Welcome to the website for Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Parish Council and the villages of Hoo and Chattenden.

Hoo Parish Council is a coastal civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula, located near the historic city of Rochester in Kent.  We represent and serve the communities and villages of Hoo and Chattenden.  The Hoo Peninsula is flanked by the River Thames to the North and the River Medway to the South and is home to internationally and nationally protected wildlife sites including, most famously, Lodge Hill SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), known for its Nightingale population.  Hoo and Chattenden are neighboured by High Halstow to the North, Stoke to the East, Upnor to the South and Wainscott to the West.  We are a rural community with strong connections to farming, equestrian, ornithology and fishing.  

Our website is regularly updated so please keep visiting.  

Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Neighbourhood Plan examination

You can find out more on the links below:

documents relating to the neighbourhood plan

the referendum

voting, poll cards and postal votes.

Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Parish Council submitted its draft neighbourhood plan to Medway Council.

The plan covers the parish of Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden. It sets out a vision for the parish by 2040 and policies for the sustainable development of the area.

The draft plan is supported by design guidelines and information on the consultation carried out in the development of the plan, and how the draft plan reflects national and local planning policy.

Medway Council’s Cabinet agreed to publish the Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Neighbourhood Plan for representations at Regulation 16 from 8 January to 19 February 2024. 

View the December 2023 Cabinet report.

Following publication of the draft plan at Regulation 16 in January and February 2024, the plan progressed to independent examination. 

Independent examiner Andrew Matheson, affiliated to the Neighbourhood Planning Independent Examiner Referral Service (NPIERS), was appointed by the Local Planning Authority (LPA) in consultation with the parish council. This is to ensure that the plan meets the necessary standards ('basic conditions’) and conforms with national and local planning policy.

Medway Council submitted the qualifying body’s response to the examiner's initial queries as well as Medway Council’s response to the queries.

Documents

View documents relating to the Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Neighbourhood Plan:

Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Neighbourhood Plan

Regulation 18 decision statement

Statutory information statement

Neighbourhood Planning general information

Consultation Statement

Basic Conditions Statement

Design Code

Strategic Environment Assessment

Local Green Space Assessment.

View representations on the draft neighbourhood plan made at Regulation 16:

Avison Young (on behalf of National Gas)

East Sussex County Council

Kelly Tolhurst (MP)

Lower Medway Internal Drainage Board

Natural England

Avison Young (on behalf of National Grid)

Taylor Wimpey

Railfuture

Strutt & Parker (on behalf of Lichfields)

Southern Water

Pinnacle Planning (on behalf of Richborough)

Bloomfields (on behalf of AC Goatham & Son)

Dean Lewis Estates

Gladman

Avison Young (on behalf of Homes England)

NHS

Stantec (on behalf of Hoo Consortium)

All Saints Frindsbury

Independent Councillors for Hoo and High Halstow Ward

N Williams

S Braine

Medway Council comments.

Neighbourhood Planning Referendum

The independent examiner has:

reviewed the draft neighbourhood plan

considered any changes and recommendations. 

Cabinet on 27 August 2024 considered the independent examiners report and decided that the Neighbourhood Plan be modified in accordance with the examiner's report and that the Neighbourhood Plan as modified should proceed to Referendum on Thursday 7 November 2024.

A Neighbourhood Planning Referendum will therefore be held on Thursday 7 November 2024.

View our Notice of Referendum

Below is a timetable of key statutory dates.

Date and Event                                                                                                                                                             

Monday 30 September 2024 - Publish Information Statement and documents 

Thursday 3 October 2024 - Notice of Referendum to be published

Tuesday 22 October 2024 - Last day for applications to register to vote in the Referendum (midnight)                                             

Wednesday 23 October 2024 - Last day for new applications to vote by post, change, cancel an existing postal vote not later than 5pm  

Wednesday 30 October 2024 - Last day for new applications to vote by proxy not later than 5pm

Wednesday 30 October 2024 - Last day for applications for Voter Authority Certificate (voter ID)                            

Wednesday 30 October 2024 - Publish Notice of Poll and situation of polling stations                                             

Thursday 7 November 2024 - Polling day, 7am to 10pm                                                                                          

Thursday 7 November 2024 - Verification and count of ballot papers                                                                      

The question on the ballot paper will be “Do you want MEDWAY COUNCIL to use the Neighbourhood Plan for HOO ST WERBURGH & CHATTENDEN to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

If more than 50% of individuals vote 'yes' in the referendum, then we will 'make' the Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Neighbourhood Plan. If the neighbourhood plan is 'made' it will help determine planning applications in the Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden neighbourhood area. It will also form part of the statutory development plan for Medway. 

If more people vote 'no' than 'yes' then the neighbourhood plan will not be made part of the statutory development plan for the local area. 

Poll cards will start to be delivered to residents eligible to vote from around Monday 30 September 2024 onwards. You do not need your poll card to vote, but you'll need to bring an accepted form of ID. View accepted forms of ID.

Postal vote packs will be sent by first class post and delivered to the majority of people who have chosen to vote by post from 3 October 2024 onwards. Completed postal votes must be received by Thursday 7 November at 10pm. If you miss the post, completed postal votes can be handed in at any polling station in the referendum or to our office, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, ME4 4TR. The person handing the vote in must complete a form, otherwise it will be rejected. 

Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden Parish Council
Parish Clerk:  Mrs Sherrie Babington
Address:  4 Birkhall Close, Walderslade, Chatham, Kent, ME5 7QD
Telephone:  01634 868855
Email:  clerk@hoopc.org

*Please contact Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm and allow 5 working days to respond.