UP TO 35 full-time and 20 part-time jobs could be created by a new hotel and conference centre at Eddington.

The hotel, which Herne Bay Golf Club has applied to build, would benefit if Manston airport and Connex make Herne Bay station the base for a shuttle service to the airport.

Local plan manager Vic Hestor told the area members panel on Tuesday that the three or four star hotel would appeal to business men and women, families and conference delegates, and provide an infrastructure for a possible shuttle bus between Whitstable and Herne Bay.

He said the existing demand for hotels in Canterbury was displaced to Ashford but would be met by the development, which would be one of only six golf club hotels in Kent. The development is in the new local plan allocation.