A council is set to drop its own trading company from overseeing the development of a new independent school for children with special educational needs.

Medway Commercial Group (MCG) had been chosen by Medway Council to lead the project for land in Cornwallis Avenue in Gillingham in September last year.

Since then it has been accused of incompetence over other projects it has take care of for the council.

It attracted criticism in October when it was revealed more than half of CCTV cameras across Medway, which it manages, had been left beyond repair.

The company's appointment to lead the independent school project was met with opposition from Labour councillors last year, who cited concerns about its lack of experience.

Cllr Clive Johnson (Lab) said he was unconvinced MCG was capable of the “quantum leap” to manage the construction of the £25 million facility, although his motion to call-in the decision was blocked by Conservative counterparts.

Leader Cllr Alan Jarrett (Con) accused the opposition group of showing its “truly nasty nature” in the process.

“With the MCG proposal not progressing, officers have been exploring alternative opportunities with the Department for Education to bring forward a suitable solution for this site..." - Medway Council papers

Cabinet members are now expected to strip the company of its duties next Tuesday, instead seeking to lease the site to a “third party for the purpose of educational provision" – likely to be an academy trust.

Council papers read: “With the MCG proposal not progressing, officers have been exploring alternative opportunities with the Department for Education (DfE) to bring forward a suitable solution for this site.

“In line with DfE requirements, it is expected that the land will be leased to an appropriate education provider for a period of 125 years at a peppercorn rent – subject to planning approval for the new provision.

“It has also been suggested that the remaining land could be used as sports playing fields for the new provision. This could be agreed in conjunction with continued community use.”

If the vision is realised, the school would cater for 210 young people aged between seven and 19, including those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and challenging behaviour.

A target opening date of 2020 was set by the council during discussions held last year.

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