The works were delivered as part of a wider two-phase agreement with the Spirit of Sittingbourne in 2012.
The ending of the agreement means that plans to develop high rise housing on three sites will now not proceed. These had been assigned to Spirit under the development agreement and will now be returned to the council.
The end of the development agreement will also mean that the second phase of the development will not go ahead. This was based around a new civic centre, with residential development at the council’s existing home Swale House.
Cllr Roger Truelove, leader of the council, said:
“I appreciate the way Spirit has engaged with us since the administration changed in May.
They understood in a constructive way that we did not wish to proceed to phase 2 of the development and that we wished to determine the future of the car park sites that were allocated to Spirit in the Development Agreement made by our predecessors.
In the meantime, we look forward to the completion of the rest of phase 1. This is a major investment in a town that has been starved of investment for decades and the coalition is determined that it should prove to be an asset to all the people of Swale.”
The retail park, delivered as part of phase 1, was opened fully let in 2018, and the multi-storey car park is now partially operational whilst works to build the hotel, cinema and restaurants are being completed.
The hotel is scheduled to be operational in the next few months, and the cinema should be handed over to The Light shortly afterwards. The internal works for the cinema are expected to take five months, during which time the signed-up restaurants – Nandos, Lounges, Pizza Express and Creams – will be preparing to open.
Richard Upton of U+I, one of the partners in the Spirit of Sittingbourne, said:
“We are obviously very disappointed not to be able to move ahead with Phase 2 of the scheme, but completely understand the Council’s wish to think again about their development strategy for the remaining sites.
We are very proud of the work we have done in Sittingbourne to date and we look forward very much to complete the Leisure Quarter which will make a significant positive impact on life in the centre of this great town.”
Huw Evans, from Quinn Estates, also part of the Spirit of Sittingbourne said:
“The delivery of the Leisure Quarter in Sittingbourne Town Centre has been a pivotal part of the process of transforming Sittingbourne into a welcoming, destination.
We are naturally disappointed at Swale Borough Council’s decision and understand their reconsideration of phase two; we look forward to being able to work positively with them on future projects.”
Space
