Savings of £1.5 million from the building of a leisure centre are to be used to improve two others.

In 2022, Medway Council agreed to spend £23.65 million on demolishing Splashes leisure centre in Bloors Lane in Rainham and building Cozenton Park Sports Centre which opened to the public in July.

The final cost of delivering the new facility ended up being £1.5 million less than expected, and the authority’s cabinet is to consider using that saving to upgrade other sports centres across the Towns.

Plans will be considered at the cabinet meeting on October 1 to use that money to make improvements at Medway Park in Gillingham and Strood Sports Centre.

In the report to be presented to cabinet members, it says the funding will be split equally between the two centres and could be used to update the pool areas, changing rooms, football pitches or fitness studios - all of which the council says need modernising.

The report also details how it is the authority’s ambition to stop subsidising all sports centres in the Towns by 2027, and it believes investing in facilities to get more paying customers through the doors is the way to do it.

The council says customers recognise investment. After a £76,000 new sports hall floor was put in at Medway Park, income increased by £37,000 there over the previous year.

Other centres are receiving investment from Section 106 funding, which are contributions from developers as part of planning applications, including £1 million for energy efficiency improvements and changing room upgrades at Hoo Sports Centre.

The Strand in Gillingham is also to receive £300,000 of S106 money for a new children’s splashpad water feature.

Medway Park and Strood Sports Centre have been identified for the Cozenton funding because, the report says, although they have had renovations or extensions in the last 20 years, some aspects of the facilities are much older.

The report claims the pool areas are around 50 years old and need modernisation and the sports hall floor in Strood Sports Centre is 25 years old and could become unsafe if not replaced.

Council officers have recommended the money be reinvested but other options are open to councillors, including not spending the money and using it to reduce the council’s capital spend.

Another option is to use the savings on other council departments, rather than reinvestment into sports facilities.

Medway Council’s cabinet will consider all the options and make a decision on how to proceed at its next meeting on October 1.

Initial plans for Splashes were to just refurbish the pool, which opened in 1990, and were approved in July 2020 for £5m.

However, extensive structural surveys found that the building had major structural faults which were deemed beyond economic repair, and it was advised to immediately be taken out of use.

Demolition began in January 2022, and a few months later a formal planning application was submitted, saying the project could be delivered with a budget of £17.85 million. However, an additional £7m was approved in October 2022 to take into account rising costs.