Council set to get £6.8m to redevelop vacant plot

A proposal to redevelop the former Strood Civic Centre site received planning consent in December

A council is set to receive more than £6.8m in grant funding to help with plans to redevelop a vacant plot.

Medway Council has successfully bid for funding from the government's housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, to prepare the site of the former Strood Civic Centre for construction, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Planning consent was granted in December for the plot, on the banks of the River Medway, to be converted into 195 homes.

The council will pass the grant on to its development arm, Medway Development Company (MDC), which is responsible for the project.

The money will help pay for below ground structure removal, contamination removal, flood defence works, and other costs necessary for brownfield sites.

The local authority is also bidding for a Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) grant to help MDC transform Mountbatten House in Chatham into 164 flats.

Officers have recommended Medway Council agrees to be a guarantor to secure the funding for both projects.

The authority will discuss the issues at a cabinet meeting on 23 September, when a decision will be made.