Strood Civic Centre

Planning policy and strategy

Medway Renaissance commissioned a development brief for the Strood Civic Centre site, a large riverside site (3.5ha) situated at the heart of the town centre. AZ Urban Studio led the project, working in collaboration with Space Craft Architects, Atisreal and Hilson Moran, to aid the council in understanding the potential for development of the site to contribute to the broader area regeneration strategy.

AZ Urban Studio provided a detailed planning and development assessment of the site to articulate the opportunities for and constraints upon future development. Working closely with Space Craft a strong spatial concept for the site was formulated to aid the reconnection of the town centre to the waterfront, and offer a step change in residential and commercial accommodation for the town. The urban design strategy included a major new waterside public park and walkways as part of a wider network.

Key aspects of the project included:

– collaborative working with the Environment Agency from the outset to agree flood defence parameters at each phase

– a phasing strategy to accommodate the requirements of the Council’s asset management programme of relocations

– assessment of the heritage value and potential future use of existing buildings

– development appraisal and options testing

Together, the team devised a creative and robust development brief to guide potential developers in their responses to this key site.

AZ Urban Studio is working with Medway Renaissance to examine public sector funding for flood defence and other enabling works.