Bids are being invited to restore a former leisure centre to its former glory after it was gutted by a devastating fire.

Fleet Leisure and Sports Club in Nelson Road, Northfleet, was engulfed in flames on Tuesday, August 22, some four years after it was shut when the company running it went into administration.

Since then there has been a series of failed attempts to re-open it, most notably when a bid from Ebbsfleet United to buy it fell through due to costs.

But Gravesham council has remained insistent that it eventually be returned to community and sporting use and — despite its destroyed state — has put the contract to run it out to tender.

It came as police confirmed they were still investigating the cause of the fire, which has been treated as suspicious from the outset.

Several residents told the Messenger after the blaze that they often heard people vandalising the site and that some smaller fires had been started there before.

More than 30 firefighters and six fire engines battled the blaze for at least three hours and nearby homes were evacuated as the smoke spread, which killed a woman’s young dog.

Some council tenants were unable to return to their properties and had to be placed in temporary accommodation.

The council is offering a long-term lease of up to 50 years for Fleet Leisure, plus an option to extend for another 50, on condition the development is sports-based and accommodates football.

The tender will be for the whole site and the successful bidder will be responsible for repairing it, with the council not providing any revenue or capital funding.

Interested parties are required to apply for a selection questionnaire through the Kent Business Portal by Monday, October 30.

The portal can be found at http://bit.ly/2g4gKoI.