One of the country's largest developers is recruiting more than 140 people to work at a pre-fabricated homes plant.

Berkeley Modular, which is part of Berkeley Group, is building a giant factory on 10 acres of land off Crete Hall Road in Northfleet, near the Thames.

When up and running the production line will churn out 1,000 houses a year and employ up to 240 people.

It will form the backbone of the company’s push into the world of ‘modular’ homes – which can be built entirely in factories before being delivered to site and assembled.

As work commences at the site Berkeley has employed recruitment firm Barker Ross to help them hire 140 to 145 staff, from senior management to those on the shop floor.

The openings include roles such as quantity surveyors, supply chain managers, design engineers, production operatives, project managers, facilities managers and quality engineers.

The recruitment drive will also focus on plumbers, electricians and carpenters, as well as positions in administration, HR and finance.

Barker Ross has now opened a dedicated office in Dartford to recruit for the new multi-million-pound facility and will lease an office at the factory site.

It is promoting the roles available via a dedicated website and on social media channels and has said they will recruit from the local area "providing highly skilled and specialised employment in the north Kent region."

Recruitment consultant Mark Boyes said: “We are delighted to be assisting Berkeley Modular in its search for a talented workforce within Kent.

“Berkeley Modular is offering an attractive package, with full training available for entry level roles.

"We are confident that there is plenty of talent and drive within the area to fully staff this technologically advanced manufacturing facility.”

Berkeley Modular director Graham Cleland added: “Our manufacturing facility will require colleagues who are proficient in digital modelling, advanced systems technologies, and modern manufacturing methods rather than conventional construction.

"It’s great to have Barker Ross on board to help meet that brief and connect us with the right kind of people."

Berkeley has previously said the pre-fabricated process will more than halve the build time to just three months and allow them to build twice as many homes in the same amount of space.

Its first homes, which were built in a factory in the Midlands, were erected in Reading and Greenwich in 2016.

The factory – which is being built on the site of the former Northfleet Power Station and AEI Cable Works – is part of the Northfleet East Embankment development which will create 650 jobs and 600 homes.

Northfleet Embankment East forms part of Ebbsfleet Garden City, which will deliver 15,000 homes over the next 15 years.

On the neighbouring section of the waterfront Keepmoat will build 598 houses and apartments, a primary school, shops, play park and community facilities.