Part of a former navy dockyard looks set to be transformed into restaurants and a brand new sports complex.
Plans for a padel tennis centre have been recommended for approval by case officers at Medway Council.
The complex would be developed at the former Machine Shop No 8 site at the Dockside Outlet Centre in Chatham.
Ten tennis courts and two restaurants will be created on the plot – which currently exists as a disused, empty shell building.
Constructed for Woolwich Dockyard in the 1840s, it was created by Fox Henderson & Co – a company of engineers who built the ironwork for The Crystal Palace for The 1851 Great Exhibition.
It was moved to Chatham Dockyard in the 1860s where it was used as a machine shop by the Royal Navy having been deconstructed and rebuilt.
However, the Grade II-listed structure has sat unused for more than four decades since the navy left Medway.
Recent plans have since been proposed to transform the site – including the unoccupied, skeletal cast-iron frame.
Machine Shop No. 8 was previously intended to be turned into a drive-in cinema in 2021.
However, the proposal was rejected by Medway Council with planning officers deeming the impact on the surrounding road network as unacceptable.
An application was then submitted to turn the structure into a sports complex for padel.
The game, which started in Acapulco, Mexico in 1969, became popular throughout South America and Spain and has now taken Britain by storm with huge demand for memberships of clubs.
Normally played in doubles, it is considered less intense than conventional tennis and is suitable for all age groups.
Using a smaller racket, the lighter-weight ball has to bounce first before hitting surrounding walls.
And it appears fans won’t have to wait much longer, with the application being recommended for approval – having been first submitted back in November last year.
Documents on the application’s planning statement said: “The proposal would deliver the optimum conservation solution for the main volume of the Grade II* listed Machine Shop No 8.
“Therefore, and subject to appropriate conditions as outlined within the report, the proposal would be in accordance with policies of the Medway Local Plan.”
Further information adds: “The condition of the existing frame means it is not suitable for a traditional refurbishment project involving recladding the frame cladding.
“The alternative proposal is to form an independent new structure within the demise of the existing MS8 frame that will form a new roof over the top of the existing frame.
“The existing frame itself will be refurbished to a stage where it is stabilized and capable of preservation thereby safeguarding its future.
“This will include tightening of joints and re-painting with a specialist protective coating applied to the frame, to halt degradation and extend its life.
“Exposed sections of the frame will be painted with a specialist paint, capable of a 25-year life span in a marine environment before any further treatment is required.
“The central hall of MS8 is to contain 10 padel tennis Courts, with five on ground floor level and five on a new mezzanine.
“The mezzanine will be accessed by two access stairs, [with] restaurant uses to occupy the west wing, overlooking the docks.”
