Leading Developer Selected for £100m Investment on Rochester Riverside
28 November 2007
 Crest Nicholson PLC, with green living specialists BioRegional Quintain Ltd, have been selected as the preferred developer for the first 600 homes on flagship regeneration site Rochester Riverside.
They were chosen from a shortlist of four developers by landowners and project partners Medway Council and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). Selection is subject to ratification by Medway Council in January 2008.
Crest Nicholson plan 600 high quality homes on the seven-hectare site as well as parks, shops, offices and cafes to provide a sustainable mixed-use community with strong links to the historic centre of Rochester.
Estimated construction cost for this first phase of residential development is £108m.
The buildings will be of the highest sustainability standards including some at Code of Sustainable Homes Level 6 (the Government’s highest rating). Using the ten One Planet Living principles developed by BioRegional and WWF-International, Crest Nicholson and BioRegional Quintain aim to make sustainable living attractive and affordable, as well as easy to understand and implement.
Striking images of the first residential quarter, prepared by architects HTA, are attached. Crest Nicholson will be working with the project partners to agree detailed design during 2008 with anticipated construction starting in 2009.
Affordable housing, a quarter of the total, will be provided and managed by registered social housing landlord Hyde Housing Group.
Rochester Riverside is one of the biggest and busiest brownfield regeneration sites in the Thames Gateway. Preparatory engineering works costing over £32 million and funded by Communities & Local Government, are nearly complete with 30 hectares of land cleared and flood-defended to make way for a stunning regeneration project. The works have included a new 2.5 kilometre river wall and two new creeks. The site has been raised by up to two metres using material dredged from the River Thames and brought in by the River Medway.
Plans for Rochester Riverside approved by Medway Council include:
- Up to 2,000 new homes of the highest standard ranging from starter homes to executive properties.
- Shops, cafes, bars
- Offices
- Hotels
- Community facilities, including a new primary school and health centre
- A new river walk with cycle path
- New parks and play equipment
Over £80million of public investment has gone into land assembly, site clearance and flood defences.
Rochester Riverside will set a standard for the regeneration of Medway where massive private and public sector investment will create 16,000 new homes and more than 20,000 jobs in a city of 300,000 people - bigger than Reading, bigger than Brighton and Hove.
Quotes:
Leader of Medway Council Cllr Rodney Chambers:
"Crest were one of four shortlisted developers who submitted excellent bids. It is the clearest possible evidence of massive private sector confidence in Medway’s regeneration programme and our ambition to become the thriving new city of the Thames Gateway."
Chief Executive of Medway Council, Neil Davies:
"This marks another milestone in the history of this remarkable site, which is set to become a showpiece of superb design and sustainable living."
Rochester Riverside Project Manager, Sarah Beck:
"Local residents are very keen to see progress at Rochester Riverside. We will now be working with Crest Nicholson to ensure that the development of Rochester Riverside not only complements the historic centre of Rochester but also provides real opportunities for local residents to benefit from new homes and open spaces as well as employment and leisure opportunities. "
SEEDA Development Director, Thames Gateway, Jonathan Sadler:
"It is great to see Rochester Riverside moving to the next stage of delivery and we look forward to working with Crest and Bio Regional to produce not just a very well designed scheme but a truly sustainable extension at the this key Thames Gateway site."
Chief Executive of Crest Nicholson, Stephen Stone:
"We are delighted to be involved in Rochester Riverside, it is an exciting flagship regeneration scheme which underpins the Government’s strategic growth plans in the Thames Gateway. Our proposals include the very latest in sustainable technology, including increased insulation, grey water recycling and photovoltaics. We expect a proportion of this site to be one of our first developments to achieve level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Our approach at Rochester Riverside will not only create a new, vibrant and highly sustainable community for Medway, but it will also link closely with the existing community, heritage and facilities of Rochester town."
Pooran Desai OBE, Sustainability Director, BioRegional Quintain Ltd: "With its rich cultural history, Rochester is a fantastic place to start creating a community where it will be easy for people to lead a high quality, 21st century lifestyle which is supported by renewable energy, a car club and local organic food. One Rochester Riverside is unique in its aspiration for the people of Kent."
Hyde Group Chief Executive, David Eastgate: "The Hyde Group is delighted to be working in partnership with Medway Renaissance, SEEDA, Crest Nicholson and Bio-Regional to deliver this sustainable and exciting development in the Thames Gateway".
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