Site redeveloped for residential use from former chalk quarry by Persimmon Homes
Medway Gate, formerly Cuxton Pit No. 3, is a modern residential neighbourhood, built within a former chalk quarry, in Strood, in the Medway district, in the ceremonial county of Kent, England.[1] For much of the 20th century, the site operated as a massive chalk quarry, serving as a primary source of raw material for the Rochester Cement Works. Following the cessation of mining in the 1970s, the pit—characterised by its dramatic 50-metre vertical chalk faces—remained derelict for decades, during which time it was briefly considered for household waste landfill and as a disposal site for Channel Tunnel Rail Link spoil.
Quarry landscaping on Cuxton Pit No 3, and the foundations for housing (2007)
Cuxton Pit No. 3
Cuxton Pit No. 3 is a former chalk quarry situated to the north of the A228 Cuxton Road.[2] It was established during the late 19th century as part of a cluster of three major pits designed to support the Medway Valley's cement industry. For many decades the quarry was worked for high-grade chalk, which was tunneled under the A228 and carried to a nearby cement works (the former “Wickham” or Rochester Cement Works) on the opposite side of the road. The pit reached roughly 18.7 hectares in area and up to 50 m deep.
By the mid-20th century, the chalk reserves in Pit No. 3 were depleted, and commercial quarrying ended. The site remained a deep, hollowed-out basin. While the neighbouring Pit No. 1 and Pit No. 2 were utilized as municipal landfill sites for household waste during the 1970s and 1980s, Pit No. 3 was largely bypassed for waste disposal. It stayed as a vacant "brownfield" site, characterized by steep chalk cliffs and naturally regenerating scrubland, while the surrounding residential areas of Strood continued to grow.[3] By contrast, Pit No. 3 was never used for waste and instead remained a derelict hollow. The floor of the abandoned quarry gradually regenerated naturally, developing scrub woodland and shallow ponds. In fact, some 13 hectares of the site became designated a local wildlife conservation area (SNCI), in part because the ponds supported breeding great crested newts (a protected species).
Several schemes were proposed for Pit No. 3 before housing was built. In 1987 a plan to use the quarry for household refuse was refused on appeal. Later, in 1998 the pit was briefly earmarked for spoil from the Channel Tunnel rail link – permission was granted to infill it with tunnel spoil, but this permission was never implemented and lapsed by 2003. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the site remained largely open and unbuilt, lying just outside the town boundary of Strood.
Redevelopment
As land for urban expansion became scarce in Medway, local authorities and developers began to view the former quarry as a potential site for residential growth. In the late 20th century, the site was formally considered for housing to help meet local targets.[4] The process required extensive geological surveys to ensure the stability of the chalk walls and the floor of the pit.[5] Planning discussions focused on how to integrate a modern housing estate into the deep, artificial bowl created by the original industrial excavations, leading to the eventual approval of the residential developments seen on the site today. During the consultation for the Medway Gate development in April 2006, Kent Police raised concerns about the number of rear access alleyways and unsupervised courtyard parking areas. A neighbouring resident also submitted a response, arguing that the site was unsuitable for development and that the proposal would lead to the loss of wildlife habitat. In addition, consultations were carried out with Cuxton Parish Council, 189 neighbouring households, and 33 local businesses on Norman Close, Saxon Place, Cuxton Road, Roman Way, and Chariot Way, as well as with statutory and interested organisations, including the Highways Agency, English Nature, KCC Heritage Conservation, the Environment Agency, Kent Wildlife Trust, and CTRL.[6]
In January 2004 an outline planning application (MC2004/0063) was submitted for a mixed-use scheme on Cuxton Pit No.3. Outline planning permission for the Medway Gate development in Strood was granted by Medway Council’s Development Control Committee on 28 September 2005, on the condition that 25% of the new homes be affordable and with financial contributions for schools, roads and other infrastructure. (The Section 106 agreement attached to the consent required, for example, a payment towards local secondary school places and a shuttle‐bus service for residents, as well as a bus stop at the site entrance.) The outline consent and S106 laid the groundwork for the Medway Gate project. Since the granting of outline consent, the site had been purchased by housebuilder Persimmon Homes, who had given detailed consideration to how the site should be developed. The original developer was Strand Harbour Developments (later sold to Persimmon) with Bloomfields Ltd (Maidstone) acting as planning agent.[4] All subsequent permissions list “Persimmon Homes (South East) Ltd” as applicant.[7] Construction subsequently commenced in early 2007, with landscaping underway and foundations progressing by April of that year.
View of Horace Road (2012)
Soon after outline approval, housebuilder Persimmon Homes (South East) acquired the pit and began detailed planning for a residential estate. Enabling engineering works (cutting/filling of about 810,000 m³ of chalk) were approved to form development platforms . Construction works started around 2007. The first phase – about 147 homes with roads and services – was well underway by 2008: at that time the council reported that “the majority of units in phase 1 are complete”. By 2010 most of the development was finished. In its 2010 monitoring report, Medway Council noted that “progress on [Medway Gate] was good, with phase 2 almost completed”.[8]
In total several hundred dwellings were built at Medway Gate. The housing mix is predominantly two‐ and three-storey family homes (mainly 3- and 4‑bedroom houses) with some apartments,[9] arranged around cul-de-sac streets and open spaces. As planned, roughly a quarter of the homes are affordable (social) units.[10] The steep quarry edges were largely retained as landscaped areas. New public spaces and footpaths were provided: for example, existing greenbelt land at the quarry rim became woodland and informal parkland, and a play area and pedestrian links were added to integrate the estate with surrounding streets. Environmental measures were also implemented — notably, new balancing ponds were created and managed as breeding habitat for the resident great crested newts, replacing the old quarry pools.[11]Historic England archive captions from June 2008 show “new houses on the Medway Gate housing development” with remnants of the chalk pit in the background.[12]
In December 2010, Persimmon Homes offered seasonal incentives on new homes in Kent, including at the Medway Gate development. The promotion allowed buyers to receive support with costs such as deposits, stamp duty, or home furnishings.[13]
Since 2018, the estate has been managed by Pembroke Property Management, which oversees the maintenance of the communal grounds, residential blocks, and site infrastructure.[14]
Electoral wards and governance
Medway Gate falls within the Strood area for local administration. In 2019 the Local Government Boundary Commission reconfigured Medway wards, placing Medway Gate (along with the adjacent Temple Wharf estate) into the new Cuxton, Halling & Riverside ward.[15]
Social and affordable housing
As required by the 2004 consent, roughly a quarter of Medway Gate’s homes were set aside as affordable housing. The 2008 monitoring report explicitly names the Hyde Group as the social landlord to provide and manage the affordable units on site.[10] In practice these homes have since been held by local housing associations. For example, a case study by Medway Housing Society (MHS Homes) reported a tenant living in a two-bedroom Medway Gate flat for several years.[16]
Highways and footpaths
All roads in Medway Gate were originally built by the developer under agreement (Section 38 of the Highways Act) and only become public upon adoption.[17] A 2014 council petitions report confirms “the Council does not maintain roads within Medway Gate”[18] and explains that each of the five phases required a formal walkover and 12-month maintenance period before adoption.[19] In effect, until the developer completed the works and maintenance, the streets remained private.
Incidents
In 2014, a series of attacks on domestic cats were reported at Medway Gate. The incidents were believed to have resulted in the deaths of at least seven cats and were attributed to a group of loose dogs roaming the estate. One attack was captured on CCTV footage showing three dogs with distinctive markings moving along Empire Road on the Medway Gate estate before attacking a small black cat.[20] The footage later showed the dogs fleeing the scene, with one carrying the cat in its mouth.
The cat, named Coco, belonged to Rik Tye and his family. Following the attack, residents of the Medway Gate estate raised concerns about public safety and contacted Medway Council and Kent Police. Community wardens carried out multiple searches of the estate but were unable to locate the dogs or identify their owner.[21]
in December 2023 Kent Police appealed for dashcam evidence of a late-evening altercation on Butler’s Park Way (a road in Medway Gate), describing it as a potentially assaultive incident involving three people.[22]
↑RPS Group Plc. Proposed Lidl Store Development at Roman Way, Strood - Planning and Retail Statement. The site is one of three former chalk pits that were excavated for the production of cement. Cuxton Pit No.1 comprises the Diggerland site; Pit No. 2 is the application site and Pit No. 3 is the area to the north of Cuxton Road. In the 1980s Pit Nos. 1 & 2 were used as landfill sites for the disposal of household waste – that use ceased by the 1990s and the sites were capped and restored to grassland. Pit No. 3 has been developed for housing.
↑Cousins, Stephen Cousins Stephen Cousins Stephen. "Ground engineering round up". Building. Retrieved 2026-01-30. With greenfield sites becoming increasingly scarce, housebuilders are left with no choice but to look at alternative land sources. For Persimmon Homes that meant taking over a 20 ha disused chalk quarry near Rochester in Kent, where it is building 400 homes, as well as offices and shops.
↑The Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Final Recommendations for New Electoral Arrangements for Medway Council (March 2021). We have considered the evidence submitted to us and have been persuaded to revise our recommendations and create a two-member ward which includes Cuxton and Halling parishes and the communities in Medway Gate and Temple Wharf that are in Strood.
↑"Petitions and Outcomes 2014"(PDF). www.medway.gov.uk. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2026-02-01. The Medway Gate Persimmon Homes development has been split into five phases each requiring a Section 38 Legal Agreement to be signed by all parties.
↑"Petitions and Outcomes 2014"(PDF). www.medway.gov.uk. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2026-02-01. Currently the Council does not maintain roads within Medway Gate and the petition calls on the Council to adopt all Medway Gate roads.
↑"Petitions and Outcomes 2014"(PDF). www.medway.gov.uk. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2026-02-01. Once the agreement is signed, a walkover undertaken and all associated works have been completed, a Certificate No. 2 can be issued to start a 12 month maintenance period.
↑"Cats killed as dogs run wild on housing estate". Kent Online. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2026-01-31. Residents on the Medway Gate estate in Strood have made frantic calls to the police following a series of attacks that are said to have claimed the lives of seven cats. The latest was caught on a CCTV camera and shows three dogs that bear unusual markings stalking down Empire Road, Strood, before launching an assault on a small black cat.
↑"Pack of wild dogs caught on CCTV ripping family's pet cat apart in". The Independent. 2014-06-28. Retrieved 2026-01-31. Seven cats have been attacked so far, prompting frantic calls to the police and council but dog wardens have failed to catch the dogs or find out whether they have owners.
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