Plans to refurbish a disused town centre office block have taken a step forward as contracts are put out for its £35million tender.

The Medway Development Company (MDC) is now inviting construction companies to bid for the job of redeveloping Mountbatten House in Chatham into 164 flats.

The former office block, which has been vacant since Scottish Widows left the property in 2006, was bought by Medway Council in 2021 with the intention of revitalising the building and the surrounding area.

Proposals include creating 164 flats along with restaurants and shops on the ground floor - but in January plans for a glass lift and rooftop champagne bar were scrapped due to rising costs.

The rooftop bar was replaced with a residential terrace.

The contract was put out on July 19 and the deadline for contractors to apply to take on the £35 million project is August 21, with the works to begin in September and estimated to be completed in two years.

Last year work was done to clear out the insides of the dormant building to prepare it for refurbishment, and layouts for the utilities to be installed to service the new units were also created.

The 164 flats will also have 40 parking spaces in the former Pentagon bus station.

The council also purchased the attached Pentagon Shopping Centre in 2019 for £34.8million and is in the process of turning the first floor into a co-working space and healthy living centre.

Former MP for Rochester and Strood, Kelly Tolhurst (Con), suggested the shopping mall should be torn down in order to build housing, but members of the council rejected this.

MDC are the council’s development arm and are also behind the Garrison Point and Chatham Waterfront developments.