The Village
St James, Isle of Grain is one of the eleven parishes within the Medway Unitary Authority area.
The village is situated on the North Kent Marshes and is the most remote village on the Hoo Peninsula, reached via the A228 and B2001. The village is bordered by the Rivers Medway and Thames and has a large industrial area on the landward side. The Medway Estuary and Marshes SSSI and South Thames Estuary and Marshes SSSI are adjacent.
The village has a primary school, a pub and a church. The Chapel is used as a public library (provided by Medway Council) and a resource and learning centre which is run independently.
Community Land
The Parish Council owns the freehold of land within the village including two playing fields and a coastal park, consisting of ¾ mile of foreshore bordering the estuaries of the Rivers Medway and Thames. All of this land is maintained by the Parish Council as public open space for the benefit of residents and visitors. There is a very active voluntary group called The Friends of Grain Coastal Park who carry out the maintenance of these public open spaces using equipment supplied by the Parish Council.
Within the public open space, the Parish Council provides and maintains a floodlit MUGA, skateboard ramp, children’s play area and outside fitness equipment.
Community Buildings
The Parish Council owns two community buildings – a Sports Pavilion and a Village Hall which are both well used.
The Sports Pavilion is used by local football teams and also houses a Youth Club run by Medway Council Youth Service.
The Village Hall is the main community building in the village and provides excellent facilities to hirers. It is regularly used each week by local groups and for private functions such as quiz nights, dances, parties, funding raising events and wakes. The highlight of the year is a Christmas Pantomime which is an original piece written and performed by a local theatrical group.
Attached to the Village Hall is a fully equipped doctor’s surgery which is leased to the local GP Practice. This clinic is also the parish War Memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives in two World Wars.