The construction of a new access road on to a 30-acre medical campus marks the start of the next stage for a scheme which is expected to create more than 4,000 jobs.

When complete Kent Medical Campus, near junction 7 of the M20, will be the county’s first Academic, Health and Science Centre, providing 98,000sq m of health care facilities.

Work on the £1.5m, 330m long road – which will run from Newnham Court Way to the far side of the campus – is the final piece of infrastructure for the site and is due to be finished by the end of November.

The first phase of the multi-million pound project – which was given Enterprise Zone status by the government last autumn, meaning tax concessions are available in the area to encourage investment – has seen the 92-bed Kent Institute of Medicine and Surgery (KIMS) built.

Gary Watson, of JLL, sole selling agent for the site, said: “We will be working hard to keep disturbance to residents and road users to a minimum.

“The contractors have set up a wheel wash to clean lorries before they leave the site and regular sweeping will clear up any dust or soil that does find its way onto local roads.”

Work on Cygnet Healthcare’s 65-bed mental health and social care hospital is due to start next month and take 65 weeks, with first admissions expected in January 2018.

The £18m facility will create 150 jobs and will be run by the company which is the largest provider of outsourced NHS mental health services in the country, with 21 centres catering for more than 1,000 inpatients.