A town council has announced it is to receive a whopping £3.5m from the sale of land to a housing developer.

Tenterden Town Council has today reached agreement on the sale of TENT 1a development land, which sits to the south of the town between Recreation Ground Road and Smallhythe Road, to an as yet, unnamed developer.

Town clerk Phil Burgess said that details of the deal are still being finalised and he hopes to be in a position to name the developer in the next couple of weeks.

Planning permission has already been given for 250 homes on the site, a “significant part” of which was owned by Tenterden Town Council.

The authority is pledging to plough the cash back into the community and Mayor of Tenterden Cllr Pam Smith, said: “This is fantastic news for Tenterden.

"Some of the capital will be earmarked for the renovation and refurbishment of the town hall and the remaining funding will be used to improve community facilities around the town, so the whole community can benefit.

"We’d love to hear from local residents on what they feel the money could be spent on.”

Once the council knows the exact amount it will receive after sale costs have been deducted, residents will be asked to give their ideas on how the cash should be spent, with shortlisted projects put to the public vote.