Another public consultation is likely to take place to determine the future of a town landmark.

Swale council says there are still unanswered questions about Sheerness water tower, the most significant one being its current condition.

Last September a launch event was held for what the council called the Trinity Road Development Brief.

It cost Swale £15,000 to get consultancy firm DesignScape to come up with three options for how to move forward with the site, which also includes the former Alldays store, empty council offices (now occupied by Restoration Youth), car park and Island Partnership, and go to consultation.

Ideas included rebuilding part of the water tower and turning it into a community venue, pop-up shops and creating a public square.

However, although almost 100 people responded to the consultation, there has been no more information released about what will happen.

Now the council has revealed the owner of the water tower has agreed to allow a survey to be carried out to determine whether it is structurally sound and if not, what work may be required.

The result of the survey will then mean the council can produce a draft document to ensure any future development is financially viable and deliverable within a reasonable time. This document would be subject to another public consultation later in the year.

Swale is also exploring options for grants which could be used towards the redevelopment and conversion of the tower.

A spokesman said: “The public consultation regarding the redevelopment of Trinity Road was carried out to gauge what the community wanted for the area.

“If there wasn’t any interest in keeping the water tower, there would be no reason to pay for a survey to be carried out.

“We are waiting for the results from the survey which is expected to be completed shortly.

“We await the final survey conclusions before deciding how to proceed.”