Parish councillors have appealed to Swale council to save as much of the Island's former military firing range as possible.

The borough council wants to rip off the concrete roof of the historic covered way at Barton's Point Coastal Park at Sheerness at a cost of around £10,000. It is the cheapest of three options being considered.

But Minster councillors want the whole of the structure saved. Chairman Ken Ingleton, who is also on Swale council, said: "Our preference is to save as much of the covered walkway as possible, retaining the roof, floor and wall wherever achievable."

He said it would be an investment which could "benefit a bigger scheme later on that could regenerate and reinvigorate that area."

His proposal was seconded by fellow Conservative Cllr Ken Pugh and passed by most of the parish council.

The rifle range dates back to the turn of the 20th century and runs alongside the coast road. The covered way, made of reinforced concrete, allowed pedestrians to walk safely from Sheerness to Minster while rifle practice took place.

It has now been deemed unsafe and fenced off from the public because many of its concrete roof panels and supporting metal posts are either missing or in a "potentially dangerous" condition.

Swale council has drawn up a shortlist of three options ranging from removing the concrete roof only, removing the roof and wall but leaving the floor, or replacing the metal supports and renewing the roof.

Costs range from £8,452 to more than £250,000. One of the three firms asked to tender even refused to quote for replacing the roof of the ancient footpath on the grounds that it was impossible "within reasonable pricing."

Jay Jenkins, the leisure and technical services manager who prepared the report for Swale, said: "It should be noted that while the structure is not listed, it is of local heritage interest and as such, the primary aim would be to retain it and bring it back into a safe condition and good standard of appearance where it can be enjoyed and its historical function properly understood by users of the coastal park."

Swale council members favour option 2 which involves demolishing the roof. The report said this would be the "most sensible/pragmatic way forward" taking into account both heritage and financial considerations but added there could be a risk of some of the wall coming down as well.

It says two of the three contractors said saving the entire walkway was "unfeasible".

A fourth option is to retain a small section of the roof but that would need extra external funding.

Retired Minster engineer Bernie Watson, 76, has offered to convert the covered way into lakeside cabins but was turned down by Swale council leader Cllr Roger Truelove.

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