The public will have their first chance this week to see plans for a medical campus and around 3,000 new jobs in the County Town.

Ambitious plans will be revealed at a public exhibition on Thursdaywhich will show massive expansion alongside the county’s first tertiary hospital in Maidstone.

The site - just off Junction 7 of the M20 - is where the Kent Institute of Medicine and Surgery (KIMS) is under construction.

The £90m private hospital, being built by VINCI Construction, is required to allocate 25% of its time to NHS patients.

Some 5,000 patients from across Kent now have to be transported to London for major surgery. The new hospital, part-funded by some 300 clinical experts, will enable them to have the operation closer to home, with a shorter journey being a potential life-saver.

The wider project, estimated to cost around £350 million, on the 50-acre site next to Notcutts Garden Centre could include a university campus with halls of residence, a women’s and children’s hospital, research and development, pathology laboratories, accommodation for doctors and nurses, and a neuro-rehabilitation village. Businesses designing medical equipment such as prosthetic limbs or wheelchairs could be set up close to clinicians who would offer design advice.

The masterplan is being developed by Maidstone-based DHA Planning which is about to submit a bid for outline planning permission.

But proposals are inviting comments and suggestions from the public at the exhibition in the Hilton Hotel, Maidstone, on May 9 (3pm - 8pm).

David Hicken of DHA Planning said: “This gives an exciting new opportunity, a step forward. There isn’t a medical campus of this scale or quality anywhere else in Kent. This will give Maidstone the opportunity to put itself as the centre of a medical facility that is second to none.”

The aim is to build on what KIMS is to deliver, a world-class facility and there’s nothing like it in south east England.

It would forge links with universities, give university status to the town, and attract high-quality, well-paid jobs.

Jonathan Buckwell, director of planning and environment at DHA Planning, added: “The aim is to build on what KIMS is to deliver, a world-class facility and there’s nothing like it in south east England.”

He added that road improvements were being planned to cope with increased traffic.