30 new homes will be delivered on the site of a former education facility in Folkestone.
Highview School on Moat Farm Road closed in 2016 as part of a merger with Foxwood, leading to the creation of The Beacon’s current state-of-the-art facility.
Folkestone & Hythe District Council purchased the 2.25-acre plot the following year with the intention of developing a housing scheme itself.
Rising interest rates and construction costs made it unviable for the local authority to bring it forward itself, deciding to prepare and de-risk the site for the market instead.
Money secured through the Brownfield Land Release Fund was used. Interventions included demolishing the derelict school, completing essential ecology work and securing planning permission.
Highview Development Company has now bought the land for £800,000 – a move which allows 30 new homes, of which 22% will be affordable, to be delivered to the original design.
Cllr Rebecca Shoob, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said: “Our positive intervention has de-risked the site and enabled a local developer to take the site forward and provide much-needed new homes for the district.
“I’m delighted Highview Development Company plans to deliver the sustainable design concept worked up by the council.”