Concerns have been raised that a project to revamp a coastal park and boost visitor numbers still hasn’t begun, with another summer set to go by without work starting.

Barton’s Point Coastal Park, which sits off the Sheppey coastline between Sheerness and Minster, has been earmarked for development for more than three years.

Swale council first announced it was looking for a new operator that could increase the 40-acre park’s visitor numbers with “innovative ideas” in April 2022.

But councillors have raised concerns that another summer season, when thousands of tourists flock to the Island’s holiday camps, will pass without progress being made on the development.

Cllr Elliott Jayes, who is the parish council chairman and sits on Swale council for Sheppey Central, says the scheme has “dragged on for too long”.

He said: “It’s been over three years since the expression of interests, so it’s frustrating.

“It is one of the big three issues residents contact me about, the others being the Shingle Bank and the water tower – which is not council property.

“But I have not been told what is in the planning application, so I do not have answers for them.

“However, I would like to see water boating, canoes and water peddlers to come back as this will be the only place on the Island to have that offering.

“I want to see the park project completed and the place used to its full potential, but I have no idea when we will see the plans.”

It was hoped the new contractor would be in place at the former Ministry of Defence site in October 2022, six months after the council announced it was looking for a new operator.

However, it was not until March 2024 that the preferred partner was picked.

This was chosen from 17 interested parties with backgrounds in leisure. The council has not revealed who the partner is, as it says this is commercially sensitive information.

Before the contractor could submit its planning application for the site, it had to carry out an ecological survey to assess what could be done at the park.

It is understood that the assessment was completed in March. A report will now be laid out before the Sheppey Area Committee on July 22.

KentOnline asked Swale council what will be in the application but it declined to comment.

The council said it would not be appropriate to comment in advance of the report being discussed and would not be drawn on what is in the report.

Cllr Jayes says he will be raising his concerns about the delays again at the same committee meeting in July.

Minster parish councillor John Nurden also called the lack of progress at what he dubbed the “jewel in Swale’s crown”, “frustrating”.

He said: “It is the perfect position and just ripe for development, but it looks like another summer will go by without work starting.

“We have regularly asked Swale what’s happening, but we are not told much.

“Everyone is concerned that nothing is happening.

“You look at Milton Country Park in Sittingbourne and how that’s being run and has Green Flag status, but it is not a pitch on Barton’s Point.”

An anonymous open letter was also sent to the council and all Sheppey councillors at the end of May, demanding an update on the project and an end to the “stagnation” of the park.

It said: “This prolonged lack of clarity and action is unacceptable.

“The site remains a missed opportunity for community enrichment, local economic activity, and sustainable development.”

The council has already spent £150k on two bridges, a new toilet block and five benches at the 40-acre site, which were unveiled in July 2023.