A 200-YEAR old oasthouse and disused farm buildings are now home to business and 30 new jobs.

The future of Lested Farm, Chart Sutton, as a working farm has been secured by transforming the buildings into smart offices for several firms.

The decision cost around £450,000, but the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) helped out with a £55,000 Farm Diversification Grant.

The scheme has already helped many hard-pressed farmers across the region who have together created around 200 jobs by diversifying into business.

The 400-acre Lested Farm grows fruit and pumpkins, and also has a flock of 400 sheep. It has been in the same family since 1940 when Dan Mackelden bought it.

His grandson Mark Thompson now runs the farm. He said: "The buildings became redundant and we didn't have enough area to make a viable living so we had to look at other things. Diversification was the obvious thing to do."

Because of the strong demand for business premises in the Maidstone area, it made financial sense to convert into offices rather than housing. The conversion is not fully completed and there is still space to rent on a minimum five-year basis.

Pam Alexander, SEEDA's new chief executive, visited the farm as part of a tour of rural areas, including Lenham.

She presented a plaque to Mr Thompson and said the conversion was wonderful: "This is not just creating jobs, it's also creating an income that will help the farm be viable and that's really what the farm diversification grant is all about," she said.

"It's terrific and a really important adjunct to our community work, because this is about keeping communities vibrant and giving them opportunities to stay in their own locality."

The Art of Design, a national design company that works for leading agencies, moved into the new premises from Forstal Road, Aylesford.

Director Paul Hughes said the new offices stimulated creativity. "The work environment is lovely here," he said.

"We are paying more, but we've got more room and the luxury of a wonderful building. We bring quite a lot of clients here, something we wouldn't thought of doing before. Image counts."