Study shows perceptions of East Kent as a business location have improved

A recent study undertaken by inward investment agency Locate in Kent has shown confidence in East Kent as a business location has risen by 10% since 2003.

The in-depth perceptions study, aimed at researching the awareness and opinions of Kent as a business location, was originally undertaken by MORI in 2003. Nearly 200 people, including UK and overseas businesses, developers, intermediaries, investors and journalists were interviewed in August and September.

The 2006 survey, re-run by local company Facts International in Ashford, targeted the same audiences with the same questions, with a few new topical ones added. Comparing the results of 2003 and 2006, the popularity of East Kent has improved dramatically with 15% of respondents preferring the area compared to 5% in 2003.

Locate in Kent is encouraged by the fact that the survey shows awareness of the county is higher, with 78% respondents having a 'fair' or 'great deal' of knowledge about Kent compared to just 48% in 2003. The figures also indicated that three quarters of respondents felt Kent had improved as a business location in the last five years and a similar number felt it would become more attractive in the next five years.

Locate in Kent is increasingly confident about its ability to attract more jobs and businesses to the area, but is aware that perceptions could be easily affected by current issues in the county. The company urges all local promotions agencies to work together to ensure that businesses continue to receive the positive message.

SEEDA agrees grant of £7.5m for Dover

The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) has agreed a grant of £7.5 million to assist Dover District Council in the comprehensive redevelopment of the St James area of Dover Town Centre in Kent, a key gateway to the South East of England.

A masterplan has been created for this part of Dover which exploits its full potential by providing stronger links to the town centre, improving public open space and car parking space, whilst creating 75 new homes, a hotel and a major new supermarket.

The scheme will address local problems of high unemployment and economic dependency on the Port, diversifying the attractiveness of the town centre economically and providing a range of jobs. Increasingly traders in Dover Town Centre have suffered a significant loss of business in recent years due to a number of major retailers relocating to the outskirts of the town.

SEEDA's grant will be used to help acquire key sites in the regeneration area so that the project can go ahead. Dover District Council has also committed £750,000 to the project and has agreed to contribute land worth £500,000. Kent County Council is contributing £500,000 to the scheme and national regeneration agency English Partnerships has expressed its intention to invest in the redevelopment of the St James area as well as the wider regeneration of Dover.

Dover District Council secured a joint venture development partner for the area, Bond City Limited, in 2003. A planning application was submitted in 2005, supported by SEEDA.

It is likely that construction work on the site will begin in mid-2008. The St James' regeneration project is part of the Dover Pride Regeneration Strategy, a multi-agency project to redevelop the whole of this key coastal town. Partners include Dover District Council, Dover Harbour Board, Kent County Council, SEEDA, the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), Business Link Kent, Learning and Skills Council for Kent and Medway, Dover Chamber of Commerce, East Kent Partnership and the London Fancy Box Company.

Boost for small businesses in east Kent

The Lakesview Office Village in Westbere is one step closer to reality following an injection of £250,000 from the East Kent Partnership (EKP) into the £1m development.

The project, on the former Chislet Colliery site now known as Lakesview International Business Park, will provide a perfect environment to foster new businesses and entrepreneurial initiatives. It will provide quality short and long term office space for start-ups and existing businesses relocating from home offices, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

When completed, it will offer approximately 4,000 sq ft of office space, which hopes to deliver 30 new businesses and 70 jobs over the duration of the project. The site will also offer business advice and support through Business Link Kent, who will have desk space in the facility.

The premises will be the first of its kind in the Canterbury district, bringing together fledgling businesses and support agencies and maximising the effectiveness of site development for business start-ups, which is not currently provided on commercially developed sites.

The project is being led by the council's Local Economy team in partnership with George Wilson developments. Canterbury City Council is contributing £100,000 and funding has also been secured from SEEDA.

Each of the 14 office units measures between 18.5sqm and 22.5sqm and are offered on flexible easy-in, easy-out terms to meet demand. The project will be self-sustaining through the rental income of businesses occupying the units.

For more details, please contact Christopher Inwood on 01227 862053
or email christopher.inwood@canterbury.gov.uk

Thanet has good prospects

In what is being seen as a further vote of confidence in Thanet, the former Prospect Inn, close to Kent International Airport, is to become an Express by Holiday Inn hotel.

The 104 bedroom hotel, operated by Geminex Hotel & Leisure Management, and situated on the A253 is a significant investment in Thanet.

Attracted to the site by the long-term commercial opportunities presented by nearby Kent International Airport as well as improving economic conditions in Thanet, Geminex worked with Locate in Kent, the inward investment agency, during the site's feasibility study.

Geminex's new development adds to a 280 bed hotel in Docklands and three existing Express by Holiday Inn hotels. Kent, despite its size, has a shortage of budget hotel accommodation and the company is confident the development in Ramsgate will serve the business hotel market as well as civil and freight traffic using the airport. Geminex believes the airport has the potential to deliver for Kent what Luton Airport has provided for Bedfordshire.

Construction work has commenced and Geminex anticipates the hotel will be open for business in December 2007.

Kent is benefiting from considerable investment in hotel and leisure accommodation and this new arrival, bringing with it 25 new jobs, will provide an important new facility to Thanet, and Ramsgate in particular.

Paper mill back on a roll

Nearly seven years after it closed, a former paper mill is set to become a key element in Dover’s regeneration.

Buckland Mill, which occupies a prime 3.9 hectare site on the banks of the Dour, is now subject to a planning application for a mixed-use development.

The move follows a development agreement negotiated by Vertex Law on behalf of the developer, Gillcrest Homes, with the site owner, the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

Vertex Law’s Robert Dodgson said it was a very complex deal that resulted in a high quality, imaginative scheme going before Dover planners.

The proposal comprises affordable and private housing, restaurant/bar, convenience store, nursing home, children's outdoor play areas and community facilities.

SEEDA has already demolished a number of derelict buildings and removed the culverting from the River Dour, which runs through the centre of the site, formerly an Arjo Wiggins paper manufacturing plant. The river has been restored to its original course and it is anticipated this will be an attractive draw for residents and employees who live and work at the site in the future.

Development Manager for Gillcrest Homes, Alan Burns, said it is an exciting and ambitious project and the company is delighted to be a part of it. Gillcrest Homes is committed to creating high quality housing, employment potential and integrated community facilities and hopes the redevelopment of the site will be a catalyst for the future regeneration of the whole Dover area.

Gillcrest was one of a number of developers who put forward proposals for the site. According to SEEDA, Gillcrest's submission scored highly in the evaluation due to the mix of uses, the contemporary architectural design proposed and the inclusion of many sustainability measures.

Buckland Mill finally closed on 30th June 2000 ending a tradition of paper making on the site that went back to at least the 18th Century.