Bids for a slice of a £35m fund that could help East Kent create 5,000 new jobs are being accepted from today.

Expansion East Kent (ExEK) has been launched following the designation of the area as an enterprise zone in the wake of the withdrawal of Pfizer from Sandwich.

Interest-free loans of up to £2.5m are available to eligible businesses that aim to grow in the local authority districts of Canterbury, Thanet, Shepway and Dover.

Firms from outside the area with a major presence in the districts and those moving into the area for the first time will also be considered.

A panel of experts, including accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kent County Council leader Paul Carter, will judge each application. The money is to be released in three tranches.

Cllr Carter pledged that decisions would be made quickly. Loans would be repayable over specific periods and recycle the £35m fund.

He said he expected some write-offs, but hoped the filtering process would back the right opportunities and keep defaults low.

Cllr Carter said: "We will look at each application on its own merits."

Bids were also welcome from start-ups with good growth prospects and he insisted the panel would not be afraid to take "intelligent" risks. He hoped some loans would lever in further financial help from banks.

Not all sectors are eligible. Farming and horticulture, for example, already receiving state aid will be excluded.

"This is a massively exciting opportunity," said Cllr Carter. "The money is here to help new businesses to start, existing businesses to grow, new businesses to come and grow in Kent."

For more details, visit www.kent.gov.uk/expansion.