A QUANGO responsible for boosting jobs and investment in Kent and other parts of the South East spent more than £24,000 sending its top bosses to the French Riviera for an international property conference.

SEEDA – the South East England Development Agency – has insisted the trip to the resort of Cannes in the south of France for the MIPIM property conference represented good value for money.

The quango said the four-day event in March provided it with an unrivalled opportunity to showcase the region to potential property investors who could bring jobs to Kent, particularly to the so-called “growth areas” of Ashford and North Kent.

But it has been criticised by the Kent-based MEP and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage. “This is a classic case of extravagance from an organisation which is accountable to no one.”

SEEDA has had representatives at the conference since 2000, as have a number of Kent councils and regeneration organisations.

This year, it sent a 19-strong delegation to network with property developers, investors and business leaders and to promote development sites across Kent.

The party included 12 top executives, including chief executive Pamela Alexander and a number of fellow executive directors.

Their travel cost £5,560 with accommodation adding a further £5,980 to the bill. A further seven staff went to help manage a stand at the exhibition, organise hospitality events and liaise with the media, costing £7,122. SEEDA says this saved it an estimated £70,000 that would have been needed to employ a project management team.

Accommodation for the party was in six different hotels, some of which were four-star, and during the conference SEEDA wined and dined property developers and other potential investors at a series of receptions, lunches and dinners.

The overall bill came in at £24,229, including conference registration.