New images show what a revamped seaside leisure and healthy living centre might look like, after a contractor for the project was announced.

Etec Group has been awarded the contract to regenerate Beachfields in Sheerness in what has been labelled a “great milestone” for the multi-million-pound scheme.

Swale councillors gave the nod for the London-based firm to take on the largest part of its £20 million Sheerness Revival project.

This will include building a new outdoor, heritage-themed adventure golf course and gym as well as a two-storey side extension of the Sheppey Leisure Complex.

It also includes an expanded GP facility on the ground floor and a new footpath between Sheerness railway station and the centre.

At the council’s economy and property committee meeting on Tuesday, December 17, all members voted for Etec to take on the contract, the value of which has not been revealed.

Committee chairman Cllr Monique Bonney (Swale Inds) said the decision marked a “great milestone in taking the project forward”.

Etec has previously worked on other projects in the county such as Larkfield Leisure Centre near Maidstone, Leybourne Lakes and Bouverie Place in Folkestone.

The plans for Beachfields were submitted to the council in June and are set to go before the authority’s planning committee on Thursday, January 16.

However, the current occupants are set to bring in temporary measures ready for the expected start of work.

Sheppey Leisure Complex, run by Serco on behalf of the council, announced on Tuesday, December 17 that it was preparing for the project despite not having planning permission yet.

It said it will close the sports hall on Monday, January 6, to set up a temporary gym and exercise studio.

Then on Monday, January 27, a new portable building will be put in place to act as a temporary reception and changing rooms while it works on upgrading the main areas.

This will all be ready to open by February 14.

A spokesman for the complex said: “We know the changes might cause a little disruption but trust us, it’ll be worth it.

“We’re bringing you a bigger and better gym, a new café, a soft play area for the little ones, and a Tag X obstacle course for family fun.

“There’s something for everyone, and we can’t wait to show you the exciting new spaces.”

Meanwhile, Minster Medical Group’s surgery at the Sheppey Healthy Living Centre closed at 5pm on Friday, December 20.

It is temporarily relocating to its other location, Minster Medical Centre at the Sheppey Community Hospital.

Health and wellbeing charity Sheppey Matters will also relocate so that work can go ahead.

From January 13 it will be providing its food and uniform provisions from Neptune House, its office operations will be from Sheppey Gateway, and it will be providing drop-in sessions from a shop at 31 Broadway, Sheerness.

When the charity returns to the site it will have access to three new large community rooms for events, a waiting room, multiple office spaces, and a kitchen, all designed specifically to meet the charity’s needs.

Cllr Bonney said: “We are getting ready to begin work immediately if it’s approved.

“There will inevitably be some disruption to services during the works, and we’re sorry to anyone affected, but we’re doing everything we can to minimise the impact on centre users and residents in the area, and plans are in place to temporarily relocate the gym, GP services, and Sheppey Matters.

“Our health partners understandably felt that the normal Christmas office closure was an appropriate time to begin preparation work, as patients are used to accessing services from the Minster site from this time.

“We're confident that any short-term inconvenience will be more than outweighed by the positive impact Sheerness Revival will have on the lives of everyone in Sheerness.”

It is all funded by the government’s Levelling Up fund and also includes the revamp of Masters House and Sheppey College run by East Kent College (EKC), the revamp of which has already been approved.

The scheme aims to create new job opportunities while improving the health, wellbeing, education and leisure facilities on Sheppey – one of the poorest places in not only Kent but the UK, according to the government’s latest deprivation research.

When the plans were first revealed there was disappointment from some who said they did not go far enough.

For example, many people had called for the swimming pool to get a makeover.

The pool was one of four facilities earmarked to be upgraded as a “priority” in Swale council’s revamp “wish list”.

The authority’s strategy for its leisure sites is part of its measures to prepare the borough for a population boom over the next decade-and-a-half.