Construction is underway on a £2m conference centre at a science park.

Once finished, the building at Kent Science Park in Sittingbourne will enable tenants to hold bigger meetings and bring in external speakers.

There will also be an upgraded cafeteria for those who work on the site and to provide catering for events and meetings.

The networking centre will be known as the HUB because it is hoped it will be the focal point for the park.

It is also expected to be available for hire to external groups.

There will be three main meeting rooms, two capable of holding about 60 people each and a larger one which has an estimated capacity of 80.

Site director Patrick Benham-Croswell said there would also be lots of open space for meetings to make the most of the space inside, modern audio visual equipment and a mezzanine with an area overlooking a Japansese-style pond.

He said: “This means we are going to have a first-class conference centre.

“As our tenants increase, the need for a conference centre and significantly better catering facilities is much more important.”

As previously reported, Mr Benham-Croswell said the number of companies at the park has risen to 91 from 77 since last March.

This includes the loss of jobs through the departures of former tenants Dovetail and Go Response.

The number of people who hold passes to work at KSP, excluding delivery drivers and visitors, rose from about 1,300 to 1,837 over the same period, he said.

"This means we are going to have a first-class conference centre..." - Patrick Benham-Crosswell

It is not yet confirmed if any additional jobs will be created as a result of the new centre being built.

Planning consent for the HUB was granted last year and it is hoped the site will open in the late summer.