New site for River Medway tours approved

An application for a new dock for boat tours of the River Medway has been approved.

Medway Council applied to create the platform at Limehouse Wharf, just east of Rochester, on land unused since 2007.

Jetstream Tours has agreed to sail every Sunday between April and September from Southend via Queenborough to the dock.

The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society has also confirmed it will run two sailings of what it calls the world's last sea-going paddle steamer - the Waverley - from London to Rochester every year.

No opening date has been set, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council wants the temporary platform for riverboats to last three years until a more permanent version is constructed.

It says the wharf, which was previously used by large ships to carry industrial goods into the area, holds potential.

The dock is set to sit within the park of the new Rochester Riverside development of 1,400 homes.

The local authority believes the platform at Limehouse Wharf could be a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to Rochester Pier, part of which collapsed in 2022.

Plans for the dock were submitted in June.

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