A £1 million bid has been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund to turn the former Dickens Centre into a literary arts centre.

The news was given to Medway's regeneration scrutiny councillors last night as they tried to find savings on a projected £13.8 million overspend on next year's budget.

The centre in Rochester High Street was closed several years ago, leaving the Elizabethan town house as an overspill office for the Medway Renaissance regeneration team.

Wendy Mesher, project manager at Medway Renaissance, told the committee the building needed £2 million to be spent converting it to the new role.