St Mary's Island, Kent

St Mary's Island, Britain’s only planned new island community, is a development of national and regional significance.

On the site of the former Royal Naval Dockyard, St Mary's Island is being undertaken in a joint venture with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Its 150 acres will comprise a new mixed-tenure community of some 1,700 new homes, as well as shops, a school and other community facilities, public open spaces and a marina.

Chatham Maritime provides employment, restaurants, hotel, shopping, as well as learning facilities for a number of Universities and extensive leisure amenities. 

St Mary's Island was heavily contaminated and extensive remedial works were carried out. This left a flat, virtually featureless, site. Structural landscaping and earth mounding has been implemented across the island and has provided shelter and improved the visual impact of the site. Flood defences have also been improved.

Very high standards of planning, design and sustainability have been the critical factors in the success of this multi-award winning scheme and have enabled us to create a much stronger demand for housing for sale than exists elsewhere in the sub-region. Affordable homes are being dispersed throughout this new community.

In particular, Chatham Maritime:

• Overcomes major technical constraints to bring brownfield land forward for development, including extensive site reclamation and decontamination as a result of the previous use as a Ministry of Defence Royal Naval Dockyard.
• Conserves the existing environment and visual qualities of the landscape through the creation of a wide sweep of parkland running across the island which contributes to bio-diversity and wildlife.
• Provides a park and marina, education, community, leisure and retail uses to complement the island environment.
• Establishes character areas to create a sense of place and identity.
• Mixes residential and commercial/retail uses at the Historic Dockside, including the conversion of the dock buildings into high density, environmentally responsive 3 to 5 storey apartment blocks, 'live and work' units and 3 storey town houses.