Scheme at Otterpool Park will include 12,000 homes

Housing shutterstock 17528131

Homes England has purchased 60ha of land earmarked by Shepway district council for a planned garden town in Kent.

The land is situated between Lympne and the Lympne Industrial Estate. Homes England, which changed its name from the Homes and Communities Agency earlier this year, bought the land from London investor Somerston Capital.

Otterpool Park will include up to 12,000 homes near Folkestone and is being backed by the council and Cozumel Estates, the owners of a former racecourse at nearby Westenhanger.

Plans for the town are expected to be submitted for approval this year, with building work set to begin in 2020.

Arcadis was appointed as lead consultant for the masterplanning of the proposed new town 18 months ago in October 2016.