The Noble Consultancy has secured Reserved Matters planning approval for a 450-home development at Gibraltar Farm in Gillingham, on behalf of Barratt Redrow Homes, following a unanimous decision by Medway Council’s planning committee.
The scheme delivers 450 new homes across the site, alongside 10.62 hectares of high-quality, multi-functional open space, and is fully compliant with Nationally Described Space Standards (NDSS).
It marks the successful conclusion of a two-year process for The Noble Consultancy, which supported the site from BDW Kent’s early feasibility work through to the granting of detailed consent – on a site that had stalled since outline permission was first granted in 2018.
The project’s direction shifted significantly partway through, when Barratt’s acquisition of Redrow turned Gibraltar Farm into a dual-brand development. Rather than proceeding with the site’s existing Reserved Matters application, The Noble Consultancy revisited the masterplan from first principles, exploring multiple layout options to establish a single coherent scheme that could accommodate both the Barratt and Redrow brands.
The Noble Consultancy’s design team carried out a detailed local character assessment to ensure the scheme responded to the surrounding area, reviewing local policy and design guidance, analysing historic settlement patterns, and undertaking a tissue analysis of neighbouring residential areas.
Midway through the process, Medway Council introduced an emerging policy requirement for NDSS compliance, prompting The Noble Consultancy to redesign all 450 plots within the existing programme without compromising open space provision or design quality. The team also develop an enhanced sustainable drainage strategy, using dual-purpose seasonal basins to maximise usable open space and built a planning narrative that balanced the client’s use of standard house types with the Local Planning Authority’s design aspirations.
Extensive engagement underpinned the application throughout, including pre-application discussions, design workshops, a Design Review Panel, a Building for a Healthy Life assessment and ongoing coordination with the design team and council officers.
Toby Eichler, Managing Director (Planning), at The Noble Consultancy said: “Gibraltar Farm has been a complex and rewarding project, requiring us to rethink the scheme following the Barratt Redrow merger while responding to evolving planning requirements. Through close collaboration with the client, council and wider design team, we helped unlock a site that had been stalled for several years and secure approval for a high-quality development that will deliver much-needed new homes and open space for the local community.”
Gibraltar Farm is the latest in a series of major residential planning successes for The Noble Consultancy.
