Nobody travelling along Harbour Road could have failed to notice the large grey buildings that have sprung up on Rastrum’s The Saltings site in recent years. These and other structures have significantly boosted floorspace at the precinct, which is next to Rye Wharf.
The new buildings are primarily designed to house business units and form part of what appears to be Rye’s largest commercial development project.
In the last few years Rastrum has quietly erected at least seven structures (R17, A1, A2, B, C, D and E). According to planning applications, this totals a massive 7,436 sqm of floorspace.
The company also had plans for a 1,330 square metre building (Industrial Unit Building F) to the west of its new C, D and E structures, which are each 1,095 square metres in size. However, Rastrum requested Rother District Council to stop processing the planning application for Building F shortly after it was submitted last May.
When asked, Rastrum declined to explain the decision, although one source suggested the prospective tenant pulled out. It’s understood that Rastrum only builds new structures if it has tenants lined up.
A question for Rye Harbour’s industrial zone is whether reliable demand for business units and office space can keep pace with the ever-increasing supply, or whether there might be a risk of oversupply.
Rastrum declined to comment on its recent expansion strategy or to confirm any details.
Rastrum originally had ambitious proposals, first approved in 2006, to build a huge 3,230 square metre bulk store on an L-shaped site known as Old Mears, opposite Bournes’ container yard. A similar-sized grain store was also proposed beside the river off Harbour Road. It is suggested the grain store plan was shelved after a grain cooperative moved its business to Dover.
As reported in Rye News a fortnight ago, the Old Mears site was bought by Martello Developments in mid-2020 and plans emerged in 2022 to build four structures for industrial units — one of which may be a large store (1,780 square metres) for port-related bulk materials.
In its recent Draft Local Plan, Rother District Council stressed that the ability of Rye Wharf to land, process, handle and store bulk cargoes such as minerals must be maintained. At the same time, sensitive environmental areas such as the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI, SPA and Ramsar wetland site which surround the industrial zone will need to be protected.
Rastrum also supplies stevedoring services, storage and warehousing. It operates two mobile cranes at Rye Wharf to handle bulk materials.
At present, ships up to 90 metres in length, 13 metres width and up to 4.9 metres draught can access the wharf on high tides. In 2025, 35 vessels used the port to import aggregates and stone for Brett Aggregates and Long Rake Spar in Harbour Road. Overall trade for the 2025-26 fiscal year was 64,527 tonnes, lower than the previous year’s 72,167 tonnes.
Apart from one small grain ship, there were no exports from Rye Wharf last year. In fact, the dock facility is significantly underutilised overall.
Rye Harbour Master James Bateman says “there’s definitely potential for more ships using the port” and he believes some niche opportunities could be investigated in future.
However, to grow substantially, the facility would probably need a major industrial or agricultural producer in the immediate area. The port’s relatively poor position regarding transport infrastructure is possibly a further limiting factor. For example, the nearest motorway, Junction 10 of the M20, is 21 miles away. This does not mean that Rye Harbour Employment Area cannot successfully accommodate business ventures, offices or storage and distribution operations — so long as the demand is there.
It’s speculated that the limited potential for increased trade at Rye Wharf is what’s driven Rastrum’s intensive push to develop its new buildings providing business units as a revenue source.
There’s already a significant amount of employment along Harbour Road — which encompasses industrial sites such as Tradebe (solvent recovery) and Rye Oil. Other major occupants include Bournes removals, Skinners vehicle repair, Atlas Business Park, Rye Industrial Park and Weslake Industrial Park.
The number of people working in Rye Harbour Employment Area is predicted to increase markedly as facilities expand or new businesses are added.
Meanwhile, the 1,655 square metre Rycon storage warehouse on Harbour Road is currently up for sale for £2.5 million, with the sales agents stating that “the property will appeal to occupiers requiring coastal access, or investors seeking long-term income potential in a prime South-East location”. Interest has reportedly been shown from local parties and London based investors.
* The word “rastrum” describes a five-pointed pen used in music manuscripts to draw stave-lines across a blank sheet of paper. It comes from the Latin word for rake.
Image Credits: David Worwood .