MORE THAN 120 jobs are set to be created in Dartford if plans to develop land currently belonging to company GlaxoSmithKline are given the go-ahead.

Murex Biotech is in the process of buying land on GSK's old Millpond Road site and hopes to turn existing run down buildings into a state of the art £39million development.

The pharmaceutical company, part of American group Abbott Laboratories, specialises in medical testing kits used to help diagnose cancer and infectious diseases. The group already has offices on Temple Hill under the name Murex Diagnostics.

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline, which is in the process of scaling down operations in the town, confirmed it was in the process of selling off some of its disused land to the company.

She said: "GSK have ten and a half acres of land on what we call our west site opposite the railway station which is no longer in use and now standing empty. We already lease some land to Murex but they are looking to expand their activities and we are going through the process of selling two and a half acres of that land to them.

"Their plans for such a large scale development it seems will create about 125 jobs in Dartford. It would obviously be a very good thing for the town."

A planning application submitted by Abbott Murex for a three-storey manufacturing building, energy centre, pump house, sprinkler tank and car parking space have been submitted to Dartford Council which is looking at the proposal.