River tours could return to Rochester as part of docking station plans
Medway Council have submitted an application for the site at Limehouse Wharf
River boat tours could be set to return to a tourist town as part of proposals to erect a new docking station.
Medway Council is proposing to create a riverside platform in Rochester, on the River Medway, which would enable boats to dock and offer tours along the waters of the Towns.
The plans, submitted to the authority’s planning department on June 26, would see the creation of a temporary dock at Limehouse Wharf, just east of Rochester.
It would last for three years until a more permanent structure is built.
The land, previously used for large ships carrying heavy industrial goods into the town, has been unused since late 2007, but the council says the wharf is a significant marine asset owned by the authority which holds potential.
After part of Rochester Pier collapsed in May 2022, the council began to consider Limehouse Wharf as a possible alternative embarking point onto the river.
If approved, the platform would sit within the area for phase four of the Rochester Riverside development of 1400 homes.
Housing developer Countryside Homes has agreed to incorporate the platform within a pocket park and plan walkways based on predicted passenger numbers.
Jetstream Tours currently runs river tours to and from Sun Pier at Chatham, and ran a service from Southend to Rochester Pier before 2019.
The council believes the proposed platform at Limehouse Wharf would re-establish weekly river tours to Rochester which would be a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to Rochester Pier.
It would also provide future options for potential river taxi services and visiting ships from around the UK and Europe.
Medway Council received £1.5million from the government for a river taxi service in 2015 but the plan was scrapped four years later after the authority decided there was not enough interest from commuters.
Additionally, the authority says the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society has confirmed if the plans go ahead it will run two sailings of the world’s last sea-going paddle steamer, the Waverley, in the last weekend of September from London to Rochester on an annual basis from 2024/25.
If approved, the plan has already received funding to meet construction costs and associated works from a central government source called the Local Transport Plan fund.
The proposals have received support from the City of Rochester Society and Medway and Swale Boating Association, and a poll conducted by the Rochester Riverside Residents Association sent to 500 households received 97 responses of which 70% were in favour of the plans.
The application is currently being considered and can be commented on via the council’s planning portal.
Due to the council being the applicant, it is likely the plans will have to be considered by the authority’s planning committee at a future meeting.