MAIDSTONE town centre is set for a £750,000 facelift after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott backed a bid for special status.

The county town is one of only 23 towns in Britain named as a pilot Business Improvement District (BID).

More than 100 towns applied. Maidstone had originally been short-listed but was only told this week that it had made the final 23, joining the likes of Bromley, Reading, Peterborough, Bedford and Birmingham.

The coveted status is only eligible to towns that raised £30,000 a year to show they meant business. But before the scheme can go ahead, all town centre shops, traders and businesses will be asked to vote on whether they want it.

If a majority say they do, all will be asked to pay an extra half per cent on top of their existing business rates. All the cash, estimated at £250,000 a year for three years, will be spent on improving their area.

It could mean a new town square, better signs, more street furniture, more regular cleaning of eyesores, CCTV in areas not already covered and any other project traders say is important to making the county town a better place.

The extra money will be collected by Maidstone council and handed over to a project team to spend on the town. The cash cannot be spent on routine things usually done by the council.

Paul Alcock, chairman of Maidstone Town Centre Management Initiative (TCMI) said it was great news, saying that BIDs had worked well in the United States, including parts of New York.

“It’s the most exciting news for town management that we’ve ever had in Maidstone,” he said. “It’s going to mean so much to improving the town and getting everyone working together.”