by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The Government is considering three rival bids for local enterprise partnerships in Kent.

It had been thought that the county would submit a single bid for an organisation that will replace the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

Kent and Essex County Councils confirmed it had made a joint case to Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles for a "super-LEP" to boost skills, infrastructure, and business growth. This was thought to be the county's only bid.

But the Business Department has now revealed that two further bids have been received - for a Kent and Medway LEP and a joint LEP for Bexley, Dartford and Gravesham.

The Kent and Medway trio are among 56 proposals received from across the country.

Councils and businesses were praised for their commitment and ambition to "radically reshape the way business and government interact at the local level."

Mr Pickles said: "These 56 local enterprise partnership proposals are just the beginning of a new radical way of delivering prosperity and rebalancing the economy.

"We are facing economic problems that need solutions from local communities.

"The secret to the success of local enterprise partnerships will be working on the basis of local economic geography - gone are the artificial political regions of RDAs - this will better serve the needs of local business."

Mr Cable added: "The key is that these partnerships are built from the bottom-up and will have the flexibility to determine their own agenda, rather than have it handed down to them by Whitehall."