Kent County Council has dismissed claims that a £250,000 contract with a London agency to promote East Kent fails to benefit local creative firms.

The decision to award the Grow for It in East Kent deal to Seven Hills - the second big contract to go to a London agency in three years - has upset the county’s creative businesses, provoking a lively online debate.

One agency chief wrote: "It stinks." Another said: "A London agency to promote East Kent seems plain daft."

Most agree that the skills exist in the county but believe firms lack the resources, experience and bigger teams to field at pitches.

Several pitched for the deal but, once again, lost out to a big-name London agency.

The Seven Hills deal follows the award of a £400,000 contract to London-based global company M&C Saatchi for the Kent Contemporary campaign that has been credited with boosting tourism in the county.

Desmond High, director of EMC Management Consultants, based in Maidstone, and a judge of the creative category in the 2011 Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA), said: “Seven Hills is doubtless an able business. But it follows VisitKent and KCC using M&C Saatchi to promote their activities, on the basis that they need an agency with international reach.

“Perhaps our publicly-funded organisations should be insisting any non-Kent based agency needs to partner with a local firm.”

KCC said: “Seven Hills have been working closely with a number of local companies on the campaign.

"These include local consultancy services, the photographer for the advertising campaign and all suppliers for the launch event, including printed and branded materials.

"The total estimated figure spent with local companies in Kent thus far is in excess of £30,000. Seven Hills have a continued commitment to work with local companies wherever appropriate throughout the campaign.”

• Due to a typographical error in Kent Business (December) distributed with most KM Group paid-for titles, the cost of Kent County Council’s Grow for It in East Kent promotional campaign was wrongly shown as £250m instead of £250,000. We are sorry for the error.