THE creation of more jobs in the Medway Towns has been singled out as a key priority in a new planning blueprint for the area. Council leaders say they must develop planning policies which encourage more people to not just live in the area but also work in it.

An estimated 80,000 people commute out of the county to jobs elsewhere, chiefly based in London. Medway Council leader Cllr Rodney Chambers said he wanted to see more locally-based jobs created between now and 2016. He was speaking at the launch of a month-long public consultation on the joint Kent and Medway Structure Plan.

This is the document which will act as the planning blueprint for the area and will set out a range of policies on employment, housing, the environment and transport. Cllr Chambers said: "As far as Medway is concerned, our priority is not housing but bringing brown field sites on stream for economic development. The Medway Towns are a large dormitory area for London. Fifty five per cent of people who work commute out...our priority in Medway is on the jobs front."

Medway would remain "half a community" while so many people worked elsewhere, he said. "We need some of the jobs which in the past have gone to the M4 corridor." Cllr Chambers urged residents to make the most of their chance to have their say on the structure plan.

* The full plan can be seen at www.kmsp.org.uk Comments by May 17 can be e-mailed to other kmsp@medway.gov.uk. In addition, a series of public meetings are being organised. For details, contact the Development and Environment Directorate, Medway Council, Compass Centre, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent ME4 4YH.