by
business editor Trevor Sturgess

The South East England Development Agency is braced for deep
funding cuts after the Government's review of public spending.

SEEDA is one of several regional
development agencies facing an overall £270m reduction as part of
£836bn savings from the business department's budget.

SEEDA is involved in the regeneration of parts of Medway,
including Rochester Riverside and Chatham Maritime.

It played a major part in the transformation of the East Kent
coalfields and recently funded the £7m Canterbury Innovation
Centre.

It also set up enterprise hubs, since replaced by Innovation and
Growth teams.

RDAs are expected to transform into local enterprise
partnerships between local authorities and business groups.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws said: "Regional
Development Agencies will have to cut back on spending which has
the lowest economic impact."

These are thought to be in regeneration and skills. Despite
pockets of hardship in the south east, especially in Thanet,
SEEDA's budget is likely to be hit harder than RDAs in the north,
and its long-term future remains in doubt.

Business secretary Vince Cable said last week that SEEDA's
existence was hard to justify.

Quoted in the Financial Times, he said: "It is very difficult to
see the justification for RDAs in the South-East and East,
prosperous regions with a large private sector."

SEEDA had already had its funding slashed from £140m to £108m by
the previous government.

Chairman Rob Douglas told Kent Business, the KM Group monthly,
just before the General Election that huge amounts of revenue
generated by the south east were redistributed to the north.

But it was important not to kill the golden goose by inadequate
investment.

"You can't have a prosperous UK without a prosperous south
east," he said.