KENT property experts RPC Land and New Homes has echoed calls from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) highlighting the need for more houses to be built if the region is to continue to be economically stable and environmentally sustainable.

SEEDA forecasts that an average of 34,800 new homes need to be built over the next 20 years to support levels of economic growth required for sustained improvements in quality of life.

RPC’s Graeme Dowd, a land director with the company that has offices across Kent, said: "For the South East to remain as the powerhouse of the UK economy, more new houses are required.

"These have to be built hand-in-hand with infrastructure improvements and environmental issues such as water shortages in mind but the need is there.

"In the future, Kent in particular is going to be experiencing some major changes in the Thames Gateway; development and investment plans for Medway and new high speed rail links and international station at Ebbsfleet.

"These factors will make the county an even more attractive proposition for companies looking to relocate but property supplies of all types including affordable homes must be built to cope with this."

In an attempt to bring more land for development onto the market RPC Land and New Homes carried out work for the Brownfield Land Assembly Trust – a SEEDA-funded organisation which has evolved into the Brownfield Land Assembly Company (BLAC).

RPC identified plots in economically deprived areas under an acre in size, which had not been brought forward for development. BLAC works through problems associated with the sites, such as contamination, before getting permission for affordable housing.