Milton Creek in Sittingbourne – let’s dig it!

At Milton Creek on the 16 February, Councillor Cindy Davis, Swale Borough Council’s Executive Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Interim Director of Regeneration Pete Raine, Milton Creek Project Manager Phoebe Adefeso and Andy Nailor and Cliff Phillips from Jackson Civil Engineering began the dig at Milton Creek, Sittingbourne.

In November 2008 it was announced that a project submitted by Swale Borough Council – Milton Creek Gateway Landscape in Sittingbourne – was successful in receiving £2 million funding from the Homes and Communities Agency and £250k was also received from Kent County Council.

The project will open up access to Milton Creek, reuniting Sittingbourne with its Creekside heritage. It will also provide a sustainable green link between the residential areas of North Sittingbourne, the regenerated town centre and the Swale. The project will enhance wildlife habitats along the Creekside and the coast and provide a quality focal point for leisure and culture in Sittingbourne.

The Saxon Shore Way will also be realigned to run along the side of the creek as much as possible, allowing walkers to appreciate the variety of wildlife, scenery and heritage on offer. The project will also complete the Church Marshes Country Park.

Councillor Cindy Davis, Swale Borough Council’s Executive Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said “This is such great news for the town as it will improve the environment for residents and will show off a part of Sittingbourne that people may not realise existed before. Residents have once again had input into local decision making and now the groundwork is done we can turn over that first bit of soil and really get the project moving.”

Pete Raine, Interim Director of Regeneration at Swale Borough Council, said “Milton Creek has historically provided the link between Sittingbourne and London via the Thames estuary, carrying products from gunpowder in the 16th century to bricks in the 19th. The Milton Creek landscape project will provide a fantastic new link for the 21st century, allowing wildlife and residents alike to explore the new country park alongside the creek.”

The project will include a new community events area, a play park and a small car park that will be sited to the north of the Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road construction site so they can be developed in parallel with this larger project.