to the point where the Inspectors asked Medway Council to carry out further consultation on supporting evidence documents that had not been available when the submitted Local Plan was originally consulted upon.

For us, this reinforced the importance of thoroughly scrutinising not simply the Local Plan itself, but the enormous body of technical evidence used to justify it.

THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD - SPECIALIST ECOLOGICAL ADVICE

Our case has never been based on legal arguments alone.

The Hoo Peninsula supports wildlife and habitats of national and international importance.

That includes the nationally important Nightingale population associated with Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill SSSI, breeding waders including Lapwing and Redshank, and threatened farmland birds including Skylark, Corn Bunting and Turtle Dove.

The Thames and Medway estuaries also support enormous numbers of wintering and migratory birds.

We have therefore also obtained specialist ecological advice from an experienced professional ecologist with more than 40 years' experience.

That expertise helps us scrutinise issues such as habitat loss, disturbance, functionally linked land, predation associated with residential development, mitigation and the cumulative ecological consequences of thousands of additional houses.

Environmental evidence needs to be challenged with environmental expertise.

JULY 2026 - THE EXAMINATION HEARINGS WERE ANNOUNCED

On 30th July 2026, it was confirmed that the formal Local Plan Examination hearing sessions would begin on:

TUESDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2026

This is one of the most important stages of the entire Local Plan process.

The hearings give the Inspectors the opportunity to question Medway Council, developers, landowners, statutory bodies, community organisations and other participants about the evidence supporting - and challenging - the Plan.

AUGUST 2026 - OUR FORMAL HEARING STATEMENT WAS SUBMITTED

Through Richard Buxton Solicitors, a formal Hearing Statement was submitted on behalf of Save The Hoo Peninsula for Matter 1 - Legal and Procedural Requirements.

The Hearing Statement is now part of the official Examination documentation published by Medway Council.

This means our arguments are formally before the independent Inspectors as they begin their Examination hearings.

WE HAVE NOW INSTRUCTED A SPECIALIST PLANNING BARRISTER

We have taken another major step.

Jack Parker of Cornerstone Barristers has been instructed to represent Save The Hoo Peninsula at the Local Plan Examination.

Jack specialises in planning, environmental and public law and has substantial experience of planning inquiries, Local Plan examinations and proceedings before the courts.

This means that when the important legal and procedural issues raised by our case are considered by the Inspectors, we will have specialist professional representation there to put that case.

For a community campaign such as ours, this represents a very significant level of professional involvement.

And it has only been possible because people have supported this campaign.

IN PARALLEL - WE ARE ALSO FIGHTING PROPOSALS IN THE GRAVESHAM LOCAL PLAN

The Hoo Peninsula does not end at Medway Council's administrative boundary.

Gravesham Borough Council's emerging Local Plan also proposes major development affecting the western Hoo Peninsula, including approximately 800 houses around Higham and Lower Higham and approximately 1,900 houses west of Strood at Chapter Farm.

Together with approximately 1,300 houses proposed on the Medway Council side of the boundary, that creates a proposed cross-boundary development of around 3,200 houses west of Strood.

Save The Hoo Peninsula therefore also submitted detailed representations to Gravesham Borough Council's Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation, which closed on 18 August 2026.

Our campaign is increasingly looking at the Hoo Peninsula as it needs to be looked at - as one landscape.

Wildlife, traffic, infrastructure, farmland and communities do not stop at a council boundary.

15TH SEPTEMBER 2026 - THE HEARINGS BEGIN

We are now approaching the moment that much of this work has been leading towards.

On Tuesday 15th September, the Medway Council Local Plan Examination hearings begin.

For months, our legal team, ecological adviser and campaign have been examining evidence and preparing our case.

Now those arguments move into the formal hearing process before the independent Planning Inspectors.

There is no guarantee of the outcome.

What we can guarantee is that, with your help, the proposals affecting the Hoo Peninsula are not going through this process without serious scrutiny.

THIS IS WHAT YOUR DONATIONS HAVE ACHIEVED

When people contribute to a legal fundraiser it can sometimes be difficult to see what happens afterwards.

So we want to be absolutely clear.

Your support has helped us to:

• instruct specialist environmental and planning lawyers at Richard Buxton Solicitors;
• obtain specialist ecological advice;
• scrutinise complex Local Plan evidence;
• place legal concerns directly before the independent Planning Inspectors;
• make our March 2026 intervention part of the formal Examination record;
• prepare and submit a formal Hearing Statement;
• work collaboratively with High Halstow Parish Council where our objectives align; and
• instruct a specialist planning barrister to represent our case at the Examination hearings.

That is an extraordinary progression for a community campaign.

But the fight is not over.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP GOING

We are enormously grateful to everyone who has already donated to this campaign.

Those donations have enabled us to get this far.

But the most important point is that the costs do not stop here.

Local Plan examinations are complex and can continue for many months. Our lawyers and barrister need time to prepare, review evidence and attend hearings. New documents may need to be considered. Further written submissions may be required. Additional ecological or other specialist advice may be necessary as the Examination progresses.

And depending on what happens during the Examination, there may be important decisions to make about what action is required next.

We do not yet know how much further professional work will be needed.

What we do know is that we want to be in a position to respond properly when it matters.

That means continuing to raise funds.

Every additional donation gives us greater ability to keep specialist lawyers, ecological experts and professional representation involved as this process develops.

If you have already donated, thank you. Your contribution has genuinely helped us reach this point.

If you are able to make another contribution, however small, it would be hugely appreciated.

And if you have been following the campaign but have not yet donated, now is an incredibly important time to support us.

£5, £10, £20, £50 - whatever you can afford - genuinely helps.

Small donations from a large number of people are what allow a community campaign like ours to take on a process involving councils, major landowners, developers, consultants and professional planning teams.

Please also share this CrowdJustice page with your friends, family, neighbours and local community groups.

Sharing the fundraiser is every bit as important as donating. The more people who know what is happening to the Hoo Peninsula, the stronger this campaign becomes.

WHY WE ARE DOING THIS

It is about whether development on this enormous scale is appropriate in one of Kent's most environmentally sensitive and distinctive landscapes.

It is about Nightingales and breeding waders.

It is about internationally important estuaries and marshes.

It is about productive farmland.

It is about countryside and village identity.

It is about roads, schools, healthcare and infrastructure.

And ultimately, it is about whether decisions capable of permanently changing the Hoo Peninsula are supported by robust evidence and have been properly tested.

The councils and major developers involved in the Local Plan process have access to professional planning teams, consultants, lawyers and technical experts.

A community campaign needs professional expertise too.

With your support, that is what we have built.

Now we need your help to make sure we can keep that professional team fighting for the Hoo Peninsula for as long as it is needed.

PLEASE DONATE IF YOU CAN – AND PLEASE KEEP SHARING OUR CAMPAIGN.

Every donation strengthens our ability to continue scrutinising these proposals and challenging them through the proper legal and planning processes.

Thank you to every single person who has donated, shared our campaign, attended a meeting, submitted a representation or supported us.

We could not have reached this point without you - and we will need your continued support for the stages ahead.