Schemes in Development

Completed Developments

Here you can find out about some of our exciting developments in the borough of Ashford. We are developing short stay accommodation, general needs properties, community facilities and independent living schemes.

The Housing Development and Regeneration Team ensure our developments meet the needs of local residents. They also ensure developments are completed to a high standard.

We have received awards for some of our exciting new developments. We hope to reach the same high standards with the sites we are currently developing.

You can read more about our overall strategy for developing and delivering affordable housing in the borough in our Affordable Housing Delivery Plan [pdf] 1170KB. This report was approved by councillors in October 2019.

In September 2018 we submitted a bid to the Ministry to raise our debt cap by £61m in order to build a proposed 334 homes over 25 sites by 2022. Though the debt cap was then removed altogether, it signalled our ambition to develop further sites.

Eastmead Avenue consultation

We are currently consulting on a proposed development at Eastmead Avenue. You can view some of the consultation documents below.

Schemes in development

Below details the sites we have been able to develop since the cap was raised, with further development sites still to be consulted on.

Additional acquisitions
Type	What is proposed	Progress to date	Anticipated completion date of scheme	Anticipated cost of scheme	Anticipated grant
Street purchases	Minimum of 50 in 2020-2021 and 75 in 2021-2022 budgeted for in HRA business Plan	77 purchases have been completed since 1 April 2020 up to 5 October 2023	On-going	£200,000 assumed as the average per property – so a budget of £15m included in HRA business plan	1-4-1 plus HRA budget set aside already

Temporary accommodation - site approved and site in planning
Type	What is proposed	Progress to date	Anticipated completion date of scheme	Anticipated cost of scheme	Anticipated grant
Henwood	23 units	Planning approved in August 2022. Pre constructions services agreement (PCSA) work now under way.	September 2023	£7,400,000 This is a project within the General Fund and therefore is not in the HRA business plan	£1,840.000
240 Beaver Road	2x one bed units proposed, to be created by converting 1x three bed property	Cabinet approval received in November 2021 to proceed as part of the Rough Sleepers Accommodation Programme (RSAP)			£35,260.00

Sites in planning
Type	What is proposed	Progress to date	Anticipated completion date of scheme	Anticipated cost of scheme	Anticipated grant
Heathside	4x one bed flats	Planning application submitted April 2022 Awaiting details of a committee date		To be confirmed although anticipated to be around £1,200,000	Homes England 2021 - 2026 programme, bid to be made

Sites to be submitted to planning
Site	What is proposed	Progress to date	Anticipated completion date of scheme	Anticipated cost of scheme	Anticipated grant
Thorne Estate	3x three bed houses	Planning application to be submitted imminently		£1,200,000 but figures on indicative	Homes England 2021 - 2026 programme, bid to be made
Tile Kiln Road	14 units (mix tbc) of general needs homes	Planning application submitted and validated in November 2022		£5,700,000 but figures only indicative	Homes England 2021 - 2026 programme, bid to be made

Sites being progressed
Site	What is proposed	Progress to date	Anticipated completion date of scheme	Anticipated cost of scheme	Anticipated grant
Oakleigh House	59 units of independent living accommodation including 5 learning disability units (with a scheme manager).	Application submitted and being considered by planning	Demolition consent given in August 2022 Application refused at committee September 2022 Revised plans submitted and validated November 2022	TBC - Anticipated cost £15m (subject to procurement)	Homes England 2021 - 2026 programme (bid not yet submitted
55 Mabledon Avenue (former Piper Joinery site)	20 units of general needs accommodation	Approved subject to Stodmarsh mitigation De-contamination works complete		TBC - anticipated £7,000,000 but figures only indicative	Funding can only be 141 monies from Right to Buy (RTB) receipts. It is not possible to mix funding
Chapmans Close	1 unit for a family who need a bespoke property for a child with a large walker on wheels	Planning application approved in September 2022 - should not be bound by Stodmarsh		TBC - anticipated to be approximately £400,000 but this is indicative	Homes England 2021 - 2026 programme - bid to be made
85 Kilndown Close, Stanhope	1 five bedroom house for a large family	Plans approved in October 2022 subject to Stodmarsh mitigation		TBC	Homes England 2021 - 2026 programme - bid to be made

Frequently Asked Questions

+ When will the developments be ready?

You will see on the “In Development” table that we have provided anticipated completion dates. These are all subject to change as there can be many different issues which can affect timescales but we will endeavour to keep this information as up to date as possible.

+ How can I move into one of these properties?

Properties are advertised on Kent Homechoice and allocated in line with our Lettings Policy. To register please go to the Kent Homechoice website.

+ How can I contact the Housing Development and Regeneration Team with inquiries?

Please feel free to email Mark James, Development Partnership Manager with any development questions you may have. You can find information regarding how properties are allocated on our applying for social housing page.

+ Are any of these homes available to purchase?

We will direct you to the marketing agent of any of our shared ownership homes or open market homes if we are doing development for cross-subsidy. If it is a Registered Provider scheme, we will direct you to them. Please note that not all development sites will have purchase opportunities.