Council-led plans to develop riverside homes have stalled after officers decided to end calls to get a developer on board.

In April 2019, Medway councillors approved plans to open the former civic centre site in Strood up for procurement so it could form part of the Strood Waterfront development of more than 1,000 homes.

The council-owned land also includes an access road and land opposite Jane's Creek, behind Morrisons.

Reports presented to councillors at the time indicated how officers expected to select a preferred developer by February last year, with work beginning March this year.

The civic centre site was expected to host 550 homes, with the other homes expected to be built across the whole Strood Waterfront development.

It has now emerged that on Thursday, February 25, officers took the decision to abandon the procurement process saying, "the financial proposals received did not meet the council’s land value expectations."

The council was awarded £3.5 million from the government's Local Growth Fund through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) to ready the civic centre site with flood defences.

Sunny Ee, Medway Council's assistant director for regeneration, said: “We remain committed to delivering Strood Waterfront as part of our regeneration programme to provide current and future residents with new opportunities.

"We will continue to work on plans for the site to identify the best way to proceed with this exciting project.”

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