A derelict site close to a popular park has been given new lease of life with the creation of 14 homes.

The block of flats have been constructed in Radnor Park Road, Folkestone, on land previously home to a small structure, used by a care agency.

By 2021, the land appeared empty and boarded off.

The new homes, built by Livingston Homes, consist of 10 two-beds and four one-bed properties, and were made possible with the help of substantial loans from Kent County Council’s No Use Empty (NUE) scheme.

The flats have now been acquired by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC), which have let them at affordable rents to families on its housing waiting list.

Cllr David Godfrey, said: “We are delighted to be taking these new flats into our housing stock to provide new, modern and energy-efficient homes at affordable rents for those on our waiting list.

“Thanks to support from Kent County Council through the No Use Empty funding, an empty, redundant building has been removed and replaced with 14 much-needed new flats.”

To facilitate the flats development, KCC agreed to make interest-bearing loans released in two phases totalling £810,000 towards total build costs of £1.3million.

The works were carried out by Alliance Building, another Folkestone-based company.

This was one of the first loans to be approved under the NUE new-build scheme funded by KCC Treasury Investment Funds.

The loan and interest were repaid in January.

Derek Murphy, KCC’s cabinet member for economic development, said: “This was a major project with a large investment from our No Use Empty scheme and I am delighted with the outcome – brand new homes for 14 families on the district council’s housing waiting list.

“It means success all round for the parties involved.”