Described as the 'white elephant' of Chatham's redevelopment during the 1970s, an office block that has stood empty for most of its history may be bought up by Medway Council. Plans are moving forward for a potential compulsory purchase of Mountbatten House, a 12-storey office block which sits above the Pentagon Shopping Centre, by Medway Council in order to redevelop it as a "residential scheme". The empty Mountbatten House office block - © Google Maps Built in 1975 as part of the construction of the Pentagon Shopping Centre below it, the infamous orange-red brick and concrete office block - now vacant - was home to Scottish Widows and its 450 employees since 2000, until they moved out. Black Horse Financial, which was part of the former Lloyds TSB group, had also occupied the building since 1986. Recently published documents reveal Council officers have already entered discussions with Mapeley Gamma, the current owner of the office block's separate sublease, and their agent First Industrial (FI) to express Medway Council's interest in acquiring the property. However, FI stated that Mapeley Gamma "does not wish to sell the building" and may consider a joint venture development with the Council instead. "It is proposed to add Mountbatten House to the list of development schemes for the Medway Development Company...to convert the building into apartments." A potential Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of the building is yet to be given the green light at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday next week, but Medway Council has already suggested adding the empty Mountbatten House to the "list of development schemes for Medway Development Company", the Council's own housing company which is behind recently approved projects for new apartments at Whiffens Avenue and Chatham Waterfront. The facade of Mountbatten House - © Roger Marks It is expected that the cost of obtaining a CPO may amount to at least £250,000, which could be supported by a further £6 million that remains from the initial £45 million sum dedicated towards the purchase of the Pentagon Shopping Centre in April 2019. The Council bought the shopping centre for £34.875 million.
An application submitted by Mapeley Gamma and FI seeking consent to convert the empty offices into 112 apartments was approved only last year - however, this did not include any changes to the bland exterior of the building, often described as an "eyesore". Comments are closed.
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August 2023
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