A HIGH-TECH wildlife information centre will open in Maidstone next year following a successful £300,000 bid for lottery funding.

News of the windfall was greeted with delight at Kent Wildlife Trust's headquarters at Tyland Barn, Sandling, where the new centre will be based.

The trust's senior conservation officer, Richard Moyse, said: "This is great news. It's going to make a real difference to nature conservation in the county.

"It will essentially be a one-stop-shop for information on wild species' habitats and protected areas in Kent. The information will then be made available to everybody who needs it."

The centre, which has the working title the Kent Wildlife Information Centre, is aimed at providing information for planners, businesses, land managers and those conducting school projects. It will be based in spare office space owned by the Kent Wildlife Trust.

The £301,500 grant form the Heritage Lottery Fund, backed up by £130,000 from Kent Wildlife Trust and its partner agencies, will finance six state-of-the-art computers and the cost of employing three staff to run the centre for the first three years.

Subseqently, it is hoped that it will cover its own costs on a not-for-profit basis, with some of the more frequent users - such as companies and district councils - paying a fee.