The first 15 short-stay apartments for homeless people have been installed on a former council car park.

A giant crane lifted each of the 12-tonne pods into position on top of a framework of steel podiums at the Henwood Industrial Estate car park in Ashford.

The scheme, called ‘Fortis House’, features Ashford Borough Council’s (ABC) first net-zero carbon homes and will eventually see 23 units installed.

The authority is delivering the project with Zed Pods, a British modular company, to design and build the homes.

Council bosses successfully applied for money from Homes England for the scheme.

The government is contributing £80,000 per unit, making a total of £1,840,000 towards the scheme costs of £7.4m.

Converted shipping containers were originally set to be used but bosses say the Zed Pods products are greener.

Cllr Bill Barrett (Ind), portfolio holder for housing and homelessness, said: “To be able to offer those in our society a safe and secure home is essential.

“To do so while delivering strong environmental benefits is even more attractive.”

Tom Northway, chairman of Zed Pods Limited, said: “We are delighted to install the first batch of modules for this exemplar scheme.

“This demonstrates how Zed Pods can help unlock difficult to build brownfield sites.”

The short-stay apartments, owned and managed by ABC, will be a “stepping stone” until homeless individuals or families can move on to more permanent accommodation.

They are a mix of 13 one-bed, nine two-bed and one three-bed dwellings.

There will be a large enclosed communal garden and parking bays for 19 vehicles, including two disabled bays. All apartments will have a private outdoor balcony.

ABC says the homes are highly-insulated and triple-glazed, with heat recovery ventilation and feature 175 solar panels integrated into the roof.

It adds that one of the benefits of using modular construction is the disruption on site to surrounding residents and businesses during construction will be less.

The apartments, alongside the River Stour, are within a flood zone and the land has been left underwater before, such as in March 2020.

When the planning committee voted for the plan in 2022 Green Party Cllr Steve Campkin - now ABC’s deputy leader - was one of four out 14 voting against, saying people should not be housed on a floodplain.

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But ABC, which is run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, stresses they are being built on stilts and raised to a 2.4m height.

Rising waters would be allowed to flow into the ground floor offices, stairs and storage rooms, leaving the accommodation above unaffected.