Dartford MP Gareth Johnson has welcomed the chancellor’s announcement that £310 million has been pledged to deliver Ebbsfleet Garden City.

The commitment came during George Osborne’s Autumn statement and is part of a wider £700m programme to regenerate and build 60,000 homes in the south of England.

“It has been a very good statement for the county of Kent,” said MP Johnson.

“The Government originally pledged up to £200 million to get the garden city up and running. This commitment now for £310 million is the first real investment for infrastructure in the area.”

“It will go a long way towards ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to support the homes being built. People rightly want to know about infrastructure investment whenever new homes are proposed and this announcement responds to those concerns.”

“This investment shows the Government’s commitment to the Ebbsfleet Garden City and I look forward to seeing its progress over the coming months and years.”

The chancellor’s pledge comes just a week after the project’s director of strategy Louise Wyman called on local people to help shape ‘the city of the future’.

“This development really is about looking after the existing community and we are having a lot of public events and meetings,” she said.

“We are really keen to hear what people want and what types of homes they want. I hope communities come out and tell us because I would like to hear from them so that this city of the future suits their needs.”

Miss Wyman was speaking to us at a meeting of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation board members last week.

Read more from the summit in tomorrow’s Dartford and Gravesend Messengers.