Designs for a town's first development of self-build homes have been revealed - and the plots could be on the market by the autumn.

Further details of the first phase of the 122-home site at Orchard Farm in Ashford, which will be the biggest in Kent, have been proposed, allowing people to design and build their homes themselves.

Specific plans for the first 25 have now been submitted to Ashford Borough Council, while the following 97 will be released in future phases.

The project in Kennington has been spearheaded by Dutch self-build company Steenvlinder, alongside Kent developers Urbanise.

It will see the land separated into "clusters" of individual plots, with infrastructure – including water, electricity, and roads – already built.

The plots are then bought by individuals who build their own home within guidelines in their "plot passport" provided by the developers, depending on the agreed planning permission from the council.

Anyone buying the land will be able to build their house entirely by themselves or with the help of a developer-appointed architect and builder.

While guidelines have to be followed, self-builds give buyers the freedom to design the layout of their home inside while choosing how it will look externally.

Phase one would include a range of two to five-bedroom semi-detached and detached houses, alongside apartments.

Seventy percent will be private, fully serviced self-build plots, 20% will be set aside for affordable shared-ownership dwellings while the remaining 10% will be available for affordable rent.

There will also be communal courtyards, walking and cycling routes, a central park and a meadow with the total development, once complete, offering 1.23 hectares of open space.

The development will be the first of its kind in Ashford, with similar schemes having already been carried out by Quinn Estates in Littlebourne, Sandwich and Grafty Green.

Hans Sparreboom, the founder and chief executive at Steenvlinder, said: “As a developer, our overarching purpose is to empower self-builders to be able to shape their environment: not only as individuals but also as part of a wider community.

"We will encourage them to express their unique identities, by offering freedom of choice, within a framework of specific regulations which will help them create a cohesive and distinctive neighbourhood.”

Adam Roake, the owner of Urbanise, said: "Our aim is to create a community with a distinct sense of place and our inspiration in shaping the Orchard Farm community has been informed by the distinctive characteristics of east Kent.

"Guided by the typical configuration of individual farms and small hamlets, we have developed an inventive spatial plan and buildings will be set within this framework, allowing individual expression yet respectfully integrating the best of the local character.

“Our application is different – its focus is on the green public spaces and not the houses.

"Our future self-builders will design these, and each will be subject to a further submission to demonstrate compliance with the masterplan and relevant plot passport.

"We believe we have designed a high-quality public realm, which will make Orchard Farm a desirable place to live and an enhancement to Kennington as a whole.”

The site will be accessed via the A28 Canterbury Road from two places.

A new primary route will be created between two houses, and a secondary route for pedestrians and cyclists will be via the original farm tack, a small lane next to Stubbs restaurant.

There will be a total of 68 parking spaces once the development is finished; 53 will be allocated, while the remaining 15 will be unallocated in parking courts.

Developers say this is to "minimise the dominance of the car on the urban realm".

They add they want to "avoid creating the perception of a sea of parking" that is evident in other developments.

Outline planning permission for the development was granted in August 2020.