A Kent council has agreed to buy 42 homes on a new estate in a bid to cut the number of people waiting for social housing in the district.

Thanet District Council has negotiated a £5 million deal with housebuilders to take on the properties in Ramsgate and will act as landlord.

The homes on the Spitfire Green development off New Haine Road will comprise 37 flats - four three-beds, one two-bed and 32-one-beds - as well as four two-bed houses.

The final property, the size of which is yet to be determined, will be built in a later phase of the 500-home estate.

TDC says the deal - at an average of £119,047 per property - forms the first part of its plan to deliver hundreds of new affordable homes by 2027.

At a meeting of its cabinet, housing lead Cllr Helen Whitehead (Lab) said: “The council has recently approved an accelerated affordable housing development programme of at least 400 new homes constructed or acquired by 2027.

“These properties are among the first tranche of homes that we will be delivering.

“Delivering genuinely affordable housing as part of any proposed or delivered development in Thanet is essential.”

The authority will spend £5 million to secure the homes after approving the transfer of almost £7.5 million into the council’s housing budget in July to meet its target.

The properties are being built by development giants Barratt David Wilson.

Cllr Whitehead added: “[Barratt] have been unable to secure an affordable housing provider to deliver these homes, and we are ensuring that we are in a position to retain these homes and deliver the housing that residents need.”

She told how the homes will be let at “genuinely affordable rent” - which the council defines as no more than 80% of local market rent, so long as the rent does not exceed the local housing allowance (LHA) rate.

Across Thanet, the LHA rate is set at a maximum of £947.40 per month for a four-bedroom home, falling to £473.72 for a one-bedroom property and £299.17 for shared accommodation.

“Our aim is always to ensure that rents are as affordable as possible and that will remain our priority,” Cllr Whitehead added.

“This is a genuinely progressive housing model that allows housing to work to produce more housing for our area as part of a strategy that protects affordable housing and ensures full delivery of all affordable homes produced.”

Cllr Mike Garner, of the Green group, attended the meeting on July 27 and spoke on the latest decision.

He said the accelerated building fund is “a programme we support”.

He told cabinet members: “While supporting this proposal, it does raise a few questions about the number of affordable homes being made available by housing associations as part of the ongoing housebuilding programme.”

In schemes of more than 10 homes, developers are supposed to offer at least 30% affordable housing in Thanet.

Cllr Garner queried how many promised affordable homes have been delivered across the district over the last five years.

Cllr Whitehead said TDC itself now manages and provides 61% of the district’s affordable housing, adding that the council does record delivery of affordable homes but could not give exact numbers at that time.

It comes as TDC officers are mulling over the implications of an attempt to pause all planning applications for developments of more than 10 homes in the district.

A motion was presented to councillors by Cllr Garner last month due to concerns over the pressure on the district’s infrastructure, but questions were raised about whether the move would be allowed under planning law.

The proposal is expected to be discussed in the autumn once the legal and financial impacts have been explored.