The latest batch of homes at a sprawling £230 million development have been approved – with more than 500 houses now given the green light.
Plans to build 800 properties at Strode Farm in Herne Bay were given outline permission in 2019 after a four-year battle.
The Strode Farm development pictured in 2024 during the relief road construction and earlier building works. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Six years on, and the final seal of approval to the designs for phase B of the scheme has been awarded by Canterbury City Council.
This stage of the work is being carried out by Dandara on behalf of Places for People, which says its infrastructure works will start this year.
It also claims the 104 homes in this latest set, will be classed as affordable, whether this be through shared ownership, affordable rent or social rent.
The update comes months after two other portions of the scheme – dubbed Greenwood Gardens – were rubber-stamped, bringing with it another 296 properties.
The finishing touches are still being applied to the first phase of the scheme, which comprises 132 homes and a new slip-road onto the A299, which opened last year.
Some 268 of the 800 proposed dwellings are yet to be officially signed off – though it is expected to be a formality when the time comes.
Previous artist’s impressions of how the Strode Farm development could look, according to developers. Picture: Vistry Group
Central to the project is a new spine road linking the roundabout closest to Herne Bay cemetery with one recently built in Bullockstone Road, diverting motorists away from Herne village.
The relief road is being funded by contributions from developers behind the new Strode Farm estate, as well as those leading schemes at the former Herne Bay Golf Club and in Hillborough.
Planning conditions stipulate the spine road through the estate must be completed by the time the 410th house at Strode Farm is constructed.
Dandara says the spine road to the entrance has already been finished.
Plans for the development were first submitted in 2015 by Hollamby Estates but were delayed by a number of legal challenges before outline permission was granted in May 2019.
Hopes of seeing the project completed in 2031, later pushed back to 2033, have been dashed by delays in getting planning approval, with an updated timeline suggesting it could be another nine years before housebuilding in Strode Farm is finished.
‘This is another milestone for what will be a bustling community…’
Sammie Steele, a regional managing director at Places for People, said: “This is another milestone for what will be a bustling community in Lower Herne.
“The new homes, being delivered by our partner Dandara, adds to the 63 affordable homes we launched in winter 2024.
“Through the strength of our partnerships, we build places that work for local people at the pace needed.
“At Places for People we’re dedicated to creating communities where friends and families can grow and stay connected.
“But this community won’t just be about the homes; we’re working with local partners to ensure it has the local infrastructure it needs, and we are committed to keeping nature on our customers’ doorsteps through the landscaping of acres of open green space.”