New images show what a 300-home estate on an abandoned farm could look like if given the green light by council bosses.

Plans to give Bodkin Farm in Chestfield, Whitstable, a new lease of life were first put forward by Parker Strategic Land last month – nine years after hopes of getting the project off the ground were first dashed by Canterbury City Council (CCC).

Just off the Old Thanet Way, the developer is looking to build homes on the 65-acre site, accompanied by an 80-bedroom care home as well as a new secondary school and a retail centre.

A first look at the masterplan reveals the school could take up a sizeable chunk of land to the east of the plot.

At the front of the estate, facing the road will be the care home and the shopping area.

Two new access points will be created, both of which will serve the Old Thanet Way, and a cycle/walkway will be implemented to allow access to the nearby railway station.

A public consultation on the plans began last week, seeking residents’ views, and ends on December 8.

Bosses behind the scheme said: “The proposals would provide the land to facilitate the delivery of a new secondary school helping to meet the existing and future needs for school places in the area and allowing more children to attend school locally in Whitstable.

“Parker Strategic Land are in talks with Kent County Council (KCC) who will be leading on the need for and design of a new secondary school in this area.

“Following public consultation, Parker Strategic Land will develop a further iteration of their proposals, in response to the feedback received.”

They added that an outline planning application will be submitted in early 2024.

Should permission be granted, works could start as early as 2025 with hopes of finishing the estate by 2031.

Eton College had previously been the driving force behind developing the land, but the proposals were shut down by both the council and national government.

First announcing the scheme in May 2014, the prestigious private school had hoped to erect 300 homes alongside a care home, primary school, hotel, restaurant, health centre and gym.

The city council went on to reject the proposals later that year, with the planning inspectorate killing the project completely on appeal in 2015.

Parker Strategic Land took over the site from the college in June 2017 and has been in talks with both the city council and KCC about the scheme.

The area was included in the district’s draft local plan in October last year. That only factored in 250 homes – and was earmarked to host the first of two new coastal secondary schools.

The city council hopes the new schools will help reduce traffic heading to Canterbury.

The authority stated in the draft plan: "There is currently an imbalance in the location of secondary school provision across the district, with many pupils from the coastal area travelling to schools in Canterbury."

Since the collapse of the previous scheme, buildings on the site have been left to rack and ruin – with the government taking the unusual step of removing its Grade II-listed status in 2018.