A long-awaited set of exclusive new seaside apartments will be launched on the market in the coming months - and the first owners could move in by the spring.

The Shoreline development is the first phase of the residential scheme which will transform the beach-front in Folkestone where the former Rotunda amusement park once stood.

New drone pictures show how construction at the site is racing ahead.

Work on the 84 new homes has been going on since 2020, the flats and town houses rising from the shingle in front of the The Leas.

KentOnline can reveal that a 'soft launch' - which will see some of the first prices for the sea-view homes announced - is now set to take place in the autumn.

It is then expected that the first residents will be able to move into their new properties in the spring.

Shoreline is just the first residential block to go up as part of the wider masterplan for the seafront which is being driven by billionaire philanthropist Sir Roger De Haan.

A spokesman for the Folkestone Harbour & Seafront Development Company, which is overseeing the ambitious project, said: "A soft launch is planned within the next couple of months with show homes being available in January 2023.

"We hope people will be able to move in from spring 2023 onwards."

Further residential blocks are currently going through the consultation and planning process.

Last month plans for the final phase of the redevelopment of the former Rotunda site were revealed.

The designs for Plot E, which sits opposite the Grand Burstin Hotel, feature a mix of one- to four-bedroom flats and houses in a development of about 100 properties.

An overall masterplan for the harbour and seafront was approved in 2015 and envisages up to 1,000 new homes on the coast, as well as space for businesses.

Paulo Kingston-Correia, general manager at the development company, said: "Folkestone has a great deal to offer both residents and the millions of people who visit and holiday here.

"The combination of the new homes, the harbour, nearby Creative Quarter and ground-breaking F51 skate park, will ensure Folkestone continues to be an exciting destination."