Medway stumps up £45m for regeneration
0Medway Council has bought a shopping centre outright to help regenerate one of England’s most deprived towns.
The council has bought the Pentagon Centre, as well as other freehold properties, in Chatham using £45m funded from its capital programme.
The council predicts the project will generate a £1m-a-year return.
The cash was used to see off property developers that the council believed would not enhance its plans to create a waterfront university centre by 2035.
Chatham, which is a former naval port, has some of the most deprived wards in the country.
The buy-out adds to the £4m secured from the Government’s Local Growth Fund through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership to regenerate the local area.
The project will secure the council’s role in the £5bn Thames Gateway project which has been restarted after being stalled by the last financial crisis.
Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “We pride ourselves on being an innovative council and I believe this decision now gives us an opportunity to create a blue print for our thriving town.
“It will also help us to shape, invest in and improve what’s on offer in Chatham, be it for retail, leisure, business or residential.”
