Skip to main content
Search Icon Search Icon

We use cookies to improve user experience and analyze website traffic. By clicking “Accept”, you agree to our website’s cookie use as described in our Cookie Policy. To view our Cookie Policy in full click here.

Preferences

  • This website cannot function properly without these cookies.

  • Analytical cookies help us enhance our website by collecting information on its usage.

Rochester Riverside Phase 1B

OVERVIEW

Rochester Riverside is a flagship project in Medway Council’s regeneration programme, which as the name suggests, reconnects Rochester with its riverside. The site is made up of previously derelict brownfield development land stretching 2.5 km along the River Medway.

As well as providing new homes and jobs, the Rochester Riverside development brings a host of other benefits including new publicly accessible open spaces, retail and leisure facilities.

The project is managed in partnership by Medway Council and Homes England. Phase 1b, consisting of 131 homes, was completed in 2020, and forms part of a larger seven phase masterplan consisting of 1,400 homes (25% affordable) and 8,000 sqm of non-residential space, as well as a new primary school.

CONTEXT

The project is adjacent to Rochester’s high-speed train station, reaching London in 37 minutes. Testament to extensive consultation, the scheme brings a vacant site back into use with a sensitive interpretation of vernacular architecture and a distinctive skyline, creating a new urban quarter that echoes Rochester’s rich townscape.

Rochester Riverside embraces its brownfield site potential by re-establishing connections between Rochester and the river with a network of public spaces, opening up the riverfront for all.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Drawing inspiration from Historic Rochester, the design seeks to complement the area’s historical fabric while creating a vibrant new quarter.

References to Rochester’s rich conservation area and Chatham’s naval and industrial heritage are reflected in the scheme’s recessed and patterned brickwork, roofscapes and proportions.

Intertwining homes and landscaping slot seamlessly into Rochester’s townscape and natural riverside setting, while streets are designed to offer a correspondence with remnants of the Roman wall that once surrounded Rochester, with heritage references woven into materiality, built elements and paving artwork specifically crafted by the project’s resident artists.

Location:

Rochester, Medway

Project Type:

Mixed use urban regeneration

Completed:

2020

Local Planning Authority:

Medway Council

Architect:

BPTW

Urban Design:

HTA

Landscape Design:

LUC

Developer

Countryside Properties, The Hyde Group

Total contract value:

£400m (all phases)

Images:

Courtesy of BPTW

Crucially the contemporary translation of historic features has been used to conceptually drive the design rather than simply adopting historic motifs. The way in which brick boundary walls link buildings together, using materiality and strong proportions to give streets their own personality within one cohesive framework, for example.

A clear, straight road network maximises river edge views while public art created in collaboration with resident artists celebrates the landscape, wildlife, and heritage of specific on-site locations; easing wayfinding and strengthening the area’s identity into the bargain.

A riverside promenade dedicated to pedestrian and bike travel that links the scheme with a growing cycle network encourages active lifestyles and enables everyone to benefit from natural features of the river and those incorporated into the site.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The design was developed in tandem with a consultation strategy involving council members, wider commercial stakeholders, and residents. Briefing sessions following walkabout events were arranged with local councillors allowing them to identify the design elements they most valued about Rochester.

These results were then fed into the design process through a number of iterative steps and consultations, each refining the design and its language towards a community and culturally engaged solution. Through this comprehensive public consultation was undertaken with local residents including public exhibitions with fly-through immersive visuals.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

  • The project provides 50% family-sized accommodation and 25% affordable homes development-wide.
  • It will create a new 2.5km riverside walk and civic square which opens up previously inaccessible riverside, re-activating the riverfront for the whole community; Phase 1b providing a hotel, cafe and shop as well as the judicious use of car parking.
  • Careful integration with existing saltmarsh leaves this habitat to flourish naturally, supporting local ecology/wildlife and enabling a net gain in biodiversity
  • Each home features a private garden or balcony and all public realm is framed by streets and homes, creating safe open spaces where areas of rest and play provide a sense of activity. Dedicated bin-stores and brick alcoves disguise recycling storage.
    House and flat designs are specific to their site location, with first-floor living spaces making the most of riverside and marshland views.

OUTCOMES

The fact Rochester Riverside is being occupied by residents and a growing community that loves the place is perhaps the major success. In so doing however, it has won the Building for a Healthy Life Award in recognition for its high quality greenspaces, which deliver considerable biodiversity net gain and has won best of the best prize at the government-sponsored Housing Design Awards 2020.

This is awarded for excellence by a panel of judges for the high quality of housing design whose criteria range across the scales from the relationship to its surroundings, sustainability, urban design, and its attention to detail. The project champions wellbeing through the delivery of extensive green public spaces incorporating the site’s natural heritage.

When completed, Rochester Riverside will feature 10 acres of landscaping including play areas and parks, whilst the new public riverside walkway will open up a key part of the waterfront for the first time, re-activating the site for the whole community and connecting it with Rochester High Street and the wider riverfront and green pedestrian network.

Related case studies

Related Guidance

Farrow Court Sheltered Housing

Farrow Court - a modern, award winning sheltered housing development in Ashford, Kent

Related Guidance

The Terrace, Canterbury

The Terrace is a residential scheme comprising nine houses and two flats in the heart of Canterbury.

Related Guidance

Maidstone High Street

Maidstone's public realm improvements to its High Street have transformed the welcoming nature of this public space.