A new marina could help boost tourism, regenerate Chatham and provide Medway with a centre to make it worthy of city status.

The grand claims were made by members of Medway Council’s cabinet as they discussed plans to build a marina at Chatham Waterfont, near the council’s offices at Gun Wharf.

The plans include the development of the Riverside 4 building – formerly the RAFA club – and would bring mooring facilities to the riverside, from the Command House pub to the far side of Gun Wharf.

Cllr Rodney Chambers, in charge of strategic regeneration, said the marina could bring “significant income to the authority”, adding: “We have done our homework and there seems to be significant interest from the private sector to develop and operate such a marina.

“It will aid the regeneration of Chatham and also justifies the significant amount of resources we’ve expended on Sun Pier.”

He said the marina would be a boost to tourism, and even went as far to say: “There’s nothing people like more than to go on a trip from Rochester to Upnor and down to the Historic Dockyard.”

The scheme is still in its early stages with the council’s development control team currently being consulted over the preparation of a planning brief, and consultation will also have to be held into the proposed use of the Chatham Waterfront car park.

But councillors remained overwhelmingly in favour of the scheme, and approved recommendations to enter into necessary legal arrangements with Crown Estates, which owns most of the river bed beyond the shore, to help push the plan forward.

Cllr Howard Doe said the marina should be a cause of celebration, adding: “I think we will find that over time Chatham will become a centre for such use because it has such great access to the river.

“We haven’t got city status in the past because we haven’t got any obvious centre. This will provide that. This is great news.”

Council leader Alan Jarrett was the only member to sound a note of caution, explaining he would want to remain “flexible” over the potential use of the car park by the marina, and noting that a marina on its own would not bring about the transformation of Chatham and Medway.

“The challenge will be to have more facilities open to people that come to Chatham other than a place to moor their boats,” he said.

“There will be a range of things the council is looking to do to make Chatham town centre more vibrant.”

News of the new marina proposal comes in the same month that Chatham Maritime Marina is due to open 54 new berths as part of a £500,000 state-of-the-art expansion plan.

The new development, announced in March, will also see a new pontoon in the marina, next to notable vessels at The Historic Dockyard.