BUILDING on brownfield sites and protecting the countryside in Kent is proving popular, according to a survey based on nearly 1,500 new homes due to be built in the county.

The survey, conducted by RPC Land and New Homes on the 60 land deals the company agreed in the first six months of this year, showed nearly 1,450 homes could be built subject to planning approval and of these nearly 1,100 would occupy brownfield sites.

The largest proportion of houses are set to be constructed on former industrial sites. Other locations where development is taking place include former school land, petrol stations and public houses.

The figures also showed that 10 per cent of new homes would be built in a large garden next to an existing dwelling. A further 10 per cent would see an existing building knocked down to make way for one or more homes.

The 60 land plots sold for building the homes are worth nearly £90million, with the final value of the house sales estimated at just below £300million.

Graeme Dowd, area land director for RPC, said: "These figures are ahead of overall Government guidelines, which say the split between brownfield and greenfield sites should be 60/40 – although within that local authority targets will be different."

The percentage of houses built on greenfield land was lower but the sites themselves tended to be bigger in area.

RPC Land & New Homes has offices in Maidstone, Ashford, Chatham, Dartford, Haywards Heath and Tonbridge.