A council chief said he would be "disappointed" if the construction of a major business park in Medway was delayed because of the Covid-19 crisis.

Cllr Alan Jarrett (Con), the leader of Medway Council, said he hoped the initial building phase of Innovation Park will have started by the autumn.

Up to 1,300 tech jobs will be brought to the Towns once the 100,000m2 site at Rochester Airport has undergone a major revamp. It has been spearheaded by Medway Council and backed by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP).

Cllr Jarrett, who first mooted the scheme during a launch event in September 2018, told the Local Democracy Reporting service: "I would be particularly disappointed if we were not prepared for building by the autumn."

Medway's Council leader also said he did not think there would be an delay due to Covid-19, adding: "We need to press on with it."

Council bosses believe the Rochester-based innovation park will attract dozens of high-quality technology, engineering and manufacturing start-up firms to Medway.

The site in Maidstone Road is one of three North Kent Enterprise zones which offers tax breaks and government support. Firms could benefit from business rate discounts of up to £55,000 annually for five years.

A masterplan was published last year and a public consultation held between June and July 2019, but progress since then has been slow.

Rochester South and Horsted councillor Trevor Clarke (Con), who represents the area where the site will be based, said: "No bricks have been laid on the ground at all."

However, Cllr Jarrett said that the project was still at an early preparation phase. He said they were still in the process of working on design consultations. But, the authority leader said he was confident the process would quicken soon.

Medway's Council leader also stated that once the construction phase had started he hoped that the first businesses would start to move onto the site within 12 months, potentially autumn 2021.

But, he cautioned: "None of us know what tomorrow will bring let alone the next six months. All we can do is keep working as hard as we can."

Medway Council's opposition leader, Cllr Vince Maple (Lab), said he remained "broadly" supportive of the scheme, saying: "I think it's a sensible idea to try and bring new tech companies and the 21st Century to Medway."

Benefits for the multi-million pound scheme include providing "much needed" work accommodation for small and medium sized businesses as well as the large number of employment opportunities, Cllr Jarrett said.

Cllr Clarke added: "Something like this is a real positive for not just my ward but the whole of Medway."

The total cost for the scheme has yet to be finalised by Medway Council and SELEP.

More than £8m has already been invested by SELEP bosses, who will meet in three months' time and decide whether to commit a further £1.5m to the final phase. They will give their verdict at SELEP's accountability board on July 3.

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