Councillors have hit out at plans to halt a £5 million leisure centre redevelopment, leaving its immediate future in doubt.

The decision to pause the revamp of Splashes in Rainham was announced last night at a meeting to discuss Medway Council's budget.

It was met with criticism from opposition Labour councillors, the leader of which called on the ruling Tories to apologies to centre staff who were made redundant last year.

The Bloors Lane facility was set to be closed for 18 months while the redevelopment was under way.

As a result, seven members of staff were given redundancy notices, while others were re-deployed to other sports centres.

Funding for the work was agreed during a meeting of full council last July.

Cllr Vince Maple (Lab) said: “So there you have it, the Medway Conservative three-point plan: announce investment in a community facility; sack staff even though this wasn’t mentioned in the proposal; bury the fact the investment isn’t now happening on page 16 of a 26-page covering report for the annual budget, pretty shameful really.

“And those staff who have been sacked deserve an apology, if Splashes is ever going to reopen, unless they’re going to be offered their jobs back.”

It was also announced a scheme set up to provide community hubs within the Medway Towns was also scrapped.

Labour group regeneration and communities' spokesman, Cllr Andy Stamp, asked: “If the refurbishment is no longer going ahead, when will Splashes be reopening?

“Is Splashes now closed indefinitely? Will the Conservative administration reassure the people of Rainham and the rest of Medway that they will not be selling the site for housing?”

Rainham North councillor Cllr Martin Potter (Con) also probed what would be happening to the cash allocated for the redevelopment.

Council leader Cllr Alan Jarrett said: “The £5 million for improvement is still in the budget and will remain in the budget. We have encountered a wider structural problem than first anticipated and we are currently working on a solution.

“We are absolutely committed to that facility and we will not be selling the site for housing, so I don’t think we can be any clearer on that.”

Speaking this morning, the Mr Jarrett tried to explain what will now happen with the site.

He said: "We can't reopen it in its current form, it's not fit for purpose.

"We are absolutely committed to that facility. What we are doing now is looking at various options and the costings that go with the options and once we have that back, we can see how we go forward."

The revamp work, which started last year, was to included: modern changing facilities suitable for families; spaces for family-friendly activities such as party rooms; future-proofing the centre by utilising solar power and rainfall collections; updating and renewing the fun aquatic play equipment and providing a new café/coffee shop.

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