Councillors in Kent have asked the government for 拢10bn to build infrastructure to go with the 120,000 homes planned in John Prescott's communities plan
In a report published this week, Kent: What Price Growth?, the council listed the extra transport, health and education services needed in two growth areas 鈥� Ashford and the Kent section of the Thames Gateway. The report will be sent to deputy prime minister John Prescott and chancellor Gordon Brown.

Council leader Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart admitted that the funds required had risen from 拢7.2bn in March. This was, he said, because infrastructure across Kent had to be improved to cope with an estimated influx of 250,000 people.

The council said it needs 拢178m for 20 primary schools and two secondary schools to provide education for children in Ashford, the site of the Eurostar terminal, where 30,000 homes are planned by 2016. The council said it also requires 拢212m for five primary healthcare surgeries, 拢217m for improvements of the M20 and 拢170m for water supplies and a waste water treatment plant.

Kent requires clear guarantees from the government

Kent council leader Sandy Bruce-Lockhart

For the section of the Thames Gateway in Kent, the council wants 拢125m for 19 primary schools and four secondary schools. It said it also needs 拢266m for road works on the A2.

Many of the projects are not from the two main growth areas: for instance, the council wants 拢125m to renovate the A2 between Lydden and Dover. A source at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said Kent's stance was a "negotiating position".