Work is set to get started this month on a £50 million development with a new crossing over the River Medway.

Contractors from BAM Nuttall have been tasked with building an entire village, with around 1,000 homes, on former industrial land at Peter’s Pit in Wouldham.

The designs include a new stretch of road, a road bridge and a rail bridge over the River Medway.

The Medway Valley crossing will be built to access Peters Village and will join the A228 at the new roundabout north of Snodland and south of the village of Halling.

The scheme, which will be overseen by Trenport Ltd, has been in the pipeline since the plans were approved in 2006 but the plans were postponed by the economic downturn.

Trenport director Chris Hall said: "We are delighted to be able to move forward with this ambitious and imaginative project, which will transform a once industrialised, yet important part of the Medway Valley.

"We have been sensitive and responsible custodians of the land in the meantime, but the moment is now right for the area to fulfil its promise."

The project has received £19.5 million from the Government’s Local Infrastructure Fund, administered by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Heather Stoner, Area Manager for the HCA in Tonbridge and Malling said: “The government funding is the cash injection this project needs.

"It’s an important development, which will not only provide the necessary infrastructure, but also homes and access to more opportunities through a better crossing over the River Medway. We look forward to seeing progress."

Before construction can begin, the site will be subject to ecological and archaeological investigations.