New build council homes and flats at Clements Road and Staner Court in Ramsgate, and Tomlin Drive and Dane Valley Arms in Margate, have been completed with tenants now moving in.
The properties were built under Thanet council’s Affordable Homes Programme Phase 4.
The scheme was funded in partnership with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – Brownfield Land Release Fund and Homes England Affordable Homes Programme Grant Funding. Thanet council was allocated £685,275 of government funding to support the building of homes on brownfield sites.
The ambitious project, which launched in September 2024, has transformed underused brownfield land – including former parking areas and a long-vacant pub site – into modern residential developments. Every home is owned and managed by the council and let exclusively to local households from the council’s Housing Register, at affordable rents, no higher than the Local Housing Allowance.
All 49 homes have achieved an EPC ‘A’ rating, the highest possible energy efficiency grade. By using high-performance insulation, solar panels and air source heat pumps, each home produces just 0.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, compared to the national average of six tonnes. This supports the council’s environmental goals but also protects residents against rising energy costs.
Clements Road, Ramsgate has nine flats on a former parking area. Staner Court, Ramsgate provides 11 family houses on a former garage site. Tomlin Drive, Margate has 12 family houses replacing underused garage blocks. Dane Valley Arms, Margate provides 17 homes on the site of a former pub that had been vacant for over a decade.
Every home has a Local Lettings Plan and priority is given to applicants from the postcode areas surrounding each site.
Thirty percent of the homes have been directly allocated to local households currently in temporary accommodation, including families with young children and people with urgent medical or welfare needs. Accessible and wheelchair-adapted units are matched to households with specific mobility and disability requirements.
The remaining homes are advertised through Kent Home Choice and allocated to Thanet residents through the council’s Housing Register.
Mr and Mrs Hitch and family have moved into their home at Staner Court. They said: “The home is perfect, so comfortable. It still feels a bit surreal as we were in temporary accommodation for nearly two years; we’re really happy here.
“The energy efficiency is amazing. For a household of six we spend about a quarter of the amount we used to on our gas and electricity, it’s a big saving for us.”
So far, 39 of the 49 new homes have been let to local people at affordable rent, with more families moving in over the coming weeks. Of these, 15 households were previously in temporary accommodation, provided by the council at significant cost.
Thanks in part to its acquisition programme, the council has significantly reduced spend on temporary accommodation by providing permanent homes and in house temporary accommodation to keep families in Thanet.
The homelessness prevention work by the Housing Options team also helps to keep families in accommodation and support them to maintain tenancies.
Cllr Helen Whitehead, Cabinet Member for Housing at Thanet District Council, said: “I am incredibly proud to see these 49 homes completed and ready for local families. Our priority for housing isn’t just the creation of houses; it’s about providing homes, communities, security and a high standard of living for our residents, particularly those who need them most.
“We are working hard to keep people who might otherwise be placed in out of area accommodation, in Thanet. Combining this with our development programme has helped bring families home. It has also provided them with homes that will reduce housing and energy costs.
“The creation of our three and four bed units at Tomlin Drive is a perfect example of us supporting local families to move into council homes that were very much needed.
“This programme doesn’t just build houses; it creates stable, lasting homes for Thanet families, in Thanet communities, whilst providing jobs for Thanet residents.
“I am acutely aware of the level of need for genuinely affordable housing in Thanet. By focusing on the needs of local people and building to the highest environmental standards, we are ensuring that Thanet remains a place where people can afford to live and thrive.
“These developments, their design, cost efficiency and environmental credentials are a credit to everyone who worked on them. Shaping these designs and priorities has been a collective effort. The work of our officers and contractors has been exemplary, from consultation through to allocation and in ongoing resident support .
“At Thanet District Council we deliver homes for Thanet together. These homes are the perfect example of the importance of high-quality housing. This programme shows how well we work together, and just how many professionals work tirelessly to provide these much needed homes.”
The programme was supported by funding from Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021–26 and the Brownfield Land Release Fund. Ramsgate-based contractor WW Martin Ltd delivered the homes, using a workforce that was 90% local to Thanet.
Trevor Codd, Director at WW Martin Ltd, said: “As a local business, we are proud to have worked as construction partner with Thanet District Council on this project. Their forward-thinking approach to providing high-quality, energy-efficient homes is commendable and helps to set a benchmark for sustainable, affordable housing delivery.
“Alongside the homes themselves, the project has supported local employment, skills development and community engagement, which we are delighted to have been able to deliver.”
Beyond bricks and mortar, WW Martin delivered a social value programme. This included apprenticeships for local people, career engagement days with students at EKC Broadstairs College and local community volunteering activities including litter picks.
The team also refurbished the Dunkirk Memorial in Ramsgate and the Manston Village War Memorial, ensuring these sites of remembrance are restored and maintained for the communities they serve.
Following the successful completion of Phase 4, the council is now focused on the long-term management of the properties and identifying future opportunities for affordable housing delivery across the district.
The council is also proposing to refurbish a building in Grosvenor Place in Margate into 11 self-contained flats for people in urgent need of somewhere safe to live. It is expected that the planning application will be submitted imminently. If approved, work could start on site in January 2027, with residents moving in from January 2028.
Affordable homes target
In July 2023 Thanet council approved an affordable homes delivery target of at least 400 homes by 2027. This target included a mix of new build acquisitions, refurbishment, and a council construction programme.
As of last month, 294 homes have been secured and two schemes at Eaton Place in Margate for 65 units at the former Southern Housing site and 25 accessible homes at Highfield Road in Ramsgate will bring this to 384 homes – 14 away from the initial target for 2027.
The anticipated cost of the 294 units excluding the discount from developers is £68.137m, an average unit cost of £231.76k. The cost of 400 units will be around £93m.
In December 2024 the council also agreed to buy 170 additional units for temporary accommodation using £48.8m of prudential borrowing. As of March, 128 units have been secured and 27 are completed and in management (excluding 8 flats previously completed at Foy House, Margate). A total of £33.2m has been spent and committed to date to deliver 128 units. This represents an average unit cost of £259k.
Based on average nightly rate the 27 units have saved just over £570k per annum in the cost of nightly paid accommodation to external providers.
As of 2nd February 2026, there were 215 Thanet households in TA, with 39 of those outside of Thanet. This compares to 309 in TA last year and, at its highest, 169 placed outside of `Thanet – meaning a reduction of 78% in those moved out of area.
What happened to the new houses at Westwood that were built for the Afghan and Ukrainian families ? Have they moved in yet ?
You are intellectually challenged arn’t you blind, seek help, and stop trying to start more racial attacks on people who are unable to defend themselves, you are pathetic, and should be ashamed of yourself! TDC must be congratulated on providing decent homes for Thanet people!
Medication time Dumpton ? All this anger isn’t good for you.
If the Council is incredibly proud of giving these houses to “Thanet People” it should also be incredibly proud of giving homes to others in housing need – whatever their nationality – including the new houses that were given to the Afghan and Ukrainian families. Nothing racial about that. More inclusive than anything else.
As you are no doubt we’ll aware but just like to stir things up with lies and biases refugees do not qualify for council housing. Any haccomodacomes from and is allocated by the Government such as old military bases etc. Now you are fully aware and educated its time you moved on.
Afghan and Ukrainian families aren’t put in old military bases (and nor should they).
Maybe educate yourself before you seek to educate others.
https://www.thanet.gov.uk/cabinet-supports-1-19m-funding-to-provide-accommodation-for-refugee-families/
Well done helen
Well done TDC – much needed for local families.
However I would not want one of the rear flats in the taller building built on the site of the Dane Valley Arms – so close to the adjacent houses they will be so dark. They really are packing the maximum number of homes onto the plot.
It won’t be long before there’s housing on the Dreamland site. TDC knew what they were doing when they didn’t put any legally-binding clauses into the contract with the owners, despite their mock hand-ringing now (after appearing on TV a couple of months ago, Ms. Whitehead has gone conspicuously quiet on the matter!).
How can anyone be “incredibly proud” of building houses on the site of a pub that mysteriously and conveniently burnt down by suspected arson?
I WOULD NOT PUT IT PAST THE COUNCIL THE KING EDWARD PUB IN DANE VALLEY BE KNOCKED DOWN FOR HOUSES.
It might need a “mysterious” fire first, but yes I agree!
My concern is the original plans by the architects, for these towers, all those years ago allowed for green spaces around ground level for the benefit of the tenants and their children without any access to a garden in the sky. I appreciate Labour will choose to ignore that fact, and congratulate themselves on creating further future problems and antisocial behaviour within these estates. Barry’s comments demonstrate the short-sightedness of the poor quality of the politica we have in this country. Helen’s comment regarding being proud, for providing homes for locals, makes me sick. The housing department cannot discriminate and therefore homeless invader families if they are at the top of the priority corrupt housing list, will be given these homes. Imagine, living on the top floor of one of those legacy properties, trying for years to get out of a hell hole and now looking down watching Labour activity supporting invader families into brand new low level quality housing. I genuinely feel for those tenants. I am sure Helen will revert with a comment about the amount it’s costing the council to provide temporary housing,and it not being covered fully by central government which and is true. But as society and communities are breaking down across this country, we have to look for new ways of dealing with invader families.
As well as green space, they were also built with facilities (in fact the pub was built prior to any of the housing). If a pub was no longer required, they should’ve built a supermarket there. Instead, more and more people are being forced into their cars to do shopping.
People can’t live in cars Checksfield, although some do out of necessity! One question though, will the tenents have the “Right to Buy” at a hefty discount after 3 years?
Who mentioned living in cars, Dumpy Man?
Dumpton – where are your manners or are you totally ignorant! Mr Checksfield is the polite way to address somebody
can I call him by his other name, Miss Pink?
At the Staner Court site at least there is no need to get in a car to shop for groceries with Tesco Manston just across the road.
I think they should sell off the council housing stock with a massive reduction, and in 40 years spend a fortune building new ones!
I think they should knock down the slums of the past and start rebuilding slums of the future in the empty spaces.
To many old buildings are being left to deteriorate by the occupants, and don’t tell they can’t afford to keep them clean it costs nothing to sweep up the litter and do a bit of gardening even a bit of paint on your garden gate and fence will make some of the slums look better.