Public sector works could be brought forward in Kent to boost jobs in the present financial crisis.

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter revealed at the launch of Kent’s annual property review that he had asked his senior team to look at the potential for altering project timescales.

He was encouraged that Jonathan Shaw, minister for the south east, had asked local authorities to identify any blocks in the way of pushing ahead with projects and pledging to look at removing them.

"I have asked my team of officers, particularly in highways, if there are any schemes that could be brought forward to provide significant employment in civil engineering," Cllr Carter said.

"We will try and re-profile our capital programme accordingly."

He added that a lot was going on on the ground already with many commercial developments half built or planned.

He also called on the Government to cut some of the red tape stifling construction projects. "Over regulation of the construction industry is getting totally beyond a joke and is adding massive percentages to the cost of laying bricks."

The 2008 Kent Property Market review, unveiled at Brands Hatch conference centre, painted a mixed picture across the county. It admitted the downturn had affected overall demand but claimed Kent was in better shape now than it was in the last recession in the early 1990s.

While housebuilding had fallen, commercial developments were generally progressing.

David Elliott, a partner with Cluttons, Maidstone-based property consultants who helped produce the report, told 200 business people: "We are in extremely difficult times and the market is in the process of adjusting to those conditions.

"But the county is very well placed to move forward as the economy recovers and current circumstances should not be allowed to affect the medium to long-term optimism about the county’s ability to provide high-quality developments."