Building work for hundreds of new homes has begun as part of a wider project to bring 15,000 houses to a former cement works on the banks of the River Thames.

The Harbour Village scheme will be looking to build 532 homes on the south bank of the river in Northfleet.

The houses will be on the site of the Northfleet Cement Works which have been closed since 2008.

In 2018, planning permission was granted to erect the proposed housing complex with 372 of them to be sold privately and the other 160 to be for rental or shared ownership.

The homes will range from one-bed apartments to four-bed houses and prices have not yet been confirmed.

In January detailed plans for the first 121 houses were approved.

Bellway Thames Gateway sales director, Emma Hamlett, said: “Harbour Village is a genuinely exciting development that will bring some highly desirable properties to the area – many of them with wonderful river views.

"This scheme is regenerating a brownfield site that has been unused for more than a decade.

"Instead of a no-longer-useful industrial site, we will see a new neighbourhood spring up, with a community centre and open space for people to enjoy.

“With home styles ranging from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom houses, this scheme will catch the eye of a range of house-seekers, from first-time buyers to those further along the property ladder."

The Harbour Village falls under the wider Ebbsfleet Garden City scheme which will hope to add 15,000 new homes to the area as well as shops, parks and public spaces.

Ms Hamlett continued: “The Ebbsfleet Garden City scheme is an ambitious project to provide homes that meet a real need for housing in the area.

"We’re proud to be a part of it and we are looking forward to progressing with construction of the new homes over the coming months and releasing the first properties for sale at Harbour Village next year.”

Bellway says it hopes to put the first houses up for sale by May 2023.