Work on a new business park, which will create up to 150 jobs in Thanet, is about to start thanks to a joint venture between the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and Thanet District Council (TDC).

SEEDA has agreed to put more than £35m towards developing the two hectare Eurokent Business Park, just off Haine Road, Ramsgate, Kent, for the development of ten units at the site, which is owned by TDC and is close to Kent International Airport.

A further £1.2m of European funding has also been secured for the project. The site will be adjacent to the new Haine Road, which is now under construction.

The scheme will form part of SEEDA’s wider regeneration plans for the whole of Thanet, which is a priority area for economic growth and recognised in the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) as a key location for action by SEEDA.

-- Advertisement --

Approximately 35,000 sq ft of new commercial floorspace will be created, providing direct benefit to businesses in Thanet and East Kent, which have previously been constrained by the lack of suitable office accommodation, and industrial units in the immediate area. The project will mean they will not have to look outside of Thanet to find the business accommodation that they need.

The site will now be brought forward by SEEDA and TDC with support from its other key partners the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) and Kent County Council (KCC). Once complete, the project will have generated an estimated £5m of private sector investment into the area.

Ramsgate is one of a number of key coastal towns set for major regeneration under SEEDA’s targeted Coastal Strategy, due for publication in 2008. The strategy will address the diverse potential and challenges in towns across the Coastal South East (Kent Thames Gateway, East Kent and Ashford, Sussex Coast and South Hampshire), leading to an action plan that will bring together the regional and local approaches needed to achieve critical mass for a locally driven transformation of each area.

The need for coastal regeneration has also been highlighted in the RES for the South East. The RES Implementation plan, which has been produced in consultation with a range of stakeholders, was launched at the end of October.

(JM)