MEDWAY'S dream of becoming a city has been declared "pie in the sky" by leading councillors.

The rejection of the ambitious plan comes days after council chief executive Judith Armitt claimed political leaders all back the idea.

She wrote to the City of Rochester Society saying the council wanted to continue trying to secure city status for the area. But the Medway Today newspaper spoke to leading councillors who said enthusiasm for the idea had evaporated.

Two failed bids for city status, one to mark the Millennium and the other for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds. Mrs Armitt wrote to the society on May 28 saying: "While I have not been able to canvas the views of all 80 councillors, I have taken soundings from the leaders of the three principal political groups of the council.

"Their view, which I share, is that the council should continue to seek to secure city status for the whole of Medway. They feel that although the council has tried to do this twice already and has not yet been successful, it should continue to focus its efforts on the objective.

"City status for Medway as a whole remains a unifying objective, and one whose pursuit I am happy to commend to the council."

But Cllr Rodney Chambers, Conservative leader of the council, said: "Having failed to achieve city status on two occasions, I do not sense any enthusiasm within my group to proceed with any vigour in securing city status for Medway."

The first leader of Medway Council, Labour's John Shaw said: "It is a dream that Mrs Armitt and her officers have. We keep telling her that it is pie in the sky."

Cllr Geoff Juby, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said they would only support a third bid if it didn't cost the council a penny.

Mrs Armitt was not available for comment, but a council spokesman said: "It is agreed council policy that we bid for city status for the whole of Medway. To date we have been unsuccessful in this. We don't know if and when we will have the chance to apply again."