Cabinet agreed on 21 October to lease all 1,863 sq m of Maidstone East's commercial space to the NHS rent-free for a health hub, with the NHS paying the works.
The NHS would take over all the commercial space in the Maidstone East redevelopment and turn it into a town centre health hub. Maidstone Borough Council is being asked to lease it at a peppercorn rent, so the council would collect no rent at all.
Updated 26 October: Cabinet approved the lease on 21 October. The space goes to NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board, or another NHS body, at a peppercorn rent, funded through a section 2 contract with NHS England. The decision notes the council will have to make some initial funding available, and the lease is signed only once the development is complete (decision notice). It can be called in until 30 October and takes effect on 31 October if it is not.
In return, the NHS would pay for the building and fit-out works. The council’s Cabinet decides on Wednesday 21 October (Cabinet report, 21 October 2026).
What is planned
Maidstone East is the council’s redevelopment of the former Royal Mail sorting office. The scheme has planning permission for:
- 180 new homes
- about 1,863 square metres (20,000 sq ft) of commercial space
- around an acre of public open space, a new town centre park
- public realm improvements
The report says NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board now wants to occupy the whole of that commercial floorspace as an “integrated healthcare hub”. It would serve the new residents and the wider community. The facility would support primary, community and neighbourhood health services. The report’s social value section adds mental health and wellbeing services to that list.
It does not name any GP practice or service that would move in.
How the deal works
The council would pay for the commercial unit to be built to shell and core. It would then manage the fit-out to the NHS’s specification. The NHS would reimburse all of those costs and take a long lease at a peppercorn rent.
The council keeps the freehold. The report accepts that it could otherwise seek a full market rent. It argues the deal should be judged “in the round”: no rent, but a smaller capital bill for the council and a long-term public use for the space.
The funding package is built from:
- a base level of NHS capital funding
- NHS-funded design fees for the business case, and possibly further design work
- a contribution from the Community Infrastructure Levy
- a contribution from section 106 developer money
Every figure sits in an exempt appendix, so the public cannot see the sums. The report gives the reason as protecting the council’s negotiating position.
One amount is already public. In July the Cabinet allocated £1,000,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy money to the “One Maidstone Health Hub”, for GP, community and mental health accommodation at Maidstone East. We covered that in our report on the second CIL round.
Where the NHS side has got to
The report sets out the timeline so far:
- January 2026: the NHS Strategic Outline Case received initial support
- Summer 2026: a memorandum of understanding agreed in principle
- September 2026: the NHS issued heads of terms for a section 2 agreement, the route for NHS England money to reach the council
- By 31 October 2026: detailed design (RIBA Stage 3) to be done by an architect with NHS experience, to support the NHS full business case
The NHS still has to approve that full business case before the money is secured. The lease itself would only be signed once the development is built.
How it has moved since the scheme was approved
When the plans were approved, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness said only that the council was “discussing the inclusion of a health facility with the local NHS”. The council also said it would procure a contractor, with the build expected to start in around twelve months (Maidstone Borough Council).
Progress on the housing side has been slower. The council’s first-quarter capital monitoring this year said a pre-contract services agreement had been signed for the site but that progress was “slower than anticipated”. We reported that in our capital budget story.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. No opening date is given, and the facility depends on the NHS approving its full business case.
- Which surgeries would move is not known. The report does not say whether existing GP practices would relocate or whether new services would be added.
- You can watch the decision. The Cabinet meets at 6.30pm on 21 October. The agenda and papers are on the council’s meetings site.
- The Housing Policy Advisory Committee looked at the plan on 13 October. Its view will be reported to the Cabinet before the meeting.
We will update this story after the Cabinet decision.
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