COUNTY Hall Conservatives have rejected complaints that a four-year masterplan aimed at improving the quality of life for Kent residents represents a vague "wish list".

Kent County Council’s ruling administration has set out more details of how it intends to fulfil its objectives in "Towards 2010", a masterplan setting out 63 targets across key services like education and transport.

The authority says the strategy is "the most radical ever set by a council". But opposition parties said it was still long on promises and short on detail, despite the publication of a 100-page document detailing various action plans.

Labour said the strategy remained vague while the Liberal Democrats complained it was not "green" enough.

During a debate on the plan at a full council meeting, Conservative leader Cllr Paul Carter said implementing the plans would cost an estimated £7million but council taxpayers would not be forced to pick up the tab - provided the Government did not shortchange Kent.

"Part of our budget plans will be to identify further efficiency savings on top of those we have already identified and to look at reducing services in non-statutory functions," he said.

The vision was widely supported during consultation, he added. "This document is all about how we can do more to improve the quality of education, the environment and the economic development prospects."

But Labour said it was still not clear how people would judge the success of the strategy as KCC had not stated how it intended to measure progress.

Labour deputy leader Cllr Derek Smyth said: "The failure to indicate measurement yardsticks shows they are more interested in creating a feel-good impression rather than engaging in the serious planning Kent residents deserve."

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Trudy Dean said the strategy was not environmentally-friendly enough.

Referring to KCC plans to ease congestion in town centres by removing bus lanes, she said: "Getting from A to B is a laudable aim but reducing emissions is far more important for the health of our planet. This document is not green enough. It is not fiddling while Rome burns but fiddling while the planet burns."

Every resident in Kent is to get a copy of "Towards 2010". Among the targets are free public transport passes for youngsters and traffic "super brains" in town centres worst-hit by traffic congestion.