Anyone who fancies earning up to £94,000 a year might want to take a look at the latest public sector vacancy in Kent.

Swale council is on the hunt for a new person to oversee regeneration in the borough and will pay the wopping sum to the successful candidate.

Whoever gets the job will look after the council’s £9 million regeneration budget, which includes work on Sittingbourne’s town centre regeneration and projects like the expansion of Eurolink and Neat’s Court on Sheppey.

They will replace Pete Raine, 64, who is leaving after six years in September to take early retirement.

The job advertisement said the successful applicatant “will be the envy of their peers” thanks to the “sheer variety of sites and projects” in the region, as well as the “political momentum behind growth”.

“Our recruitment consultants have confirmed that the salary is competitive in the market at this point in time...” - Abdool Kara, Swale council

While applicants do not need a traditional planning or economic development background, they must be someone with “distinctive energy, drive and an infectious enthusiasm for our place and its community”.

The council defended the amount it was paying for the role. Maidstone council’s pay scale is £100,000 to £104,999 for the same position, while Tunbridge Wells is on £89,072 and Dover £86,529.

Abdool Kara, chief executive of Swale council, said: “Regeneration is a clear priority for the borough, and the director of regeneration is responsible for a budget of more than £9 million, managing three heads of service, and overseeing more than 150 council officers.

“All of our salaries, including for this role, are benchmarked against the average for the role in the sector outside London, so we can attract a high calibre of candidates to fill a key position within the authority.

“Our recruitment consultants have confirmed that the salary is competitive in the market at this point in time.”

Developer Mark Quinn, whose firm Quinn Estates is working on the Sittingbourne regeneration plans, said: "They need to compete to get the best people.

"It's an incredibly important role as every council is fighting for inward investment. They need to get the right person pushing their objectives forward."

Planning experts will have to be quick. The deadline for applications is Friday, July 3.

Details at www.tomorrowswale.co.uk.