THE saga over the Northfleet sports centre site continues after Gravesham Council has stressed strict conditions for future use.

Fleet Leisure in Nelson Road went into administration in April and the council was negotiating with the administrator for the return of the 50-year lease which has 42 years to run.

The lease will be auctioned on December 3 after Lloyds Bank took legal action to recover funds owed to them.

Now the freeholder - the council - has emphasised to potential bidders for the site there are strict conditions on its use and it will have to stay as a sports and leisure facility.

Leader Councillor John Burden said: "No one should be under any illusion that the council will let a developer sit on the site and one day permit development of any other kind. It just won’t happen.

"We will expect anyone who gets the lease - if the auction goes ahead - to comply swiftly with the conditions and return the sports ground and facilities as quickly as possible.

"The council would have carried out remedial work urgently and put the pitches back in use as soon as we could if the original deal had gone through."

It is instructing its lawyers to begin forfeiture proceedings in a bid to return the lease to the council.