CONTROVERSIAL plans for a science park at Wye, near Ashford, have drawn support from one of Kent’s Labour MPs.

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt said that the involvement of Imperial College in the project meant it represented a better prospect than plans for a major expansion of a science park in his own constituency and could boost Kent’s efforts to attact investment from blue chip companies.

His comments came during an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons during which the MP urged ministers to downgrade the Sittingbourne Science Park because of the proposals that had been unveiled by Imperial College.

The MP said: "I am not sure that one can have two science parks in Kent - one in Sittingbourne and the £1billion science park [at Wye]. There is simply not enough investment or companies. If I was a young entrepeneur and I had a choice, I would choose Imperial because of its history rather than an independent science park."

Imperial was "hampered by its location at Kensington and could not develop a science park except on its site at Wye."

He called on the government to intervene to downgrade the Sittingbourne park "as a flagship project because it has been superseded by events at Imperial."

Speaking after the debate, the MP said he accepted there were concerns about the scale of development in Wye and its impact on the village and suggested that it could be built in a different location in Ashford.

He also said Kent’s long-term aim should be to persuade Imperial College to re-locate entirely in the county, possibly through some kind of merger with the University of Kent.

He stressed: "If you want to get world class investment from world class companies, you need a world class campus. If you do not have that kind of university, companies will not come to Kent.

"We need Imperial here as a university. Ashford is the expanding part of Kent but we are languishing in terms of the skills we need."

The Wye science park has received a hostile reception from many in Wye and the surrounding area, with protest groups accusing Kent County Council, the college and Ashford Borough Council of secrecy over its plans.