The fire of the evening of 22 August was a situation that caused a lot of problems for the local community. I was on site during the evening and at the emergency centre at Cygnet Leisure Centre. I have met with residents and have also been in contact with them and many more since this event and will continue to be available to residents. Please use the details above to contact me. My thanks goes to Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue, British Red Cross and Gravesham Borough Council staff for their hard work during a difficult incident and the subsequent investigation. My thanks especially to the local residents who have shown great resilience in the face of this incident. If residents have any information on the cause of the fire please contact Kent Police on 01474 366149 quoting reference number 22-1214. Questions will need to be answered but the priority of the Council is to ensure that residents are supported.
Residents
will be aware that one of the key campaign pledges of mine was to see the old
Bowaters and now Fleet Leisure site brought back for community use as a sports
and leisure facility as it was. I can confirm that this is exactly what will
happen and there is no truth to the rumours that there will be housing on this land
at all.
The building as it is my understanding is that it should be demolished due to it being structurally unsafe.
Again if residents are still experiencing issues then please use the contact details on this website to get in touch.
One of the first pieces of casework I had upon my return was to ask for the site to be secured and maintained while the Council worked on a plan to regenerate this site. The site then had CCTV placed onit, the grass and grounds were maintained, and access points were repaired. Further to this I sit on the working group for the future of this site and made the following suggestions for conditions the Council should include and these were agreed on a cross party basis with officers:
The Fleet Leisure Conditions:
1.The Council will retain the freehold to the site
2.No housing will be developed on the site
3.The site must be a community sports and leisure facility
4.The site must be kept secure and maintained.
The site will be going out for tender soon and I look forward to helping assess these and will update the community.
The views in this website contain the views of Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox and not necessarily those of Gravesham Borough Council.
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