The Medway Liberal Democrats are disappointed that the government has withdrawn the £170m HIF grant

The Medway Liberal Democrats are deeply disappointed that the Conservative government has withdrawn the desperately needed £170m HIF grant to improve the infrastructure on the Hoo Peninsula. The plans were not perfect, and our party has offered suggestions throughout the consultation process to improve the scheme. But fundamentally these funds are needed to help the local community.

This money was vital to relieve the already congested and polluted roads leading off the peninsula, as well as improving much needed cycling and public transport routes. The fund was also going to be used to create two brand-new country parks, acting as safe havens for local wildlife, an oasis for local residents to improve their mental and physical health, and a much-needed boost to the local economy. Instead these parks are now at risk of being concreted over, because despite what local Conservatives believe and have told residents, this will not stop development on the peninsula.

The Tory failure to produce a Local Plan means house building in the area, like the rest of Medway, shall inevitably continue on an ad-hoc basis. The current infrastructure is inadequate for the present needs, and now the infrastructure needed to make the development functionable has been taken away. The incompetence of the last Tory council administration has compounded the problem, because the floundering of the consultation and design stages has resulted in only one roundabout being improved since the funds were made available in 2017. Work should have started a few years ago on the two junctions that shall continue to blight not only the peninsula traffic, but other communities adjacent the A289 by-pass. The cost for the much needed improvements will now have to be found elsewhere, or congestion shall worsen when the Maritime Academy opens.

It is tragic that Kelly Tolhurst MP and the Hoo peninsula local councillors lobbied DLUCH for the scrapping of the HIF. It is delusional to think that there being no HIF will prevent development. Their complicity in the removal of much needed investment will be in the long-term detriment of the very residents they represent.

Medway deserves local politicians who plan for people’s future not foment Nimbyism. Medway deserves better.

ENDS