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It’s been 27 years since there were two cities in Kent, but plans revealed last week could change that.
Rochester lost its status during the creation of Medway Council in 1998, leaving Canterbury as the last one standing.
The government required a charter of trustees to be created so it could keep the title, but this didn’t happen.
And it is fears over another council shake-up which has sparked a new bid - the fifth such attempt.
With devolution on the horizon, leader Cllr Vince Maple has put forward a plan to get not just Rochester but the whole of Medway recognised as a city.
He’s assured cynics that it will not cost more than sending an email. The last attempt in 2022 amounted to £320.
For the 2012 bid, £25,000 have been budgeted and as of November 2010, £11,100 had been spent.
But it’s not just the cost that has raised some concerns but also the loss of identity of the towns.
Vice-chair of the Rochester City Centre Forum, Shane Waterman, said: “Rochester is very proud of its historic city status, and there are worries Rochester could be lost in a greater Medway City.
“There are also concerns from other towns - Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham - they could also lose their voices.
“People are fiercely protective of their local character - they have a massive sense of home rather than place and you’ve really got to change people’s hearts and minds over that first - it’s no good imposing that on people.
“It’s kind of a last-ditch attempt ahead of this devolution that is about to happen over the next couple of years.
“If they want to give it another go, good luck to them. My personal view is I can’t see it happening. I think we’ve had enough goes at it, and none of them have come to fruition.”
City status primarily constitutes a formal recognition of local pride, but some have suggested the designation also boosts the profile of an area and makes it more attractive for inward investment from businesses and tourism.
There’s no evidence to support this claim.
The granting of city status is usually done to mark significant events such as coronations or jubilees.
However, Cllr Maple has asked for an exception to be made in recognition of the dissolving of Medway Council in the devolution process.
He believes the status would attract investment and help boost the area.
He said: “It’s about recognising the journey our community has been on. Medway existed as a place long before Medway Council.
“You can be really proud of Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester, Strood, Rainham, or the Peninsula, and you can be proud of Medway too.
“This place has existed for a long time and one of the things that really galvanised Medway was a really difficult set of circumstances, which was 41 years ago, the dockyard closing.
“That made the community say ‘we’re going to be resilient, robust, we’re going to stand together’.
“Places which got city status, such as Wolverhampton, said it helped with inward investment because it gives confidence you’ve got that collective approach, which is important.”
Responding to questions from the public and councillors about whether it was worth the council’s effort to pursue the status, he said he was still focused on the regular business of running the council.
He continued: “If all I was doing as council leader was worrying about city status, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly.
“The priority is the same as it always has been since this Labour administration came into being, getting on with our pledges, delivering high-quality services, improving, collaborating, working with the community.
“This is something which I think will add further value to our community and give us that recognition for the journey that our place has been on.”
But is it what people want?
Nick Ashton, who has lived in the Towns for 14 years, says there are greater concerns for Medway than city status.
He said: “I’d say I’m worried about the state of Medway, not necessarily the status. It depends whether or not it’s a benefit to the area, it being a city or not.
“But I think they should be focusing on the people and making the actual place a nice place to live. It’d be nice, but I don’t think that’s that important, in all honesty.”
Anita Alcock, a resident for more than 20 years, thinks more needs to be done to develop the Towns to make them places people can be proud of.
She said: “If the rest of the towns want to become Medway City, that’s fine, but I do believe Rochester should return to being a city by itself, the title it had for hundreds of years.
“More needs to be put into the Towns, most definitely, not just developing more houses but cleaning up the high streets, cleaning up the places we have and making them habitable and safer places.”
But Maureen Seymour, who has lived in Rochester for half a century, says she thinks it has suffered since it lost its city status, and to regain it would not only bring more tourists but also would inspire locals to have more pride in the town.
She said: “I’d like to see Rochester at least regain city status, it would definitely bring more tourists, even local people would come back to see the local events and things. I mean, people miss it.
“It’s sad, the old-type town that people enjoyed and the local activities that we went on seem to be dying down now.”
Independent Group councillor Michael Pearce believes there needs to be public consultation for a Medway-wide city status bid.
He also thinks the council should pursue regaining city status for Rochester, which was lost in 1998 after charter trustees were not nominated to maintain it following the creation of Medway Council.
He said: “The first we heard about this city status bid, was at the meeting when Vince Maple was giving his leader’s report.
“It was just the case of the leader of the council saying ‘I’ve sent this letter off and I want city status for Medway’.
“So there’s been no debate, no vote, no consultation with councillors and, more importantly, there’s been no consultation with residents of the Towns about this status which would be a new identity imposed upon local people.
“So there definitely needs to be some sort of consultation.
“It’s not going to revolutionise the place - we’re not suddenly going to get a new pot of money which we can tap into. It’s literally just about branding.
“But, for Rochester, it is important because it’s about our heritage, it’s about history. We need to get that status back. We need to correct that wrong.”
Cllr Maple said there was no specific schedule for when the request would be answered, but did say if it wasn’t granted this would likely be the last opportunity for such a bid to be made.