More than 40 new homes will be purchased by a council in order to cut down its housing waiting list.

Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) has approved plans to buy 44 affordable homes in Pond Hill Road, Cheriton, on land previously used by Risborough Barracks.

The properties will be split over five blocks and include a mix of one-bedroom flats, two-bedroom flats and a two-bedroom Coach House.

Currently just under 1,400 households are on the local authority’s waiting list.

Some of the homes will be let to applicants on the council’s housing list through Kent Homechoice once completed.

In addition, a mixture of properties for affordable rent and shared ownership will be made available.

Cllr Rebecca Shoob, cabinet member for housing and homelessness at FHDC, said: “These properties will increase the council’s housing stock and provide much-needed homes for residents.

“Not only will these homes help to meet the target set by the Housing Revenue Account Business plan, but the energy efficiency measures - such as solar panels - will also ensure our tenants’ all-electric homes are comfortable for years to come.”

Once built, the council will ensure each property delivers an EPC rating of B to keep residents' costs down and support the authority's carbon emission reduction strategy.

FHDC will fund the additional energy efficiency measures, with the aim of completing the upgrades before tenants move in.

The homes will be paid for with money from the council’s housing revenue account, but the purchase price is unknown.

The 230 dwellings proposed for Pond Hill Road are part of developer Taylor Wimpey’s wider plans to add 1,200 homes on the former Shorncliffe Garrison site, which was first established in 1794.

Planning permission for the dramatic transformation of the military camp was first granted in 2015, and more than 500 homes have been provided so far.

The barracks have steadily been demolished and new buildings have emerged in their place.

The army camp played a vital role in British military history. It is where Sir John Moore trained soldiers to fight against Napoleon under the Duke of Wellington.

Troops on the way to the Western Front during the First World War also stayed there.

The former officers' mess in Pond Hill Road has now been converted into flats and a new apartment block is next door.