‘So what went wrong?’
Plans for a town centre health facility have been scrapped at the last minute due to a lack of NHS funding to “back it up”. Proposals to turn the former Debenhams in Chatham High Street into an elective care centre, to free up space at Medway Maritime Hospital, have been deemed unaffordable.
The scheme was supported by Medway NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), and Medway Council and a £730,000 grant has been used to strip out and prepare the building for a new use. This was completed this month after nine months of work by specialist contractor BBL.
It’s since been revealed that a bid to NHS England for capital to fund the project saw around just a fifth of the funds needed provided. However, at a meeting of the Medway’s health and adult social care (HASC) committee last month, councillors said they were still in the dark about why the plug had been abruptly pulled.
Cllr Smitha Campbell (Lab) said: “I’ve been at meetings where key council officers were there, MFT was there, the ICB was there and everyone agreed it was a great plan. They agreed it would take pressure of Medway’s hospital, and bring non-emergency care into the town centre, maybe have a couple of GPs there too.
“It wasn’t just a paper plan, it was fairly advanced conversations, and we had told the public this was going to happen. I thought it was just a case of getting all our ducks in a row, but now it’s not going ahead and I don’t know who pulled out.
“So what went wrong? I don’t understand how conversations could be so advanced before financial decisions were made. This was a wasted opportunity.”
MFT’s chair, John Goulston, explained the plans had been supported, but the funding just wasn’t there. He said: “In January 2025 we got the chance to bid for capital from NHS England and, at that point, it was supported by the ICB.
“But the level of capital that was produced was at a much lower level. Our bid was for something like £25 to £30 million, but the region only got £5 or £6m.
“So the problem was there wasn’t funding from the NHS to back it up.” He added there had been an option of using an American foundation to support the scheme but the costs associated were too high.
Medway Council purchased the building for £2.2m in 2023 and had planned for it to work alongside the new James Williams Healthy Living Centre in the Pentagon Shopping Centre. The authority confirmed the plans had been ditched in the autumn and said it was looking at “alternative options” for the former department building which could include the “provision of an integrated hub providing a range of council services direct to the community”.
A spokesperson said: “A report is due to be presented to cabinet early in 2026. Earlier in the autumn, the NHS confirmed that converting the site into an elective centre was unaffordable.”
Rochester and Strood MP, Lauren Edwards (Lab) expressed her disappointment at the falling through of the proposals. She said: “I’m frustrated that plans for an elective care centre in the former Debenhams building will not go ahead after our local NHS Trust confirmed the project in its current form was not affordable.
“I will continue to discuss more financially sustainable alternative options with them to reduce pressure on our local hospital and bring care closer to the community. I am, however, pleased Medway Council is considering using the Debenhams site as an integrated hub to provide a range of council services in the town centre.
“This would complement the James Williams Healthy Living Centre, due to open in the Pentagon shopping centre early next year, and support regeneration efforts in Chatham. I will continue to work with both the council and our local NHS to improve services for residents.”
