A £1.1 million government boost for a Kent town has been described as "crumbs" by the council leader.

Maidstone Borough Council wants to regenerate the town centre post Covid but the £1.19m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund won't go far, said Cllr David Burton (Con).

The government set aside £2.6 billion for the fund, which is part of its levelling up project.

The news was warmly received by councillors at a meeting on Wednesday and Cllr Burton revealed the money could go to one of the council’s main projects.

But he said: “That sounds like an awful lot of money but that doesn’t go very far.

“We welcome that money, we might choose to use it on the town centre regeneration but it is actually crumbs.

“We need to engage properly to get the big money and deliver the ambition of this borough.”

Opposition members also welcomed the news but warned the council not to over-promise, especially with the forthcoming elections.

Cllr Clive English (Lib) said: “It’s good news to hear we’ve got some government funding.

“It’s always welcome and I’m sure across the chamber we can find plenty of useful things to spend it on.

“It’s not as if we are short of issues in Maidstone whether in town or in the rural areas.

“I would caution us to be aware of making too many decisions based on government funding as it can disappear like a mirage over the horizon.

“And we can also take on commitments that we probably wouldn’t have done without that mirage.”