Draft:Spembly Works

Spembly Works
Spembly Works, a mid‑1950s Streamlined Modernist former factory converted into apartments
Location within Kent
Former names	The Ship
General information
Status	Residential apartments (partially vacant since 2017)
Type	Residential (formerly industrial factory)
Architectural style	Modernist / Streamlined
Location	Chatham, Kent, England
Coordinates	51°22′58.7″N 0°31′12.0″E
Current tenants	33 private flats
Construction started	mid‑1950s
Completed	mid‑1950s
Renovated	early 2000s (conversion to 33 flats)
Owner	Hillrun Ltd (freehold)
Landlord	Spembly Works Residents Association Ltd (head lessee from Feb 2012)
Technical details
Structural system	Concrete and steel frame
Material	White‑rendered façade with horizontal ribbon windows
Floor count	4
Design and construction
Developer	Construction Link Ltd (conversion, c. 2000–2004)

Spembly Works is a former industrial factory in Chatham, Kent.

History

Built in the mid-1950s, the building was originally owned by metal engineering firm Spembly Engineering (later part of Marconi/Elliott), the long rectangular “ship‑shaped” building housed research and manufacturing.  Archive records note that “Spembly Engineering… had a site in the building they call The Ship (its shape)” and by 1961 employed hundreds there. The property was designed in a Modernist / Streamlined style, with a smooth white façade and horizontal bands of windows so as to “reminiscent of a cruise ship”. Contemporary accounts describe it as a “beacon of modern architecture” for its time. The building met mid-20th-century UK building regulations of that era.

Original Use

On completion, Spembly Works served as an industrial/office factory.  It was occupied first by Spembly Engineering (a R&D consulting firm established in the 1940s) and, after Spembly vacated in the late 1960s, by GEC-Marconi Avionics’ Flight Automation Research Laboratory (FARL) from 1968 to 1990. A 1948 museum report confirms Marconi‑Elliott (now BAE Systems) used the building until 1990, when the lab relocated and the “splendid New Road building has now been converted into luxury apartments”. Thus for roughly four decades it housed avionics/R&D functions. The ground‐level layout likely included offices, labs and employee facilities (e.g. canteens), though no detailed floor plans are publicly available. The building had multiple floors (at least ground plus three storeys above) with concrete/steel construction, ribbon windows and flat roof typical of the period.  (Later conversion plans show it had 4 storeys – ground plus first, second and third floors.)

Conversion to Residential

Planning permission to convert Spembly Works into apartments by applicant Galliford Hodgson Ltd was obtained on the 27th of January 2000. Developer Construction Link Limited (the freeholder at that time) undertook the scheme. The approved conversion (completed in the early 2000s) created 33 private flats. Under the redevelopment, the industrial shell and façade were largely retained, while the interior was subdivided into one- and two-bedroom units.  For example, auction literature identifies Flat 17 as a two-bedroom second-floor unit, and public records show at least some one-bedroom flats.  The building’s cruise-ship exterior remained essentially unchanged in outline.  (There is no public record of any significant redesign of the roof or overall form.)  It appears the project was privately financed by the developer; no special public funding is noted. Medway Council granted the necessary permits (requiring compliance with modern building codes), and the first 20 flats were sold on long leases in 2003. However, the developer soon ran into trouble: it failed to complete all works, and Construction Link Limited fell into receivership before finishing the block.

Originally the 33 flats were offered with 125-year leases from June 2003 at a nominal ground rent (£75 per annum). (A Head Lease dated Feb 2012 to the residents’ management company confirms the lease terms of 125 years from 1 June 2003.)  No lift appears to have been installed, and tenants later reported that some apartments were “baking in the summer and freezing in the winter,” suggesting minimal insulation or climate control.  No common amenities (like a gym or laundry) are mentioned in sources. It is unclear if dedicated parking was provided; being in a town centre location it may have relied on street parking. Fire escape routes would have been updated to meet regulations at conversion, but by 2009 Council inspectors found serious deficiencies.

Ownership and Management

After the conversion, ownership was split.  Construction Link Ltd remained freeholder until 2010. In 2009 a receivership granted 13 of the unsold leases to Wigmore Homes Ltd (headed by leaseholder Sam Low). The remaining 20 flats were owned by various private purchasers or companies. In late 2009, 19 leaseholders formed the Spembly Works Residents Association Ltd (a Right-To-Manage company, company no. 06771466) to take over management.  The freehold itself was bought at auction in 2010 by Hillrun Limited. Under a negotiated deal, Hillrun granted the Residents Association a new long head lease (125 years from 2003) in Feb 2012; the Association thus became nominal landlord responsible for upkeep.

The Residents Association (formed 11 Dec 2008, dissolved 22 June 2023) had three directors: Andrew P. Christie, Rosemary C. Ings and Samuel Low. Its articles assigned it full management duties: it was “responsible to keep the premises at all times in good and substantial repair” and to comply with all statutory health/safety obligations .  Initially, management was delegated to a firm (KDL Law and its agents, then Omnicroft Ltd).  The Association frequently clashed with recalcitrant leaseholders (notably Wigmore Homes, which owned 13 flats and ceased paying service charges from 2010 on).

Decline, Disrepair and Hazards

Within a few years the building fell into serious disrepair.  In mid-2009 Medway Council’s building control found it “had not been constructed to satisfy minimum standards of building regulations”. Over time, cumulative neglect led to catastrophic failures: by 2015 a Medway Council inspection documented multiple Category 1 hazards (e.g. a non‐functioning fire alarm system, inadequate fire‐stopping between floors and damaged glass compromising structural integrity) .  On 15 Nov 2016 the Council served a Prohibition Order due to fire risk.  A tribunal hearing in Aug 2017 upheld the order for all flats above ground floor, meaning only the six ground-floor units (Flats 1–6) remained legally habitable .  All upper-storey apartments were ordered evacuated by Sept 2017.  (These conditions persisted: since then the property was “empty save for flats 1-6 on the ground level” .)

Additional issues quickly arose.  Vandalism, fly-tipping and squatters proliferated once the building was effectively derelict.  The structure became a “sorry sight” – its windows smashed out, graffiti scrawled on walls, and rubbish strewn inside .  Local reports note that opportunistic rough-sleepers and youths broke in at will, even lighting small fires inside.  By 2023 the entire ground-floor entrance area had been boarded up, and councillors described the site as “a magnet for anti-social behaviour”.

Asbestos has been a concern.  Some unofficial sources mentioned suspected asbestos in the building’s fabric, but the landlord has denied any confirmed asbestos problem .  No specific cladding issue (e.g. ACM panels) has been reported – the safety notices focused on fire alarms, glazing and general disrepair.  Mold, damp and vermin were reportedly present in the deteriorating flats, with one resident recalling floors so wet “mushrooms [grew] on our furniture.”  However, no formal subsidence or structural collapse has been reported; the shell remains standing, albeit unsafe.  In September 2023, owners obtained a legal dispensation to urgently board up all remaining glass after the Council applied to court , underscoring the “very real threat of risk to life” posed by broken windows and ingress .

Legal Disputes and Management Battles

The building has been embroiled in extensive litigation.  Between 2014–2023 dozens of first-tier tribunal (F-tT) cases were filed.  In 2017 an Upper Tribunal appeal addressed recoverable charges on Flat 7 .  In March 2020 the F-tT ruled on major service-charge disputes (case CHI/00LC/LSC/2019/0054) .  This decision confirms that “Spembly Works…was originally an industrial building which had been converted into 33 residential flats” and that each leaseholder was liable for 1/33 of the common costs .  Major costs accumulated (by 2020 the Association claimed nearly £1.7 million in service charges, partially offset by Wigmore’s 39% non-payment ).  A more recent 2023 tribunal (case CHI/00LC/LDC/2023/0072) dealt with urgent repair charges (mostly boarding up glass).  The tribunal confirmed the building is “a converted building to 33 individual flats currently under prohibition notice,” and approved a £115k bill for immediate glass removal and boarding .

Separate legal actions include Wigmore Homes’ own appeals (e.g. an 2018 Upper Tribunal decision cut in half the service-charge liabilities Wigmore faced ).  Some leaseholders (through the Residents Association) challenged the reasonableness of charges and management.  The management company (Spembly Works Residents Association Ltd) itself was “the Respondent” in these cases, acting as head landlord .  (Notably, at one hearing the Association’s director was Andrew Wicking – an accountant who took over management in 2019 .)  Throughout these proceedings, the Association repeatedly asserted that emergency works were needed but unaffordable, while some leaseholders countered that the company had failed in its duties.

Declining Condition and Safety Actions

By late 2017 all flats above ground level were vacated, and the site was formally fenced off by Medway Council as a hazard in 2023.  Council officers have stated publicly that the building remained unsecured and dangerous.  As of 2023 it is essentially derelict: no firefighting or rescue access is maintained, major staircases are partially collapsed, and the roof and upper walls are unprotected.  The freeholder (Hillrun Ltd) and head lessee (Residents Association) have both lamented that there are insufficient funds to make it safe.  The Medway local authority remains involved through regulatory notices, but no public funds have been allocated for repair.  Council engineers regularly inspect the site; policing agencies have occasionally entered after break-ins, but generally nobody now lives in the block.

Ownership and Financial Structure

The freehold of Spembly Works has been held by property firm Hillrun Ltd since its 2010 auction purchase .  The 33 flats are held on individual long leases (mostly 125-year terms from 2003). Many of the leaseholders are private individuals; however, at least three flats are owned by companies (for example, Spembly 6 Ltd holds Flat 6 , Wigmore Homes Ltd owns 13 flats, and Shokar Properties Ltd owns three flats).  Each flat’s lease grants its owner a share in the Residents Association company (formerly the Right to Manage company).   When the head lease was granted in 2012, Spembly Works Residents Association Ltd took on a collective repair obligation: its lease explicitly requires it to “observe and comply with all…health and safety…obligations” .  In practice the Association is funded by its 33 shareholders (one per flat), but massive arrears developed.  For example, one tribunal recorded that Wigmore Homes alone owed about £631,662 in unpaid charges as of 2017 .  These arrears and legal disputes have prevented any major refurbishment.

The company Spembly Works Residents Association (company number 06771466) was formed on the 11 December 2008 and dissolved on 22 June 2023. Its last directors were Andrew P. Christie (appointed December 2019), Rosemary C. Ings (appointed February 2020) and Samuel Low (appointed December 2019). In the 2020 tribunal case, the judge noted that by that time the Association had taken over management and was suing leaseholders for unpaid services, while leaseholders (through Mrs. Ings) were contesting those charges. Ultimately, the association company became insolvent and was struck off in 2023, leaving the freehold owner with a derelict asset and unhappy leaseholders.

Current Condition

Today, Spembly Works stands abandoned. All flats above the ground floor remain vacant under the prohibition order, and even the ground-level units were vacated or condemned once fencing was erected. The exterior is heavily boarded or broken, and the interior has been gutted by vandals.  Graffiti, rubbish and evidence of fires are present throughout. Neighbours report that homeless squatters, drug users and youths frequently access the premises.  Rats and other vermin have been sighted, and roof leaks and rising damp have devastated the interior finishes. Local residents describe the building as “run-down” and a local eyesore. As of mid-2025 it is not possible to safely walk inside. The site is fenced and no public entry is allowed. (A council spokesman in 2023 warned people to keep out due to falling glass.)

Because of the prohibition order and the building’s physical state, mortgages or insurance on any flat are effectively impossible.  At least one bank has declared existing mortgages void, and the flats are essentially worthless except to cash buyers. In practice, owners must pay any outstanding service charges themselves – recent auction marketing warned that buyers must assume a £52,000-plus legal charge immediately on purchase. For example, Flat 17 (a two-bedroom on the second floor) went to auction with a £10,000 guide price, reflecting that its £52,000 surcharge plus needed works made it unsellable otherwise. Similarly, Zoopla records show that flat 3 (a one-bed) sold for only £80,000 in 2021 – well below the original values – and sales from 2004–2021 range roughly £80k–£100k. (By contrast, ordinary flats nearby would sell for £150k+ in good condition.)

Community Impact and Legacy

The dilapidated Spembly Works has become a local landmark and eyesore. Long-time residents recall when it was “done up and rented out” in the early 2000s; its collapse into grime within a few years has drawn criticism. Council officials and MPs have occasionally cited the site when discussing urban decay in Chatham. It does not lie in a designated conservation area, nor is it a listed building, but its distinctive nautical design means many feel it is “historic” in character. Various commentators (including local online forums) have called for it to be either rebuilt or demolished. To date, no official redevelopment plan exists. The freehold owner (Hillrun Ltd) has made no public announcement of future use. Given the massive repair bill (estimates range up to £1–3 million) and continuing legal complexity, the building’s fate is uncertain. In the meantime, it remains boarded-up, fenced and monitored by Medway Council as a dangerous structure.