Purpose

To seek approval of the proposed improvements at the Lockmeadow Leisure Complex and environs in line with the Year 2 Corporate Action Plan.

The decision made by Cabinet on 22 July 2026 was subject to call-in at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 10 August 2026 and had been amended following reconsideration of the decision.

Decision

That:

1. The proposed improvements be approved, subject to the amendment to Option 2 under ‘Community Engagement and Events’ that an emphasis be made on youth provisions, with the aim of providing a dedicated safe space for young people in Maidstone to access and use; and
2. Delegated authority be given to the Director of Finance and Resources to procure the required works and utilise the funds allocated within the relevant review and capital budgets.

Reasons for the decision

The Corporate Strategy’s Year 2 Action Plan, as agreed by Council in February 2026, includes an objective to develop creative and leisure provision at Lockmeadow.  This initiative supports the strategic priorities to make Maidstone a high quality place and to create a fairer local economy for people and planet.

Having already owned the freehold of Lockmeadow, comprising the car park, market hall and leisure complex, the Council took full control of the site in November 2019 by acquiring the unexpired 105-year long leasehold of the leisure complex.  The rationale for the purchase was both to acquire a centrally located site which could play a key role in Maidstone’s leisure offer and to generate a financial return.

The Council has managed Lockmeadow proactively since 2019, making a number of significant improvements:

-  external improvements to building to refresh and modernise its appearance

-  introduction of a food hall, Love Food, with independent providers selling a wide range of globally inspired street food

-  upgrade to Odeon cinema

-  new external play area

-  re-opening and refurbishment of the former David Lloyd health club as ‘Lockmeadow Health Club’ operated by the Council’s leisure provider, Serco.

Most recently, two units, formerly occupied by the Feathers pub and Frankie and Benny’s, have been taken over by Cece’s Nursery and Cycles UK respectively. 

All these measures have enabled Lockmeadow to continue attracting a significant number of visitors in spite of the headwinds of Covid 19 and the impact of cost of living pressures on consumer spending.  Footfall for the current year is 4.4% up for the year to date, as compared to 2025, at a time when the trend for the UK and the South-East generally in leisure venues is for declining visitor numbers.

In financial terms, Lockmeadow has a net asset value in the Council’s accounts of £16 million and is budgeted to generate net income of around £1 million in the current financial year.  A shortfall against budget in 2025/26 arising from dilapidations costs at the former David Lloyd health club and from vacant units is expected to reverse in 2026/27.  Accordingly, the site is meeting its investment objectives within the overall budget and policy framework of the Council.

Whilst the financial position at Lockmeadow is strong and its overall performance is improving, it has much more potential as a destination that can offer a range of leisure and cultural experiences and contribute positively to Maidstone’s Town Centre.  Accordingly, the year 2 Corporate Strategy Action Plan set an objective to further develop the site, supported by a transfer of £250,000 from earmarked reserves for pump-priming.

Engagement with key officers around the council and external stakeholders has identified five key ingredients in the development of Lockmeadow as a leisure and cultural destination:

– Community engagement and events

– A green Lockmeadow

– Access, signposting and transport

– Health and wellbeing

- Financial sustainability.

Each in turn is discussed below.

Community engagement and events
 

The market hall and café and Coronation Square represent an under-utilised resource at present. In the short term, the council requires the café for it own purposes for use as storage space, but as part of good estate management the area needs to be addressed in in a more holistic way, with the overall objective of enhancing the leisure and cultural offer at Lockmeadow and in Maidstone Town Centre generally.

Three broad potential approaches for the market hall and café have been identified.

Option 1: Commercial Letting

Market intelligence suggests there is likely interest in the site from indoor sports and leisure operators.  However, whilst such an operation would be feasible, current market conditions are not favourable enough to guarantee a wide spread of potential interest.  The leisure complex building and the car park at Lockmeadow already generate a significant financial return, as outlined above, so there is no overriding financial imperative to treat the site as a purely commercial opportunity.

Option 2: Community Letting

Letting to a community‑based organisation for social, cultural and wellbeing uses would accord with the council’s ambition to involve the community and with its wider place‑making objectives.  This approach has been widely adopted by other local authorities as a way of making effective use of public assets, and is the model already adopted by Maidstone Council with the new Heathers community centre in Parkwood.  The terms of the community organisation’s lease would express the Council’s objective of delivering leisure and cultural uses and set appropriate parameters.

Option 3: In‑House Operation as a cultural / performance venue

Under this option, MBC would operate the site itself (as it currently does with the market hall) but would seek to redevelop it, with the intention of creating a cultural and performance venue.  This would be a high cost, high risk option, and would have a long lead time, with the Council having to buy in the necessary skills and experience.

The recommended approach is to adopt Option 2 - Invite community‑based organisations to present proposals for a long‑term lease of the Market Hall and Café.  There would be a structured selection process (ie a mini‑tender).  The Council would assess the vision, community benefit, financial sustainability and operational capability of submissions.

An indicative legal framework would be to offer a 30‑year lease, with the tenant responsible for internal repair and maintenance.  The council would continue to maintain the external structure of the building and the tenant would reimburse building insurance and service charges.  We would seek:

•  Clear community‑focused use through hosting suitable activities and events

•  Strong social value outcomes

•  Sustainable business model

•  Capacity to operate the building safely and compliantly.

By offering a long term lease, sustainability of the arrangements through local government reorganisation can be assured and a strong platform provided for the new tenant, which will assist them with grant applications, staff recruitment and credibility with stakeholders.

If this option is selected, active market engagement would commence, with the intention of identifying potential tenants and encouraging strong interest in the tender process.

Adopting this approach would mean giving notice to current market hall users and ending the existing Tuesday and Saturday markets.  There is now a separate weekly market in Jubilee Square, which offers the potential for continuity and integration of trading where appropriate. 

At the same time, as owners of the whole site, the Council would adopt a plan to re-activate Coronation Square and its environs, recognising that the external spaces around the Lockmeadow Leisure Complex building are under-utilised and have great potential.  The Council would take advantage of the experience of a specialist events organiser, who would be engaged to provide management, programming and delivery.  The events company would be funded through event‑generated revenue, not Council budgets.  Meanwhile, the internal spaces at Lockmeadow could be used for pop‑up events to support Love Food and complement the wider offer. 

The Council would retain oversight and approve all events.  Priority would continue to be given to key strategic Maidstone events (eg the River Festival).  Recognition of the site constraints, in particular the impact of noise on neighbouring properties, is essential and would form part of the brief and terms of business for any external events organiser.

A green Lockmeadow

The open spaces around the Lockmeadow leisure complex and the market hall suffer from a lack of biodiversity and offer an uninviting environment, with large expanses of hard surfacing.  An alternative would be to introduce a new green space providing a more natural setting and amenity space along the river edge.

The objective would be to create a new flexible place that draws in the community.  It would provide opportunities to socialise, play and relax. The space would be easy for all to access, cater for all users and represent an improvement to the environment.

The key elements of the new spaces would be:

•  Soft landscaping, including species rich grassland and new tree planting

•  Retention of existing trees

•  Connections with the river edge and Medway footpath

•  Seating to encourage visitors to spend time in the area

•  Integrated play facilities

•  External space for Love Food and other food and drink vendors as appropriate.

•  Retention of a multifunctional hard landscaped space adjoining the Lockmeadow Leisure Complex in order to provide a setting for outdoor events

The landscape design would acknowledge the riverside setting and incorporate measures to address flood risk in a sustainable way.  Security issues would be addressed throughout the design, bearing in mind the risk of anti-social behaviour and the open access to the space enjoyed by the public. 

The next steps will be to develop detailed proposals with landscape designers, to be agreed with key stakeholders.  The design would be developed to a detailed level to reflect civil engineering constraints and to incorporate the results of up to date topographical and other surveys (utilities, drainage, trees and ecology).  Consultation would be carried out with interest groups to understand their needs.  It is envisaged that, if the design stage is commissioned following approval of the report, it would be possible to set a target of Spring 2027 for the commencement of construction work.

A further element of a ‘green Lockmeadow’ will be solar panel installation on the roof of the leisure complex.  Initial feasibility work has already been completed for this project.  The recent successful delivery of a solar PV installation at the Parkwood depot gives confidence that the Council would be able to deliver such a scheme.  The feasibility of the Lockmeadow scheme would be refreshed before implementation to reflect updated technology, and tenant and market operator consultation would be undertaken in order to manage operational constraints and minimise disruption.  It is intended to bring this project forward once Maidstone House refurbishment works are complete and officer capacity is available.

Access, Signposting and Transport

Lockmeadow’s potential as a destination can be enhanced both by making it more visible and by making it easier for visitors to access it.

The visibility of the site can be improved by bringing the external signage at the Leisure Complex up to date.  More can be done to help with wayfinding, bearing in mind the site’s location near Maidstone West station and within easy walking distance of the Town Centre.  Collaboration with Network Rail and Kent County Council would help to ensure that this work is integrated with initiatives that they may be undertaking.

Transport links are already strong, with Lockmeadow’s location near the Town Centre meaning that visitors can arrive by car, bike, on foot and by rail.  This offers a great opportunity for the Council to encourage sustainable ways to visit Lockmeadow at the same time as enhancing the local economy.  The interests of the different businesses at the site, opportunities to increase visitor numbers, and the benefits for all of longer dwell times all need to be considered.  It is therefore envisaged that an evidence-led approach is taken to developing initiatives for improving transport access to the site, recognising that a range of solutions will be worth adopting, depending on the needs of different user groups.

Health and Wellbeing

Leisure and cultural provision at Lockmeadow is just one of a number of ways in which the site can enhance health and wellbeing.  The Council has adopted the approach of promoting ‘health in all policies’, and the development of Lockmeadow offers an ideal opportunity to implement this.

There are already a whole range of activities at Lockmeadow that promote health and wellbeing.

-  The Cycles UK shop is a hub for cyclists and for cycle rides.

-  The Repair Café promotes wellbeing in a very practical way.

-  Events in Coronation Square, such as the Family Demo Day Event planned for 20 June, promote wellbeing.

-  Cece’s Nursery plans a family day in Coronation Square.

-  The Health Club’s membership is now at 3,500 and still increasing.

-  Run clubs meet at Lockmeadow for weekly runs.

Looking forward, the initiatives described above to let out the market hall and café and to create new green space can support a structured programme to develop health and wellbeing.  For example,

-  the Market Hall / Café letting can encourage activities that support health and wellbeing via its community engagement focus;

-  more work can be carried in liaison with the Lockmeadow Health Club, for example by using the outdoor space for bootcamps and outdoor workout sessions;

-  as part of the greening project, outdoor space can be configured to encourage active lifestyles, for example with suitable equipment and  with marking of the ground area.

Financial Sustainability

Lockmeadow already generates a positive financial contribution of around £1 million per annum.  There are opportunities to further develop this using the commercial space in the leisure complex by identifying a tenant for the remaining vacant unit (formerly VR World) and by agreeing improved terms with existing occupiers as opportunities arise.

It is envisaged that the new initiatives described here will have an ongoing neutral revenue budget impact.  The Council will expect the new tenant of the market hall and café to operate without a subsidy, covering all running costs from income generated. 

In order to fund initial costs, including design of the new green space, the allocation of £250K in the 2026/27 budget for improvements will be utilised.  The capital investment required for the green space and any other capital works will be submitted for approval as part of the capital programme for 2027/28.

The report was considered by the Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities Policy Advisory Committee on Tuesday 7 July 2026 with an amendment made to recommendation 1:

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET: That

1.  The proposed improvements be approved, subject to the amendment to Option 2 under ‘Community Engagement and Events’ that an emphasis be made on youth provisions, with the aim of providing a dedicated safe space for young people in Maidstone to access and use.

2.  Delegated authority be given to the Director of Finance and Resources to procure the required works and utilise the funds allocated within the relevant review and capital budgets.

At the Cabinet meeting on 22 July 2026, the amendment to recommendation one was agreed to ensure that a focus on youth provision was included in the decision.

The decision was subject to call-in to Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 10 August 2026 and the matter was referred back to Cabinet for re-consideration with the following recommendation:

RESOLVED:

1.  Decouple the decision on the market hall building from the Tuesday and Saturday market to enable the market to continue trading until a future decision and strategy for the town market is finalised;

2.  Run a public consultation for future options for the Lockmeadow area; and

3.  Bring a future options report through the Policy Advisory Committee system.

At the Cabinet meeting on 16 September 2026, the recommendation from Overview and Scrutiny was noted, but was not agreed.

Alternative options considered

Option 2: Adopt some but not all the individual proposals described in the report.

This option was not recommended as it was considered that the proposed options reinforced each other, so the full benefits would not be achieved if individual elements were taken forward in isolation.

Option 3: Take no further action.

This option was not recommended as not proceeding with the initiatives described might risk Lockmeadow not fulfilling its potential and failing to retain the existing customer and tenant base.