by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The Government's decision to axe a school building programme has killed off hopes of hundreds of jobs.

The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme would have pumped £1.2bn into school buildings across the county over the next 10 years. Several projects are already under way in the county but others on the drawing board have been aborted.

Firms now face a period of uncertainty as the Government comes up with plans for a cheaper alternative.

Terry Mitchell of Skanska, a large company which has been bidding for Kent BSF contracts, said it was a setback for the industry. His firm had postponed plans to open an office in Maidstone for 50 people, and reassigned staff to other projects.

Skanska had hoped to build one or two schools in the Dover and Shepway area over the next 18 months. Mr Mitchell said each project would have created 150 jobs.

"A lot of work we would have carried out during this summer period in Kent we are now not doing," he said. "Several hundred jobs would have been created that now won't be. For those expecting work in 12 - 18 months' time, considerable uncertainty has been created."

He said Skanska was well enough resourced to withstand the financial blow, but he warned that smaller sub-contractors "with all their eggs in one basket" might not be so lucky.

Schools still needed a lot of work but he expected any new scheme - likely to emerge in the autumn - to involve fewer jobs. He hoped it would be less "long-winded" and "wasteful of people's time and resources" than its predecessor.