Medway Council's own development arm has asked to slash the contributions it will be paying for a new town centre housing complex by more than half a million pounds.

Construction firm Medway Development Company (MDC) pledged £645,408 towards improving infrastructure as part of plans to build 115-home development Garrison Point on the former Whiffens Avenue car park in Chatham.

The money would have gone towards things including new school places, the new healthy living centre which is planned for the Pentagon Centre, as well as public open space and footpath improvements.

Plans, which included 20 affordable homes in White Road, were approved in February 2020 and the build is currently under way, with some homes already occupied.

But MDC has now asked if councillors will approve plans to substitute the previously-agreed developer contribution sum of £645,408 for £70,000 – a reduction of £575,408.

A report presented to councillors ahead of a planning committee meeting on Wednesday, October 19, explains how MDC had to reduce the number of bedrooms within the development at White Road and this has therefore reduced revenue.

This, together with extra construction costs and drainage charges, led the company to make a request for a lower amount of contributions, which are known as Section 106 contributions.

A similar request was denied by councillors earlier this month (Thursday, October 6) when Peel Land and Property (L&P) was denied a request to write off £440,000 of contributions it was due to pay for its Chatham Waters development along Pier Road.

Cllr Vince Maple, leader of the Medway Labour Group, said: “For the second time in a handful days we are seeing developers reneging on their deal with the community regarding contributions.

"What makes the latest proposals more galling is that it’s Medway Council’s own development company now proposing to rip off residents.

"It cannot be right that developers proceed with building in Medway without making the right contributions to our infrastructure.”

MDC director Cllr Adrian Gulvin (Con) said the largest chunk of the contributions has gone towards the affordable homes provision, which also includes nine shared ownership properties which will be managed by mhs homes.

He said 70% of the apartments at Garrison Point had been sold and some of them will be occupied before the end of the year.

The majority of the people who have put their names down for the homes are from Medway or the surrounding boroughs, and a quarter are from London.

The company had hoped to get residents in before the end of October, but the build had been impacted by labour shortages.

He added: "The reality is that with all the increases in costs – labour costs have gone up, material charges have gone up substantially – our profit margin has been squeezed.

"We just want to have that little bit extra security to make sure the schemes are profitable.

"This is not an easy time for any person who's trying to build things, and those increased cost pressures have got to be paid for.

"This is only a small part of the Section 106, the biggest part was to provide the 25% affordable housing. That has been done, and the people have been living there for more than 18 months now.

"We are looking at having the whole development completed in the first few weeks of the new year and the crane comes down in the next two or three weeks."

MDC agreed to pay almost £258,000 towards "the restoration, improvement and enhancement of Town Hall Gardens."

Kitchener Barracks resident Bryan Fowler, who regularly litter picks around the area, said the gardens and its play area have long been neglected.

'That is a terrible advert for Chatham'

There is still some loose wood in the play area since there was an arson attack in August, although this has been fenced off.

He said: "Quite frankly, if you took a child there you'd walk straight out wouldn't you?

"The play area looks horrible – the gardens are superb, but they really do need some attention. That is a terrible advert for Chatham.

"Myself and others have long been asking the council to do something about the state of the play area.

"Isn't one of the aspirations [of the council] that we should be a child-friendly city?"

Cllr Gulvin said the council would be prioritising funds for making the high street nicer and using money towards improvements there and at The Paddock, which neighbours the bus station.

The Walderslade representative said: "Medway Council's play areas, parks, and green spaces are exemplars.

"There's a balance on these things; we are looking at a budget deficit running into millions for this year and next year which we are having to sort out.

"I would dearly love to make the Town Hall Gardens look super, but we are spending a lot of money on The Paddock site which will make that really splendid as part of the town centre.

"The Town Hall Gardens are not in a bad state. I think a lot of councils would give their right arm to have the beautiful parks and open spaces that Medway's got, including the Town Hall Gardens."