EU’s £5.7m cash boost for over-budget project
Brussels helps progress ambitious Innovation Centre plans
A huge business project in Maidstone, which has been running over-budget, has received a £5.7 million cash injection from the European Union.
Some 270 jobs could be created in 30,000sq ft of workspace at The Innovation Centre, which is set to open at the Kent Medical Campus, off Junction 7 of the M20, in the summer of 2021. The mixed-use centre will have technology facilities along with office space and support for small and medium sized businesses working in the life science, healthcare and medical technology sectors and is expected to bring £120m into the local economy.
The European Regional Development Fund, which helps authorities stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which support innovation, has provided the money after an application was made in January by Maidstone Borough Council, which has since admitted the scheme is over-budget.
However, the town hall has not revealed what its original forecasts were.
An MBC spokeswoman said the overspend is “partly due to the difference between an estimated budget based on a non-complete design in August 2018 and the final design based on a procurement exercise and having actual costs from a contractor”.
She added that build-cost inflation had also had an effect. A contracted agreement between the EU and the Government means all funding agreements are secure until the end of 2020, even with Britain’s imminent split from Brussels on the horizon early next year.
Cllr Martin Cox, leader of MBC, said: “The grant funding is fantastic news and reflects the council’s continuing work to position the County Town as the business capital of Kent, boost the local economy and provide higher value job opportunities for residents.”