Rising costs have forced a council to scale back multi-million pound plans for a revamped open space.

Medway Council officers are looking at ways they can save money on a £2 million scheme to carry out improvement works to The Paddock, which sits between Chatham Waterfront bus station and The Pentagon shopping centre.

The council is having to reduce the quality of the materials used in the scheme, which is expected to be completed by February next year.

The project will be funded using money from the government's Future High Streets Fund.

Last month, the council chopped down five trees at the site, all of which are due to be replaced under the plans.

Residents have been consulted on the proposals, which include a water feature, improved accessibility and new seating, lighting and planted areas.

The plans were discussed during a meeting of the council's regeneration, culture and environment overview and scrutiny committee last night (Tuesday, March 21).

Ahead of the meeting, a report presented to councillors detailed how the design for the plans have had to be amended as a result of rising costs caused by inflation.

The council hopes to get a contractor on board by next month.

Sunny Ee, assistant director for regeneration, explained the council is seeing if it can reduce the quality of the materials used in the project "but still make them fit for purpose".

He said whilst the "ecological elements" of the plan had been retained, some of the "interpretative elements" of the plan, such as the use of old ship timbers, would have to be reduced.

He added the council is working on a maintenance strategy for the proposed water feature, which will be switched off if there is a need to save money or use the space for something else, such as outdoor performances.

He explained: "What won't happen, is it will be a one-off thing and it will be closed in a year because it's not maintained. We will find the appropriate money to do that.

"What we have managed to keep is an overall presence of a city centre, because this is another piece of the jigsaw whereby that, combined with the public realm that is going to be delivered as part of the Chatham Waterfront development site on the other side of the bus station, gives us a gateway and a sense of arrival in the city centre."

Chatham resident Bryan Fowler said he thought Mr Ee's comments were "depressing and worrying".

He said: "It’s ridiculous we are going ahead with the water feature at a time when the whole project has needed to be re-tendered due to inflation.

"I am pleased Sunny mentioned that the water jets will be switched off at times to save money, but upset that the quality of materials is having to be reduced."

However, he said he was pleased the plans for seating made from old timbers were being scaled down because he has noticed similar benches outside the town's Natwest have fallen into a state of disrepair.

During the meeting, Cllr Lauren Edwards (Lab), said: "I think it will be a great addition but the area I did have a concern over was the fountain.

"It's all very well bidding for these one-off, small pots of money that we have from the government – an approach I don't entirely agree with – but when there's ongoing costs, they really need to be factored into the decision-making process and when we did the site visit, nobody was able to tell me how much the ongoing costs will be for that fountain."