REACTION is sought to plans for a business innovation park at the Kent University campus.

If positive, the park will be developed at the area of land at Beverley Farm, next to Keynes College, and will incorporate the Enterprise Hub for Canterbury.

The initiative has been designed to help businesses start up at the university and a development brief is available for inspection and comment.

The plans are the fruit of three years of research. In 2001, town planning consultants Angle Technology Ltd and Terence O'Rourke Ltd were commissioned by the city council to explore the possible expansion of the city's economy, centred around its educational establishments.

An initial report was published in 2002 in association with the city council, the South East England Economic Development Agency (Seeda), the university and the county council.

It concluded there was potential demand for around 19,000 square metres of accommodation for businesses, ideally located at or close to the university campus, to provide accommodation for home-grown or start-up businesses.

Alternative sites around the city were considered, but research showed the campus plot was the only one that could meet all the assessment criteria for accommodating such a development.

This site was already an allocation in the last city council Local Plan and it has now been safeguarded for the business innovation park. It is hoped that if the development goes through, the park will fulfil Seeda's requirements to accommodate its Enterprise Hub for Canterbury.

A spokesperson for consultants Angle Technology said: "Innovation centres form the physical component of Seeda's Enterprise Hub programme.

"They provide the focus for a range of business, technical and financial services and networks and create a powerful mechanism for translating academic and research concepts into commercial ventures."

In all, seven buildings will go up as part of the innovation park, which has been divided into three components.

The first component comprises two buildings, one the innovation centre and one to be an incubator for the university's own start-up businesses. The second, consisting of three buildings, will provide the follow-on accommodation for innovation centre graduates.

The final component is expected to accommodate three larger buildings, to be occupied by either inward investors to the university or companies relocation to the campus site.

The plans are on display in Keynes College, and leaflets can also be picked up from the library and the city council offices in Military Road or viewed at the web address below. All comments should be sent to Ian Brown at the city council by July 30.