A council will spend money given to it from developers behind a long-awaited hotel and flats scheme on more council housing.

Thanet District Council will spend the cash from the Royal Sands development in Ramsgate.

Cabinet signed-off plans on Thursday to acquire “three to four new homes” using money given to the council by the developer behind plans for a 60-bedroom hotel and 107 luxury flats.

An assessment carried out in 2016 identified a “need for 397 affordable homes per year” – but only an annual average of 73 have been provided by the council and its partners over the past seven years.

Cllr Lesley Game (Con), cabinet member for housing and safer neighbourhoods, said: “As you will be aware, new homes are urgently needed to assist households on the council’s housing list and those who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation.

“The contributions of £727,600 proposed to be used for this programme were secured by the council as part of the contributions attached to the 2004 permission of the Royal Sands development, which was received in 2017.

“The condition required that the contribution would be allocated for affordable housing in the local area.

“The council is facing a rapid growth in homeless households, and this has led to an increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation.”

To date, Thanet District Council has spent just over £14 million on buying new-builds or homes which need refurbishing, with the number of “homeless households” standing at 184 in 2017/18.

Only £1,377,202 of that money has been invested in Broadstairs, with the main focus appearing to be on Ramsgate (£7,258,000) and Margate (£6,048,514).

Preparatory work on the former Pleasurama site started this year, despite planning permission being granted back in 2004.