BYRNE ESTATES, the development arm of contractor Ardmore and leaders in design and build schemes, has announced it has acquired the Chatham Maritime Waterfront site from SEEDA for residential and commercial development.

The Chatham Maritime Waterfront site development will consist of 300 apartments designed by Wilkinson Eyre and two glass towers with views over Chatham Marina and the River Medway estuary.

The development will include 60,000sq ft of commercial space planned for restaurants, coffee shops, gym and leisure facilities.

The sole residential sales agent for the development is the Residential Development and Investment Division of Hamptons International, who will concentrate on marketing the scheme through their Chatham Maritime and Sevenoaks offices.

"We are very excited about this development," said David Farries, Byrne Estates’ development director.

"Over the past five months, we have worked closely with SEEDA and Hamptons International on plans for the roll-out of the site and look forward to continuing to develop these relationships throughout the course of the project."

The Chatham Maritime Waterfront site is also located within a short distance to Ebbsfleet station, which will become part of the high speed Channel Tunnel rail link. In 2009, the station will also provide an 18-minute commute into central London.

"Chatham Maritime Waterfront is an innovative development, offering high-quality and modern commercial and residential space within easy access to London and Paris," said Hamptons director of Thames Gateway Trevor Nicholson.

Construction and first-release sales on the three-year scheme are planned to start early next year.