Medway Cabinet met on 25 August 2026 to consider a package of education capital proposals worth just over £8.1 million — including a £612,713 underspend moved across from another scheme — with the largest single share directed at expanding specialist secondary provision at Danecourt School.
Medway Cabinet considered a series of capital funding proposals at its meeting on 25 August 2026, as part of the annual review of the council’s School Place Planning Strategy 2022–27. Officers recommended committing funds from the 2026/27 High Needs Capital Allocation, developer contributions (section 106 money) and an underspend from a previous project to expand and improve school provision across the area.
Danecourt secondary project
The largest single proposal was the addition of £5 million from the 2026/27 High Needs Capital Allocation to the Danecourt Secondary project, a recommendation officers asked Cabinet to refer to full Council for approval. Alongside this, officers recommended that Cabinet approve the reallocation of a £612,713 underspend from the Rivermead project to the same Danecourt scheme.
Specialist resourced provisions
Officers also asked Cabinet to recommend to full Council the addition of £400,000 from the High Needs Capital Allocation to the All Saints Specialist Resourced Provision (SRP) project, and £220,000 to a new SRP at St Margaret’s Infants — a project that would also be added to the Education Capital Programme for the first time, with design and tender work to begin if approved. Smaller allocations of £60,000 and £40,000 from the same grant were proposed for SRP projects at Napier Primary and St Margarets Junior respectively, both within Cabinet’s own approval powers.
Primary school expansion and developer funding
Officers recommended that Cabinet refer to full Council the addition of the Riverside Primary phased expansion project to the Education Capital Programme, with £1,621,988.52 of section 106 developer contributions allocated towards it, and approval to begin design and tender. A further £42,500 of section 106 funding was proposed for The Beeches free school on the Rowans site, for play equipment and an outreach cabin. Cabinet was also asked to approve £5,811.33 of section 106 money for Greenvale Primary to purchase furniture to support its transition from an infant to a primary school.
Sports facilities
Officers recommended adding a 3G pitch project at Howard school to the Education Capital Programme, with a £150,000 section 106 contribution.
Local government reorganisation context
The papers noted that on 16 July 2026 the Government announced that Medway will merge with the Kent County Council areas of Dartford and Gravesham to form a new North Kent unitary authority, expected to take effect from April 2028. Officers stated that responsibility for school place planning will transfer to the new authority, and that work is under way with neighbouring boroughs to plan a coordinated approach to school capacity across North Kent. Until the transfer takes place, Medway’s existing statutory responsibilities remain unchanged.
The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.
Sources
- Medway Council — Cabinet, 25 August 2026 (agenda and papers)
- Annual Review of the School Place Planning Strategy 2022-27 — report to Cabinet (Medway Council)
- Annual Review of the School Place Planning Strategy 2022-27, Appendix 1: Mainstream Data (Medway Council)
Top image: construction work at Danecourt School, Gillingham — David Anstiss, via Geograph / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped).