A Labour-run council has blamed its mounting maintenance bills on the previous Tory administration who it says “didn’t fix the roof while the sun was shining”.

Medway Council faces a possible £22 million bill up to 2028 for the upkeep of buildings – something councillors say could’ve been avoided if action had been taken sooner.

The estimated cost of all repairs and maintenance for the next financial year was reported as up to £7.4 million – with essential major repairs to ensure health and safety being £4.2 million of that.

This includes an estimated £1.3 million for the upkeep of leisure facilities, £600,000 for libraries, and half a million for maintaining car parks.

At the regeneration, culture and environment (RCE) overview and scrutiny committee held last night (February 28), councillors discussed how funding for the maintenance of the authority-owned buildings had historically never been enough.

The building repairs and maintenance fund has an annual budget of £750,000 for making repairs to council buildings.

However, a report from council officers showed that for the 2023/24 financial year just the prioritised works, essential major repairs and those to ensure health and safety, cost the council more than £1.5 million.

The total estimated cost for 2023/24 of maintenance and repairs was more than £1.8 million.

Medway Council owns more than 120 properties which it is responsible for the upkeep of, but councillors questioned why the budget to make these repairs was so much less than the required sum.

Rob Dennis, head of property and capital projects, said: “Over the years, the fund hasn’t been raised significantly.

“We’ve done well up to now to keep going with the buildings we’ve got, and achieve what we have, but it’s not sustainable.

“We’ve got to the point now where we have to take a realistic look at how much funding we put forward for our buildings.”

When asked what might happen if funding for repairs could not be found, Mr Dennis said it might be a case of closing some council buildings in order to prioritise those most utilised by residents.

Cllr David Field (Lab) said the maintenance issues would only add to Medway Council’s financial worries.

He said: “This is possibly one of the most concerning reports I’ve read.

“Tomorrow night (February 29) we’ve got a budget where we’re going to have to deal with the impact of a 91% reduction in revenue support from central government, and here we’ve got a whole load more capital liabilities.

“This is only going to add more pressure onto future years and makes it harder for Medway to thrive.

“It really feels like there’s been a whole culture of nobody fixed the roof while the sun was shining.”

However, Cllr Howard Doe (Con) argued the number wasn’t as severe as it appeared, with the possibility of funding schemes taking some of the burden, and that cut-backs in maintenance had been necessary to balance the books.

He said: ““It isn’t the figure we all want to see put in there, but this is a problem faced by every council across the country.

“When we try to make sure we balance the budget and something has to give.

“You’re always going to have an everlasting shortfall on it – it’s just one of those problems that’s very difficult to solve.”

The committee agreed unanimously to note the need for increased investment in council buildings and asked the cabinet to consult officers on an action plan.